EUobserver

Switzerland to pay EU €375m annually for free movement and single-market access
by Benjamin Fox
The new EU-Swiss trade pact does not include a cap on freedom of movement, despite Switzerland’s focus on migration control.
- Migration
- Switzerland
UK, France, and Germany ready to target Iran with ‘defensive measures’ as Iranian drones strike their bases
by Anastasiia Furman
While leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom condemn Iran and consider defensive steps, they stop short of direct war involvement, coordinating cautiously with the United States. Here’s a closer breakdown of how each country is positioning itself.
- Iran
- Middle East
What Israeli-US attacks on Iran mean for EU oil and gas prices
by Wester van Gaal
The European gas price was 40 percent higher on Monday after Qatar halted liquid gas production.
TikTok used automation in nearly 100% of violating-content moderation in Europe
by Owen Carpenter-Zehe
TikTok removed 112 million pieces of content – mainly with automated systems – that violated the platform’s policies in the EU between July and December 2025, according to the platform’s latest Digital Services Act transparency report.
Iran’s regime collapse: what next?
by Mahya Ostovar and Navid Sahraei
The European Union must decide whether it will confine itself to the comfortable position of simply saying ‘no to war’, or whether it will actively support a democratic transition. A reactive anti-war posture may appear principled in Brussels. For Iranians who have already paid for regime change with massacres, mass imprisonment, executions, and now open war, it is inconsequential.
- EU and the World
- Iran
As bombs drop across the Middle East, what will Merz say to Trump?
by Dominik Tolksdorf
Friedrich Merz has pledged to transform the German armed forces into the strongest conventional land force among European Nato members. Will that be enough for Donald Trump?
THIS WEEK: Iran crisis and Merz to seek clarity in Washington on US tariffs
by Elena Sánchez Nicolás
THIS WEEK offers a weekly snapshot of the key developments in Brussels and across Europe over the next seven days, published every Monday morning.
Iran, 1953, and Europe’s blind spot
by Miro Sedlák
Today, with Iran’s supreme leader dead and the son of the CIA-installed shah coordinating with Washington on what comes next, Europe faces the question it has avoided for seven decades.
None of Trump’s EU friends welcomed Iran war
by Andrew Rettman
No EU leaders backed the US strike killing Ali Khamenei, except far-right allies of Donald Trump. Most urged de-escalation. Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez condemned Washington, while French president Emmanuel Macron called for UN talks.
‘We are ready,’ says von der Leyen, as Brussels applies Mercosur trade deal despite French objections
by Benjamin Fox
The EU Commission’s decision to apply the Mercosur trade deal will be poorly received by some MEPs – and has already been attacked by France. This follows the ratification by the parliaments in Argentina and Uruguay.
Whatever happened to Meloni’s promised anti-migrant ‘naval blockade’?
by Gaia Mastrosanti
Under Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s new migration law revives largely symbolic deterrence measures like the “naval blockade” and the Albania model that are unlikely to boost returns or reduce arrivals, while pragmatic labour regularisations proceed quietly in the background. However, voters are exposed primarily to the spectacle of deterrence.
Listen: Will the death of French activist Quentin Deranque weaken antifascist movements in Europe?
by Léa Marchal
“Far-left kills.” That’s how extreme-right protesters have described the death of Quentin Deranque. A formula also used by various political figures in France and Europe to blame far-left and antifascist movements in a broader sense. Can this dramatic event weaken antifascist movements across Europe?
- Podcast
- Society
‘Medicines tourism’: when your pharmacy is in another country
by Wojciech Podgórski
The EU is attempting to equalise access to medicines with the biggest reform of the bloc’s medicine laws in 20 years. But Europeans are unlikely to feel the tangible effects of the Pharmaceutical Package, such as shorter waiting times for medicines, until around 2028 at the earliest.
- Health
Far-right prejudice now ‘normalised’ across Europe, warns EU anti-racism chief
by Elena Sánchez Nicolás
Michaela Moua, the European Commission’s anti-racism coordinator, is anxious. “Independent of what’s happening in the US, we’re seeing the normalisation of hatred and racism, and that is extremely worrying, as it can lead to violence and even death. We have already seen that,” she told EUobserver in an interview.
Judges invite EU to fine Orbán for shutting down critical Budapest radio station
by Andrew Rettman
“Hungary has infringed the freedom of expression and information,” EU judges said, inviting the EU Commission to seek fines against the government of prime minister Viktor Orbán.
- Hungary
- Rule of Law
Brussels says EU cash can pay for abortions, but still up to national capitals
by Benjamin Fox
Member states can use EU funds to finance safe and legal abortions, on a voluntary basis, the European Commission confirmed on Thursday.
- EU Politics
Deaths at Europe’s borders and seas ‘normalised’ and pushed out of sight, suggest reports
by Nikolaj Nielsen
The International Organization for Migration warns that growing restrictions on access to information about search-and-rescue operations along Europe’s sea routes are making it increasingly difficult to verify a rising number of deaths.
45 days to election: Poll shows a significant Tisza lead, Orbán puts soldiers on the streets
by Veronika Munk
In our regular digest of the week’s news from the Hungarian campaign trail: conflicting opinion polls, soldiers on the streets (due to the Ukrainian ‘threat’), and a simple ‘how-to’ guide to the voting process.
EU not ‘lagging’ US in AI-productivity gains, Lagarde tells MEPs
by Wester van Gaal
‘We are not yet seeing the waves of redundancies that are feared’, European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde said, but stressed Europe was benefitting for AI-productivity gains on a par with the US and China.
Could psychedelic drug treatments help Ukraine veterans return to civilian life?
by Kseniya Shapoval and Oleh Orlov
Since World War II, no other country has had as large a proportion of its population serve on the frontlines as Ukraine. Could psychedelic-assisted therapy help in their return to civilian life?