Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign intelligence chief has said French President Emmanuel Macron's refusal to rule out sending European troops to fight Russian soldiers in Ukraine was extremely dangerous and irresponsible.

In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about Swedish far-right leader saying his party must be in government if the PM expects to serve a second term, Hungary opposing Dutch PM Rutte’s NATO candidacy, and so much more.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday (6 March) that maritime security, trade and clean energy will shape the country's future with the ASEAN bloc as Beijing looks to increase its presence in the contested South China Sea.

No member from the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) or far right Identity and Democracy will sit around the negotiating table to form a pro-EU majority in the next European Parliament, Giacomo Filibeck, secretary general of the Party of European Socialists (PES) told Euractiv in an interview.

US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday (5 March) that it was in the hands of Hamas whether to accept a deal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages, as delegations held a third day of talks with no sign of a breakthrough.

Serbia wants to develop good relations with Russia, Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said after meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, at an international conference in Antalya, Turkey.

As Croatia enters campaign mode ahead of EU elections in June and parliamentary elections due at the end of April or in May, following the dissolution of parliament expected no later than 22 March, sources close to the ruling HDZ party say that holding national elections before the EU elections is a strategic move, while analysts warn it could cause confusion among voters.

Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja foresees a rise in gas consumption in Romania, despite the political agreement reached at the EU Council on Monday on a recommendation to continue coordinated demand reduction.

Globsec, a Bratislava-based think tank, has announced that its international forum will be held in the Czech Republic instead of Slovakia for the first time since 2005 following repeated criticism from Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government.

Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov submitted his resignation on Tuesday, marking the beginning of an unprecedented political process of rotating prime ministers.

Moldova's spy chief said on Tuesday (5 March) that Russia was planning fresh attempts to meddle in the country's internal affairs by provoking protests, interfering in upcoming presidential elections, and disrupting plans to join the European Union.

The speaker of parliament decided to postpone the debate on liberalising abortion laws until after local elections in April, as the issue divides the broad ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, which includes both conservative and left-wing parties.

Spanish parliament speaker Francina Armengol, a member of the ruling Socialist Party (PSOE/S&D), on Tuesday rejected calls from the right-wing opposition for her resignation.

Italy has officially given its go-ahead for the European mission EUNAVFOR Aspides in the Red Sea to counter attacks by Shiite Houthi rebels in what Alessandro Politi, director of NATO’s Defence College Foundation, says is a crucial step for Europe and other countries.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s “boots on the ground” comments last week are part of a strategy to push EU countries out of their comfort zone and start acting decisively for Ukraine, the French leader told reporters in Prague on Tuesday.

A balance of power shift after the European Parliament elections will give the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) the upper hand, allowing them to bend the left while also reaching out to the right in a delicate balancing act that has the potential to backfire.

Russia and China are considering putting a nuclear power plant on the moon from 2033-35, Yuri Borisov, the head of Russia's space agency Roscosmos said on Tuesday (5 March), something he said could one day allow lunar settlements to be built.

With Finland, and most recently Sweden, joining NATO, the strategic situation in the Baltic Sea region and on the Western military alliance's Northern Flank is changing radically, but Russia still poses a threat above and below water.

The new cooperation agreement between the EU's border agency Frontex and the UK was set up at the request of the British government, an official source from Frontex confirmed to Euractiv. 

The president of the European Economic and Social Committee has urged the EU's lending arm to create a special fund to address Europe’s growing housing crisis, as a more effective vehicle of long-term capital for social housing and the real estate sector's energy transition.