The EU is based on four fundamental freedoms but it is time for a fifth: the free movement of energy. Integrated clean energy markets positively influence climate protection and future economic success, argues Monika Köppl-Turyna.

At the next meeting of EU energy ministers on Monday (4 March), both the French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire and Minister Delegate for Industry Roland Lescure will represent France, raising questions about the division of duties between the two men.

Kazakhstan reacted on Thursday (29 February) after accusations from Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who said that NGOs in Central Asia were allegedly engaged in “anti-Russian activities.”

In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about the Slovak court halting criminal code reforms amid EU fund suspension threat, Poland considering an import ban for Russian and Belarusian grain, and so much more.

Thursday afternoon (29 February) in Paris, the head of the Rassemblement National's list for the European elections, Jordan Bardella, met the press to announce the main thrusts of the campaign and his "Tricolore strategy". The aim is to "rewrite the treaties".

Berlin’s attempt to have other EU countries foot part of the bill for its frenzied gas purchases in 2022 has seen it starkly condemned by its neighbours, with the matter possibly to be resolved on Monday (4 March) when energy ministers meet.

Nicaragua's government committed human rights violations that amount to "crimes against humanity," a United Nations-appointed team of human rights experts said in a report on Thursday (29 February).

Several parts of the criminal code reform were suspended by the Constitutional Court on Wednesday after the EU Commission criticised it and warned that Bratislava could face a fine or the complete suspension of European funds if it goes ahead.

The rift between Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and President Zoran Milanović continued to widen after French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that a future deployment of Western troops in Ukraine should not be ultimately “ruled out”.

Centre-right and national-conservative groups in the European Parliament have voiced strong opposition to a renewed joint-debt programme at the EU level, after calls for a Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) ‘2.0’ mushroomed over the last few weeks to close a gap for public investments.

The European socialists kick off their EU election campaign in Rome on Saturday (2 March) in a less than jubilant mood: The party is losing its grip on power across Europe, with Germany and Spain the last important strongholds.

Tensions were high after a meeting between Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and his Hungarian counterpart, Péter Szijjártó after the latter accused Italy of ‘interfering’ with Hungarian justice in the case of Italian prisoner Ilaria Salis.

The funeral of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is scheduled to be held in Moscow on Friday (1 March), with mourners braving the risk of arrest to come and pay their respects.

Spain’s Supreme Court is investigating former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, who has been on the run since Catalonia’s 2017 secession attempt, in relation to terrorism, a move that puts extra pressure on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who relies on the separatist’s support to stay in power.

After Portugal’s snap elections on 10 March, the nation may be at a crossroads in forming a government, given the exponential growth of the far right, from which all other parties promise to keep their distance.

Poland will study Latvia’s decision to ban agricultural imports from Russia and Belarus and will look at imposing embargoes for grain to prevent it from destabilising the Polish market, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced at a press conference with his Latvian counterpart, Evika Siliņa.

European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell denounced late Thursday (29 February) the killing of dozens of Palestinians during an aid delivery in the northern Gaza Strip, calling the deaths "totally unacceptable".

Despite several challenges member states such as Poland face in implementing projects on time under the EU Recovery Fund, the European Commission insists on the agreed 2026 deadline, stressing the fund’s “temporary” nature.

Together with Katja Muñoz, research fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations’ Center for Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, and Technology, we talk about the impact of social media and technology on the 2024 European Parliament elections.

Leo Tolstoy’s famous maxim about families could easily be adapted to express an important truth about contemporary geopolitics: the economies of the EU and Russia are both unhappy, but each in its own way.