🚨 EXCLUSIVE INVESTIGATION | How far did alleged efforts to shield former EU commissioner Didier Reynders from scrutiny go? Before serving as the EU's justice commissioner, Didier Reynders was Belgium's foreign and defence minister. He was also cleared to access top-secret Belgian, EU and NATO information. Now, leaked WhatsApp messages obtained by EUobserver raise questions about alleged efforts within Belgium's intelligence service to prevent scrutiny of his possible Russia ties. Five current and former Belgian intelligence officers told us that senior official Hugues Brulin had sought to stop an investigation into Reynders. The allegations of Russian collusion remain unproven. But the questions about intelligence oversight and accountability are significant. In our investigation, Andrew Rettman examines the messages, the people involved and what the case could mean for European security. 🔎 Read the full investigation 👉 euobserver.com/243287/exclus…

Ukraine needs €155 billion to sustain its war effort in 2027. But €70 billion is still missing. 🇺🇦 The EU has already agreed on a €90bn loan covering 2026 and 2027. Yet the remaining funding expected from international partners has only been secured for this year. Now Brussels is turning to the UK, Canada, Japan and other allies to help close the gap. And there's a growing political question behind these numbers: how much longer can Europe shoulder most of the financial responsibility for Ukraine's defence? EU countries already provide 80% of Ukraine's external aid, according to European Council president António Costa, who is calling on international partners to do more. With Russia's war continuing, the debate is no longer just about promises of solidarity, but about who will actually pay to sustain them. 🔗 Read our latest report at euobserver.com 👉 euobserver.com/244118/eu-loo…

[Interview] Ousting Netanyahu won’t curb right-wing Israeli nationalism, says expert ahead of Tuesday’s Knesset elections euobserver.com/243681/interv…

Moscow elites pleased with US envoy Witkoff and far from agreeing to peace (Ukraine Battlefield update, Day 1,702) euobserver.com/244704/moscow…

Serbia's students have spent nearly two years demanding accountability. This Sunday, they're taking their fight to the ballot box. 🇷🇸 It began with the collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad that killed 16 people. What followed became a nationwide protest movement challenging Aleksandar Vučić's 14-year political dominance. Now, the student-led movement is contesting Serbia's parliamentary elections on 25 October, with 15,000 election monitors preparing to document potential irregularities. But there's a bigger question: can an election bring political change when the institutions themselves are accused of being controlled by those in power? Our latest report explores the students' grassroots movement, allegations of voter intimidation and the struggle to translate public frustration into democratic change. And for many Serbs, this election is about something deeply personal: whether politics can finally offer them a different future. 🔗 Read the full story at euobserver.com 👉 euobserver.com/244185/serbia…

New EU-wide asylum law ends up in court in Italy euobserver.com/244651/new-eu…

Jewish groups clash over whether EU antisemitism envoy should influence Israel policy, as controversial von Schnurbein goes back to Berlin euobserver.com/244650/jewish…

Big fish hooked in Hungary, as Orbán’s ex-bank chief placed in custody (Day 163 of the Tisza government) euobserver.com/244500/big-fi…

🚨 EXCLUSIVE | What were a former EU justice commissioner and a senior Belgian intelligence official discussing behind closed doors? Leaked WhatsApp messages obtained by EUobserver raise serious questions about alleged attempts to shut down scrutiny of Didier Reynders' possible ties to Russia. In 2022, senior Belgian intelligence official Hugues Brulin told Reynders that a certain “job” was nearly complete. Reynders congratulated him. According to five current and former Belgian intelligence officers who spoke to us, that “job” was allegedly to prevent Belgium's intelligence service from investigating Reynders' potential Russia connections. The messages are now part of a Belgian police investigation into Reynders on money-laundering charges. The allegations of Russian collusion remain unproven. But the questions go far beyond one former commissioner: what happens when the institutions responsible for protecting European security are themselves suspected of obstructing scrutiny? 🔎 In our latest investigation, Andrew Rettman examines the leaked exchanges and the allegations surrounding them 👉 euobserver.com/243287/exclus…

Putting the clocks back this Sunday – yet millions of Europeans don’t want to euobserver.com/243533/puttin…

Who gets to protest freely in Europe, and who faces police repression for speaking out? 🇪🇺 Italian Green MEP Benedetta Scuderi says she's witnessed a troubling double standard. After being detained by police near a far-right demonstration in Brussels, she questions why anti-Muslim rhetoric can go unchallenged inside the European Parliament, while pro-Palestinian activists face arrests and police intervention. In our latest interview, Scuderi warns that restrictions on protest are becoming normalised across Europe, particularly when it comes to Palestinian solidarity and environmental activism. We also discuss the rise of the far right, Europe's housing crisis and the frustration driving young people onto the streets. 🔗 Read our full interview with Green MEP Benedetta Scuderi by Gaia Neumann 👉 euobserver.com/244013/interv…

[Interview] ‘If stress in France ends up contaminating the rest of the eurozone, the ECB will have to do something,’ says French economist euobserver.com/244072/interv…

[EXCLUSIVE] Leaked WhatsApps between ex-EU commissioner Reynders and senior Belgian spy reveal attempts to bury allegations of his possible Russia ties euobserver.com/243287/exclus…

The EU media connects Europe’s connectors – allow us to help euobserver.com/244439/media-…

Ten years after Brexit, could Britain actually return to the EU? 🇬🇧 Some MEPs think the door should remain open. In Strasbourg, lawmakers including Terry Reintke and Sandro Gozi have called for a rethink of Britain's relationship with the bloc, with rejoining among the possibilities. And the conversation is changing in London, too. Prime minister Andy Burnham has acknowledged Brexit's economic costs and hasn't ruled out a future return. But this is about more than correcting a political decision made a decade ago. With war in Ukraine, economic uncertainty and growing security challenges, closer EU–UK cooperation is becoming increasingly important. Rejoining is still a distant prospect. But is the political mood finally shifting? 🔗 Read our latest report at euobserver.com 👉 euobserver.com/243824/meps-o…

EU’s Arctic oil-and-gas pledge leaves a Norway-sized loophole euobserver.com/244472/eus-ar…

MEPs defy frugal capitals by seeking €7bn more for the EU’s popular Erasmus+ student scheme euobserver.com/244456/meps-d…

Russia's suspected drone attacks are threatening Ukraine's grain exports. The EU wants to protect them, but sending warships may be a step too far. 🚢 After six attacks on ships in just 10 days, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has backed a naval mission in the Black Sea. The stakes go far beyond Ukraine. Kyiv is losing an estimated €60 million a day in exports, while disruptions to grain shipments threaten food supplies in countries that depend on them. In our article, we look at the military challenges, political calculations and wider consequences of the Black Sea crisis. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments :) 🔗 Read more at euobserver.com 👉 euobserver.com/243857/eu-unl…

Drones buzz overhead and enemy wi-fi everywhere: Ukrainian veterans describe how they survived in Russia’s ‘kill zone’ (Ukraine Battlefield update, Day 1,701) euobserver.com/244400/drones…

A bigger EU border force Frontex is set to be unveiled with emphasis on deportations euobserver.com/244422/a-bigg…