1+ hour, 33+ min ago (345+ words) Orb'n's ruling Fidesz party has long cultivated ties with Poland's opposition, which backs the president Poland's nationalist President Karol Nawrocki has scrapped a planned meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb'n after the latter visited Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Nawrocki had been scheduled to meet with Orb'n on 4 December, following a summit with Hungary, Slovakia, and Czechia on 3 December. "In connection with the visit to Moscow carried out by Prime Minister Viktor Orb'n and its context, President K. Nawrocki decided to limit the program of his visit to Hungary exclusively to the summit of the presidents of the Visegr'd Group in Ostrzyhom," wrote Nawrocki's advisor, Marcin Przydacz, on social media on Sunday. Orb'n's ruling Fidesz party has long cultivated ties with Poland's opposition, which backs the less powerful president against the pro-EU, technocratic Prime Minister Donald Tusk. However, his…...

6+ hour, 2+ min ago (652+ words) Early projections after polls indicated that voters had overwhelmingly rejected the two initiatives Swiss voters looked set Sunday to reject a proposal to replace the current men-only military conscription with a compulsory civic duty for all, and another to tax the super-rich to fund the climate fight. Early projections after polls closed at noon (1100 GMT) indicated that voters had overwhelmingly rejected the two initiatives, which had generated significant discussion in the wealthy Alpine nation. The so-called Civic Duty initiative, which called for requiring every Swiss citizen, regardless of gender, to do national service in the army or in a civilian capacity, was projected by public broadcaster SSR to be snubbed by a whopping 84 percent of voters. The "no" vote on the second item on Sunday"s ballot, the "initiative for a future" calling for a new climate tax on big…...

8+ hour, 21+ min ago (369+ words) Peace talks began as Zelenskyy wrestles with the aftermath of the corruption allegations that touched his inner circle A Ukrainian delegation arrived in Florida on Sunday to begin talks with top members of the Trump administration, the first meeting with the Americans following the resignation of Andriy Yermak, a powerful aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US special envoy Steve Witkoff, and US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were all in attendance at Sunday's meeting. Rustem Umerov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council who is leading the visit, said the Ukrainian delegation has "clear directives and priorities," including "safeguarding Ukrainian interests, ensuring substantive dialogue, and advancing on the basis of the progress achieved in Geneva." The visit is expected to kickstart a week of diplomacy as the Trump administration pushes…...

12+ hour, 10+ min ago (375+ words) Prague cautions against hidden healthcare costs of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive At the EU health ministers" meeting on 2 December, Czechia will urge the European Commission to ensure that its forthcoming cost study on the Urban Wastewater Directive fully reflects the financial consequences for national healthcare systems " not just environmental and infrastructure costs. The Czech initiative follows a debate at the EPSCO Council in June, when Germany and nine other Member States raised concerns over the directive"s extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme. Greece also raised the issue at the informal EPSCO meeting in September. Under the new rules approved in 2024, pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies must help finance advanced wastewater treatment to remove micropollutants such as drug residues. The Commission committed to deliver a detailed cost analysis as part of its European Water Resilience Strategy. Prague now wants to make…...

12+ hour, 17+ min ago (485+ words) Council is expected to adopt a common position on the CMA this week Sweden is set to endorse a Danish compromise aimed at getting closer to a Critical Medicines Act deal, bringing the EU closer to an agreement on measures to tackle drug shortages. EU health ministers will convene in Brussels on Tuesday, 2 December for the EPSCO council, where a common position on the proposed legislation is edging nearer. The act seeks to bolster production and supply of essential medicines within the bloc following sweeping reforms to pharmaceutical rules. The draft law would encourage member states to designate "strategic projects" aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing of key drugs and active ingredients, reducing reliance on imports and mitigating shortages. Another contentious element is joint procurement. While the European Commission is expected to take a leading role in coordinating purchases, divisions remain…...

12+ hour, 24+ min ago (424+ words) Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods in exchange for political favours Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on trial facing corruption charges, announced Sunday he had submitted a pardon request, saying the long-running cases were tearing the country apart. US President Donald Trump wrote to Israeli President Isaac Herzog earlier this month, asking him to pardon Netanyahu, who has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the ongoing court cases. "The trial in my case has been ongoing for nearly six years, and is expected to continue for many more years," Netanyahu said in a video statement. He said he wanted to continue the process until acquittal, "but the security and political reality " the national interest " dictate otherwise." "The State of Israel is facing enormous challenges," he said. "The continuation of the trial is tearing…...

14+ hour, 16+ min ago (481+ words) National regulators, not Brussels, hold the keys to affordable, efficient electricity networks Expectations are high for the unveiling of the European Commission's long-awaited grids package in December. Many hope it will be the solution to overloaded lines, connection queues, and rising network costs. The political pressure is understandable: Consumers and businesses are struggling with high energy prices and grid constraints slowing the expansion of renewables and electrification. But while the package can " and likely will " help in important ways, it cannot solve Europe's grid problems. Not because of a lack of ambition in Brussels, but because most of the solutions sit where European legislation cannot directly reach: at the national level. Brussels can reinforce solutions that have been supported by European legislation before: faster permitting, calling on member states to introduce incentives and technologies to optimise existing grids, or improved…...

20+ hour, 15+ min ago (1057+ words) PARIS " The opening of the world's first Shein store in Paris three weeks ago has caused alarm among public authorities, the textile sector, and consumer associations, all of whom fear the advent of ultra-fast fashion in Europe. Shein's operations in Europe are highly controversial. But despite strong ethical and environmental objections, hundreds of customers lined up outside the Bazar de l'H'tel de Ville (BHV) on 5 November, where the unbeatably cheap Chinese brand launched its first physical store. The criticism is not universal, and many consumers are eager to spend on discount garments. Aisseta Keita was one of the first 500 people to enter the Paris store. "I am totally against the [sex] dolls that Shein sells on its website. But as far as the clothes are concerned, they're the same to what you find in Zara or H&M," she said....

1+ day, 5+ hour ago (413+ words) The meeting will take place as the Trump administration pushes for an end to the war After a night of heavy Russian bombardment, a Ukrainian delegation is heading to the United States for talks with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who is leading the negotiations to end the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Saturday. The delegation, led by the former defence minister and current secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov, will take place amid concerns that the Americans could take a pro-Russian stance during Witkoff's visit to Moscow next week. "I look forward to our delegation's report following its work this Sunday," Zelenskyy wrote in a statement. "Ukraine is working for a dignified peace." The meeting will take place amidst a flurry of diplomacy as the Trump administration pushes for an end to the war,…...

1+ day, 11+ hour ago (238+ words) Spain discovered its first cases of the disease in three decades Spain was scrambling on Saturday to limit the economic impact from an outbreak of African swine fever, a day after announcing its first cases in three decades in the Catalonia region. The virus does not affect humans but is highly contagious and fatal for pigs, and an outbreak is potentially devastating for the country's pork industry. Agriculture Minister Luis Planas said on Saturday the government wanted to limit the economic impact on the agricultural sector "as much as possible. Spain, the world's third-largest producer of pork and pork derivatives, exports almost 3 million tonnes each year to more than 100 countries, Planas told a press conference. But he said a third of those countries had halted imports from Spain " an automatic safety measure when African swine flu is detected. Mexico, one…...