Italy’s citizenship referendum fails after voters heed Meloni call for boycott

This article reports on Poland's political landscape ahead of a crucial no-confidence vote for Prime Minister Donald Tusk, following the election of nationalist Karol Nawrocki as president. Despite losing the presidential election, Tusk's government remains optimistic about maintaining support, with Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski stating there is "absolutely no chance" of the government falling. Meanwhile, French far-right leader Marine Le Pen held a rally with EU allies, criticizing the EU and highlighting the growing yet...

The EU is enhancing its role in cyber security following a funding crisis in a key US organization that highlighted Europe's dependence on American cyber infrastructure. Juhan Lepassaar, executive director of Enisa, emphasized the need for Europe to actively report and address cyber threats, as the EU established a European vulnerability database to propose patches and guidelines for local businesses. With increasing state-sponsored cyber attacks, particularly from China, the EU aims to bolster its cyber...

The world's largest sovereign wealth fund, Norway's $1.9 trillion oil fund, is urging urgent reforms in Europe's capital markets to enhance competitiveness against the US and Asia, noting a decline in its European equity share from 26% to 15% over the past decade. The fund's market strategy chief, Malin Norberg, emphasized the need for harmonized tax and insolvency laws as barriers to investment opportunities persist, with a significant drop in listed companies in Europe contributing...

The EU is facing pressure to simplify a controversial supply chain law aimed at addressing environmental and human rights abuses, as Swedish MEP Jörgen Warborn argues for reducing the number of companies subject to compliance. While the European Commission has proposed raising the employee threshold for compliance from 500 to 1,000, Warborn suggests increasing it to 3,000 and eliminating mandatory climate transition plans. Amidst divisions among member states, including calls from France and Germany to...

Italians are voting in a referendum to shorten the residency requirement for citizenship from ten to five years for non-EU foreigners, a proposal opposed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's rightwing government. If approved, this change could enable about half of Italy's 5.4 million foreign residents to apply for citizenship, aligning Italy's immigration rules with those of Germany and France. However, low voter turnout is expected, as Meloni's government encourages abstention, potentially preventing the referendum from...

France's high national debt poses a significant risk to its defense ambitions, as President Emmanuel Macron aims to increase military spending to 3-3.5% of GDP by 2030, doubling the budget to €100bn. However, lawmakers question the feasibility of this plan given the government's struggle to address its fiscal deficits, which are among the highest in Europe, alongside a debt-to-GDP ratio of 113%. Experts suggest a radical approach, including spending cuts and economic reforms, is essential,...