Robert Fico Criticizes EU Council Agenda for Overemphasizing Ukraine

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico sharply rebuked Brussels ahead of next week’s European Council summit, accusing EU leaders of using Ukraine to ‘cover up their inability’ to solve the bloc’s real problems—namely soaring energy costs and a crisis in the automotive industry.

Unchain Europe–China Relations

‘The belligerent tone of European leaders reinforces, on the Chinese side, the image of an ideologically aggressive West, expansive and domineering by its very cultural core.’

EP Liberals Demand Crackdown on Commissioner Várhelyi over Spy Allegations

Renew Europe chief Valérie Hayer has demanded that Ursula von der Leyen ‘use her power to act’ over reports of an alleged Hungarian spy network in Brussels tied to Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi. Hungarian officials strongly denied the story, calling it a foreign-funded smear campaign designed to damage Budapest ahead of next year’s election.

Brussels Probes Reports on Alleged Hungarian Spy Network in EU — Why Now?

Brussels is set to investigate claims that Hungarian intelligence officers spied on EU institutions and sought to recruit an official while stationed at Hungary’s permanent representation between 2015 and 2017. The move comes eight years after the alleged network was dismantled—and just 6 months before Hungary’s general election.