Following Parliament’s 418-207 vote on 29 April 2026 calling on the Commission to trigger the rule-of-law conditionality mechanism against Slovakia, MEPs return to the matter in Strasbourg this week amidst fresh concerns over the Fico government’s dismantling of anti-corruption institutions.
Two and a half years into Robert Fico’s fourth term as Slovak prime minister, the institutional architecture of anti-corruption enforcement constructed during the 2020-2023 Hegerova governments has been largely dismantled. The European Parliament’s forthcoming resolution on Thursday sets out a detailed catalogue of grievances.
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck Liuzhou in China’s Guangxi region in the early hours of Monday 18 May 2026, killing two, injuring four, collapsing 13 buildings and forcing evacuation of more than 7,000 residents.
Romania’s political parties met President Nicusor Dan in Cotroceni on Monday 18 May 2026 for consultations on a new prime minister after the Bolojan government fell on 5 May. PSD rejected another Bolojan-led cabinet; PNL ruled out any coalition with PSD; AUR said it was ready to govern.
More than 90 Labour MPs have publicly called for Keir Starmer to resign following the party’s catastrophic local election defeat to Reform UK. Brussels is monitoring the crisis with concern given Starmer’s deliberate strategy of re-engagement with the EU since 2024.
As the Iran war drags into its third month, the European Union is being forced to confront a question it has spent two decades avoiding: what is Europe’s defence doctrine when the United States is preoccupied elsewhere? The June FAC and the autumn European Council must move beyond the rhetoric of strategic autonomy to deliver something operational.
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche has secured European regulatory approval for the first blood-based Alzheimer’s diagnostic test, signalling a shift in early dementia detection.
The Council adopts a decision concluding a Passenger Name Record agreement with Iceland aimed at preventing terrorist offences and serious cross-border crime.
The accession dossiers of Ukraine, Moldova, the Western Balkans and Georgia will reshape the EU’s institutional balance more profoundly than any treaty change in two decades.
Storage levels appear healthy and LNG imports have diversified, but structural vulnerabilities persist. Europe ought not to confuse a mild winter with lasting resilience.
