06/01/25View in Browser
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Good morning from Brussels.

Howdy?? 

C’est quoi, ça? 

Bonjour, dzien dobry, Guten Morgen and welcome to both a New Year and chapter for Euractiv. 

I’m Matt Karnitschnig, the new editor here. 

In the coming months, you will find many changes not just in the look and feel of our newsletters and homepage, but in our approach to the news. 

Our goal is a simple one: To become the premier source of quality information and analysis on EU affairs for professionals across an array of sectors, as well as a forum for debate on the burning political questions of our day.

In short, we will offer you an independent European perspective. 

That point of view is more urgent than ever. 

We live in unstable times. A war continues to rage on EU’s eastern frontier; a convicted felon with a penchant for baiting Europe is about to move back into the White House; populism, both on the far-right and left, is resurgent across the Continent; the region’s economy, the wellspring of its prosperity, is going from bad to worse. The list goes on. 

To navigate these shoals, you need sound, reliable information and sober analysis. Our intention is to provide you with both. 

Mediahuis, Euractiv’s new parent company and publisher of many of Europe’s finest dailies from NRC in the Netherlands to Belgium’s De Standaard and the Irish Independent, strives to ensure its titles remain beacons of quality journalism in a sea of disinformation.

For us at Euractiv that means focusing not just on covering politics and policy in the EU and member states, but on holding those in power to account, whoever they may be and wherever the story leads. 

As journalists, we rely on those in and near the centres of power to provide us with information. Often, our best sources are you, the readers, which is why we would welcome both your input on coverage and critical feedback on how we are doing. 

I look forward to hearing from you and wish you all the best for what is already shaping up to be a tumultuous 2025. 

Sincerely yours, 

 

Matt Karnitschnig

Editor-in-Chief

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Western Europe
Click on the picture to read the story |  [Christian Bruna/Getty Images]

VIENNA

Austria descended into political disarray over the weekend following Chancellor Karl Nehammer's surprise resignation, a step likely to lead to the far-right Freedom Party taking control of the government for the first time. Read more.

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PARIS 

France’s Sarkozy back in court over Libyan financing scandal. Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is back in court on Monday charged with financing his 2007 presidential campaign with funds from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Read more.

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BERLIN | PARIS

Germany and France return to Syria to push for 'peaceful transition'. The foreign ministers of Germany and France made a surprise visit to Syria on Friday, meeting with the country's new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, to stress the need to stabilise security in the country and protect its minorities. Read more.

Southern Europe
Click on the picture to read the story |  [EPA-EFE/SIMELA PANTZRTZI]

ATHENS

Former socialist Prime Minister Costas Simitis considered a reformist in Greek politics and a driving force behind significant political moments that defined the country's future, died on Sunday at the age of 88. Read more.

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MADRID

Sánchez's PSOE starts 2025 with eyes on 2027 regional elections. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's Socialist Party (PSOE) has started 2025 with a reshuffle of local leadership ahead of the 2027 regional elections, as it hopes to regain the power it lost to the right and far-right in the last elections. Read more.

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ROME

Italian Prime Minister Meloni meets with Trump at his Florida resort. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni flew to Florida to meet with President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday, as the key European leader sought to buttress ties with Trump before his inauguration on 20 January. Read more.

Eastern Europe
Click on the picture to read the story |  [Patrick Pleul/dpa-Zentralbild/ZB]

CHISINAU

Since 1 January 2025, the Republic of Moldova, including the pro-Russian breakaway region of Transnistria, has struggled to respond to the end of gas deliveries by Russian gas utility Gazprom, plunging the country into a new energy crisis. Read more.

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WARSAW

Tusk positive about Polish presidency, despite presidential snub. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Europe is "lucky" to have Poland at the helm of the EU Presidency, pledging "courage and reason" during its term, but the spectre of relations with the opposition president could haunt its term. Read more.

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PRAGUE

Czech National Bank chief downplays euro optimisim. Adopting the euro will not bring any benefits to Czechia, Czech National Bank Governor Aleš Michl said in reaction to the president's previous positive words about the currency. Read more.

The Balkans

BUCHAREST

More turmoil in Romania as presidential candidate suspends candidacy. Crin Antonescu has suspended the agreement that named him the ruling coalition's candidate for the Romanian presidency, citing the lack of unanimous support among coalition members and an election date. Read more.

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SOFIA

Negotiations to form a government in Bulgaria failed. Bulgaria's leading centre-right GERB party announced that it was ending negotiations to form a government with the mandate of the first political force due to disagreement over the nomination for prime minister. Read more.

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Alice Taylor-Braçe]

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