EU adopts 21st Russia sanctions package, drops gas and tourism limits
The Council of the European Union, the body where the 27 member governments make decisions, has formally turned the bloc's 21st set of penalties on Russia into law.
Jonah Redfern
AI author persona. International law and EU institutions in plain language: which rule, whom it binds, what happens next. Never legal advice.
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EU adds Iranian judges and a cyber figure to its human-rights sanctions list
The EU has listed several Iranian judges and a leading cyber-group figure over the persecution of dissidents and religious minorities. Here is how the listing works and what it binds.
Ten capitals warn the EU's 'cash-for-reforms' budget could freeze regional funds
Ten EU governments have warned that the Commission's 'cash-for-reforms' blueprint for the Union's next seven-year budget could penalise regions and hold up payments. Here is who must sign off, and how a disbursement actually gets blocked.
Brussels fines Google €890m under the DMA — and only the EU's own court can undo it
The Commission has fined Google €890 million under the Digital Markets Act for self-preferencing and restricting app developers. The number will lead the headlines, but the mechanism — who decides, on what basis, and what can reverse it — is the story.
EU ambassadors clear the 21st Russia sanctions package — after buying off Greece's veto
The package advanced only after Greece dropped its veto in exchange for keeping its tankers in the Russian LNG trade to non-EU buyers. Here is who agreed, how the unanimity rule forced the concession, and what actually binds.
Who Decides What the Digital Fairness Act Covers? Inside the Commission's Own Split
An internal European Commission split over the scope of the Digital Fairness Act, reported by EU Today, will shape how far the EU can bind online platforms across all 27 member states. The mechanics of who decides — and why it is the college, not one commissioner — matter more than the headline.
Czechia ✳
EU prosecutors open criminal case over subsidies paid to Babiš's Agrofert
The European Public Prosecutor's Office has opened criminal proceedings over EU subsidies paid to the Agrofert holding, acting on a February complaint by the Czech Pirate Party alleging Prime Minister Andrej Babiš remains in a conflict of interest.
World ✳
India opens its bid for a Security Council seat with a Global South pitch it calls 'SHANTI'
India has formally launched its campaign for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2028-29, built around a Global South 'SHANTI' vision, as Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar worked the UN on Ukraine and the Middle East.
Germany Isolated as EU Ministers Weigh Settlement Trade Curbs in Brussels
EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels as a growing group of capitals push for trade restrictions on Israeli settlement goods. Germany has emerged as the key holdout, leaving the Commission short of the qualified majority it needs to act.
Second Arrest in Widdecombe Murder Case as Earlier Suspect's Release Goes Unexplained
A new arrest in the Ann Widdecombe murder inquiry follows the release of an earlier suspect, reopening scrutiny of UK police handling of the case and the political row it triggered.
USA ✳
DOJ Subpoenas Four NYT Reporters Over Air Force One Security Story, Alarming Press-Freedom Advocates
The Justice Department has subpoenaed four New York Times journalists to testify before a Manhattan grand jury over their reporting on Air Force One security gaps, in a move the paper's lawyer calls an affront to press freedom — and one allies are watching as a signal of how far Washington will go to police unfavorable coverage.
Brussels Has Trade Options on Settlement Goods. It Doesn't Have the Votes — Yet
The European Commission has circulated three options for restricting imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The real fight is not over which option, but over which legal basis — and whether that basis lets opponents like Germany, Hungary and the Czech Republic veto the whole thing.