The Czech mining town saying ‘no thanks’ to Europe’s critical raw materials push As Brussels races to secure raw materials and cut its reliance on China, it's facing resistance from a Czech region that's thought to hold signific...

As Europe races to secure the raw materials needed for its green transition and defence build-up, the small Czech town of Cinovec has become a symbol of the tension between Brussels’ industrial ambition and the environment.

www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article...

EU Mediterranean Commissioner: 'We want to be players and not only payers' With Brussels set to host the inaugural Palestine Donor Group on Thursday, Dubravka Šuica is calling for the bloc to play a more strategic role in ...

The European Union should play a bigger part in a US-brokered peace process in Israel-Palestine, a senior European Commission official said just ahead of a key donor conference the bloc is hosting Thursday focused on reforming the Palestinian Authority.

www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article...

EU backs Italy in Trump’s pasta tariff war US threatens to apply tariffs of up to 107% on Barilla and other makes of Italian staple over alleged dumping

Let them eat Chef Boyardee

on.ft.com/46BiEXE

Inside Antwerp's battle to save the natural diamond trade Squeezed by a boom in lab diamonds, sanctions, and fresh tariffs, the Belgian city is fighting back to persuade people the shiny natural rocks are ...

In 1947, De Beers convinced the world that a diamond meant forever, and that an engagement ring should cost two months’ salary.

Today, the industry is betting it can pull off the same trick to persuade buyers that lab-grown diamonds are worthless merch
www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article...

Blackmail or realpolitik? Why the EU blinked on Big Tech Brussels has delayed a Google fine after fresh US threats over EU tech rules. While the move has been widely denounced as capitulation, some analys...

Some comments for this article by @fededisa.bsky.social

"What the Commission is doing is very tactical. They are trying to control damage, but they have clearly not given up on the medium- to long-term objective of acting autonomously and in line with the laws they have enacted”

shorturl.at/gzwz0

How alpha men and tradwives are winning over young Europeans The spread of right-leaning subcultures fetishising a return to traditional gender roles is reshaping European politics.

Tradwives & “alpha males” are winning over young Europeans — and shifting politics right.

Once a US trend, EU influencers are now promoting a return to strict gender roles by tapping into millennials and Gen Z’s economic anxiety and disillusionment.

My latest for The Parli Mag

sl1nk.com/lJLKI

Is the EU ready to face its mounting plastic waste problem? The European Commission is participating in UN-led negotiations in Geneva this week to hash out the terms of a Global Plastics Treaty.

For The Parliament, I reported from a plastic recycling factory in Malaysia to examine the EU’s attempts to crack down on the harmful — and morally dubious — practice of exporting plastic waste beyond its borders.

www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article...

Further Modifying the Reciprocal Tariff Rates By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency

Here it is.

The White House has published the executive order adjusting the so-called "reciprocal" tariffs and codifying the recent trade deals, including the one with the European Union.

Steel industry waits in purgatory as dust settles on EU-US trade deal A preliminary agreement between the EU and the US left European steel producers the promise of a quota system to be negotiated — and 50% tariffs un...

As EU officials tried to justify the new US tariff deal to a sceptical Brussels, they pointed to the “immediate relief” from even harsher measures. But for steel and aluminium, even that’s not guaranteed.

www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article...

Europe’s ‘good as it gets’ trade deal redefines ties with Washington A profoundly asymmetric trade deal with the US leaves the EU weakened, but Brussels says it could have been a lot worse.

A lopsided trade deal with the US leaves the EU in a weakened position — but Brussels insists it has narrowly avoided a far more damaging full-scale trade war

My latest for The Parliament mag

www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article...

"It's clear that the world that was there before the 2nd of April is gone," Maroš Šefčovič, the EU's commissioner for trade and economic security, told a press conference on Monday, referring to Trump's Liberation Day. "I'm 100% sure that this deal is better than a trade war with the US."

Really don't envy EU folks having to cut that deal and get the hell out of dodge with their hides intact.

