Transparency
Double murder in Tehran exposes growing anger over Iran’s brutal judiciary
Iran’s politicized court system has a central role in public discontent with the Islamic Republic’s clerical elite.
EU anti-corruption directive stands on a knife’s edge
EU Parliament threatens wider ban on lobbyists as Amazon spat deepens
British state leaked contact details of thousands of Afghans
EU clears path for national social media bans
Labour MPs challenge UK fiscal watchdog after welfare debacle
EU throws down gauntlet to Big Tech over artificial intelligence risks
Von der Leyen wins vote of no-confidence but warned this is her ‘absolute last chance’
European Commission president defeats far-right plan to bring her down.
Poland presses EU to open probe into Grok’s ‘erratic’ behavior
Deputy prime minister says ‘negative effects’ of Elon Musk’s AI chatbot may have been ‘by design.’
EU court backs Qatargate suspect Eva Kaili in transparency case
Former Parliament vice president gets win at Luxembourg court.
Von der Leyen — finally — defends herself over ‘Pfizergate’
“The implication that these contracts were somehow inappropriate against the European interests is, by any measure, simply wrong,” von der Leyen says.
Labour struggles to drain the swamp
U.K. prime minister had a bold plan for cleaning up British politics. A year in, campaigners say it amounts to little more than “tinkering.”
How the Omnibus proposal misses the mark for investors
Sustainability isn’t just about values — it’s about long-term value creation and competitiveness.
Inside the Franco-German plot to kill Europe’s ethical supply chain law
The due diligence law was meant to bring EU-style protections to global supply chains. Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz helped all but kill it.
Pope Leo looks to MAGA megadonors to shore up Church finances
Wealthy American conservatives hint they’re ready to cough up again to rescue the scandal-ridden Church from going broke.
Von der Leyen will survive a no-confidence vote, but it won’t be painless
The political mainstream will prevent the Commission from falling, but even a doomed no-confidence vote would refocus attention on Pfizergate.
Slovakia cites European Parliament move in calling Kremlin-style bill ‘legitimate’
“This is not an attack on civil society … but a move to strengthen public trust through greater oversight and accountability,” Slovak official says.
EU Parliament creates official body to probe NGO funding
It’s the latest of a series of moves by right-wing forces to increase scrutiny of nonprofits.
Open drug pricing activist MSF signs secrecy pacts with Big Pharma
Doctors Without Borders says it is forced to sign NDAs by some companies.
Macron wants to ban kids from social media. Can he?
France faces a tricky legal and technological challenge to make a social media prohibition for under-15s happen.
How AI and copyright turned into a political nightmare for Labour
How an initially uncontroversial data bill became a political football — and radicalized Elton John.
UK tech secretary dined by Sam Altman… on the cheap
£30 meal from OpenAI boss comes amid intense lobbying on copyright law.
Brits back BNPL regulation for flexible payment options
Sector regulation welcomed by consumers as new study finds Brits are prioritizing interest-free financial products and those that help them budget more easily.
How the EU always gets away with it
From fraud to nepotism to revolving doors between the public sector and industry, the stench of impunity is pervasive.
The UK government thinks AI can do two-thirds of the most junior civil servants’ work
Meanwhile, the most senior civil servants perform zero routine (i.e. automatable) work.
Belgium bugged Anderlecht football stadium to spy on Huawei MEP lobbying
Dramatic revelations shed fresh light on investigation into whether Chinese tech firm tried to buy influence in EU politics.
Qatari PM denies Trump plane gift is bribery
The offering will be “basically done with full transparency and very legally,” top Doha official says.
The crown slips: How queen Ursula failed her transparency test
Presented by Instagram.
Politics by WhatsApp? Even ‘Pfizergate’ won’t end that.
“How else could it be done?” asks EU official — via WhatsApp — as text messages start to come under the microscope.
EU announces top lawyer’s departure on same day as ‘Pfizergate’ ruling
Daniel Calleja Crespo will take on a new role in Madrid after four decades in Brussels.
Pfizergate: Will we ever see von der Leyen’s texts? ― and other burning questions
The EU court ruling doesn’t just say the Commission got it wrong — it says it knew better.