POLITICO Europe

1 day ago | politico.eu | John Johnston

POLITICO’s weekly newsletter on campaigning, lobbying and political influence in the U.K. By JOHN JOHNSTON SNEAK PEEK— The big elections loophole that’s potentially hiding millions of pounds from proper scrutiny. — A plugged-in Westminster think tank gets a new policy supremo.

1 day ago | politico.eu | Veronika Melkozerova

KYIV — Russia is catching up to Ukraine in drone production thanks to greater financial resources, production lines far from the front lines and especially help from China, a senior Ukrainian official told POLITICO. “Chinese manufacturers provide them with hardware, electronics, navigation, optical and telemetry systems, engines, microcircuits, processor modules, antenna field systems, control boards, navigation.

1 day ago | politico.eu | Nicholas Earl

LONDON — Philip Hunt, the unassuming Labour peer put in charge of rejuvenating U.K. nuclear energy, has a favorite joke about how slowly the industry moves. Hunt — who was first an energy minister from 2008-2010 and retired from his second stint in government just last week — liked to roll out the gag at Westminster receptions, according to one industry figure who saw him in action.

2 days ago | politico.eu | Laura Kayali |Jacopo Barigazzi

NATO leaders are widely expected to give U.S. President Donald Trump a win in a few weeks as they fall in line over his demand that allies sharply increase defense spending. The main questions now are how to reach the new target and how long it will take. Alliance defense ministers are in Brussels Thursday to discuss a proposal to increase NATO's spending goal from the current 2 percent of GDP to 5 percent.

2 days ago | politico.eu | Giovanna Faggionato

BRUSSELS — The EU's executive told member countries they can repurpose hundreds of billions of euros in Covid-19 relief money to fund defense projects, reflecting a radical shift in priorities since the days of the pandemic. On Wednesday, the European Commission confirmed countries have until August 2026 to meet agreed targets in order to receive up to €335 billion of Resilience and Recovery Facility (RRF) funding — but said defense-related projects would now be eligible for funding.