But selling it as the "biggest trade deal ever" and praising Trump to high heaven looks brutal. Similar to the obsequiousness at Nato last month, not a good look to the rest of the world

Trump and von der Leyen announce US-EU trade deal Agreement includes 15% baseline tariff for most EU exports to US after deal reached at Scotland crunch talks

More details - Trump and EU sign trade deal after 4 months of talks.
- 15% baseline tariffs.
- 50% tariffs on steel to continue
- pharma and semi-conductors not in deal
- EU to purchase $750bn of energy from US
- EU promises $600bn investment

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

EU’s Von der Leyen to Meet Trump in Bid to Clinch Trade Deal European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she will travel to Scotland this weekend to meet with US President Donald Trump, as the two sides aim to conclude a trade deal ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline when 30% tariffs on the bloc’s exports are otherwise due to kick in.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she will travel to Scotland this weekend to meet with President Trump, as the two sides aim to conclude a trade deal ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline

China snubs Europe, dashing hopes of summit breakthrough Hopes that this week’s EU-China summit would herald closer relations are now a distant memory, with Beijing showing no intention of fixing spiralli...

For a brief moment, it looked like the turmoil sparked by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs might defrost relations between the EU and China, with this week’s summit widely hoped to be the culmination of that thaw.

Except, none of it happened.

www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article...

Folk art and Soviet-style purges: How Europe’s populists are hijacking arts and culture Across the EU, far-right and populist governments are defunding museums, censoring artists and stacking cultural institutions with loyalists, often...

"Beyond stacking institutions with loyalists and demanding ideological purity, there’s another — arguably more effective — way for governments to dominate cultural centres: cut off their funding." By @fededisa.bsky.social

www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article...

Inside Europe’s billion-dollar anti-gender movement A new report reveals how groups critical of so-called gender ideology across the EU raised $1.18 billion to target abortion, sex education and LGBT...

A powerful alliance of aristocrats, ultra-conservative tech moguls, and ideologically aligned businesses funnelled $1.18 billion into efforts to roll back women’s and LGBTQ+ rights across Europe.

My latest for The Parliament Mag

shorturl.at/g9fSx

Keep calm and carry on: The EU’s Trump trade doctrine Brussels' measured response to the US president's trade tirades points to a disconnect with European industries that are grappling with already cri...

‘Keep calm and carry on.’

That’s how the EU’s trade stance vis-a-vis the US could be summarised in a nutshell — even as it contends with a 50% tariff on steel and aluminium that could wipe out the bloc’s metals industry.

Read my latest: bit.ly/4jScdCU

Cutting red tape or cutting corners? The EU 'simplification’ dilemma Brussels’ ‘unprecedented’ effort to make the EU more business-friendly hopes to do away with onerous regulation. It could also harm the foundation ...

In my first story for the
Parliament Magazine,I delved into whether the widely-held belief that loosening regulations will stimulate economic growth still holds true when the very foundations of the EU model may be at risk of being undermined.

Delays and broken promises: Can Europe’s steel production go clean? A flurry of green steel projects led by some of the leading steelmakers has hit a major roadblock in recent months, underscoring just how difficult it is to clean up an industry already teetering on t...

ANALYSIS: A flurry of green steel projects led by some of the leading steelmakers has hit a major roadblock in recent months, underscoring how difficult it is to clean up an industry already teetering on the edge of decline. @fededisa.bsky.social investigates ⬇️

And the last of my pieces to be published over the holiday break! Here I check out with @fededisa.bsky.social why the bougie gyms of Brussels are becoming the new power lobbying spot. 🤸‍♂️🏋️🤸‍♂️

Putin rakes in extra €1B for his war chest via Bulgaria sanctions loophole Last year, the EU gave Sofia a sanctions exemption to protect its citizens from energy shortages. Since then, Russia has profited.

A refinery in Bulgaria is the latest hole to be found in the "Swiss cheese" of the EU's Russia sanctions. Read @victorjack.bsky.social's story here www.politico.eu/article/how-...