POLITICO Europe
@politico.eu
Nobody knows politics and policy like we do.
Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein kept a network of contacts in Brussels over the course of a decade, corresponding with powerful people and with modeling agencies about women, documents show.
‘Bisous from Brussels’: Jeffrey Epstein’s links to the Belgian capital
Documents signal the convicted sex offender’s travel plans and interactions with modeling agencies.
www.politico.eu
February 5, 2026 at 1:26 PM
Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein kept a network of contacts in Brussels over the course of a decade, corresponding with powerful people and with modeling agencies about women, documents show.
A planned meeting in Washington collapsed after U.S. State Department officials told the German embassy it refused to meet with center-left German lawmakers.
It’s unclear, however, who ultimately cancelled the appointment.
🔗 www.politico.eu/article/dona...
It’s unclear, however, who ultimately cancelled the appointment.
🔗 www.politico.eu/article/dona...
February 5, 2026 at 12:32 PM
A planned meeting in Washington collapsed after U.S. State Department officials told the German embassy it refused to meet with center-left German lawmakers.
It’s unclear, however, who ultimately cancelled the appointment.
🔗 www.politico.eu/article/dona...
It’s unclear, however, who ultimately cancelled the appointment.
🔗 www.politico.eu/article/dona...
The Bank of England left its key interest rate unchanged at 3.75 percent today but signaled it expects to cut again later this year, given rising confidence that inflation is beaten.
Bank of England keeps interest rates unchanged, but flags more cuts this year
Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ second budget seen as undoing the damage of her first one.
www.politico.eu
February 5, 2026 at 12:30 PM
The Bank of England left its key interest rate unchanged at 3.75 percent today but signaled it expects to cut again later this year, given rising confidence that inflation is beaten.
The German competition authority hit Amazon with a €59 million fine today after finding the e-commerce giant’s pricing rules for third-party vendors to be in breach of national and EU competition rules.
German regulator fines Amazon €59M for abuse of market power
Amazon competes directly with marketplace sellers on its platform, and that’s a problem, says Federal Cartel Office.
www.politico.eu
February 5, 2026 at 12:12 PM
The German competition authority hit Amazon with a €59 million fine today after finding the e-commerce giant’s pricing rules for third-party vendors to be in breach of national and EU competition rules.
In today's London Influence:
📋 The good, the bad, and the ugly of a new industry survey dropping today.
💰 A host of MPs are taking donor cash to help fund their offices.
❓ A glimpse into how Peter Mandelson sought advice from Jeffrey Epstein.
Dive in 👇
📋 The good, the bad, and the ugly of a new industry survey dropping today.
💰 A host of MPs are taking donor cash to help fund their offices.
❓ A glimpse into how Peter Mandelson sought advice from Jeffrey Epstein.
Dive in 👇
Getting WiPAlash
POLITICO’s weekly newsletter on campaigning, lobbying and political influence in the U.K. By JOHN JOHNSTON Tips, gossip, state secrets and coffee requests @johnjohnstonmi or [email protected]…
www.politico.eu
February 5, 2026 at 12:09 PM
In today's London Influence:
📋 The good, the bad, and the ugly of a new industry survey dropping today.
💰 A host of MPs are taking donor cash to help fund their offices.
❓ A glimpse into how Peter Mandelson sought advice from Jeffrey Epstein.
Dive in 👇
📋 The good, the bad, and the ugly of a new industry survey dropping today.
💰 A host of MPs are taking donor cash to help fund their offices.
❓ A glimpse into how Peter Mandelson sought advice from Jeffrey Epstein.
Dive in 👇
Qui est donc Olivier Colom? POLITICO s'est plongé dans les "Epstein files" pour tenter de comprendre quels liens unissaient ce diplomate et entremetteur français au sulfureux multimillionaire américain Jeffrey Epstein.
Olivier Colom, le “grand ami” français de Jeffrey Epstein
Pendant des années, un ancien conseiller diplomatique à l’Elysée a joué pour Jeffrey Epstein l’intermédiaire entre politiques, hauts fonctionnaires et personnalités du monde des affaires.
www.politico.eu
February 5, 2026 at 12:08 PM
Qui est donc Olivier Colom? POLITICO s'est plongé dans les "Epstein files" pour tenter de comprendre quels liens unissaient ce diplomate et entremetteur français au sulfureux multimillionaire américain Jeffrey Epstein.
The Court of Justice of the EU today annulled the European Parliament’s 2021 decision to strip Catalan separatist lawmakers’ immunity, citing doubts regarding the impartiality of the process through which the measure was adopted.
EU top court annuls Parliament’s decision to strip Catalan separatist MEPs’ immunity
The Court of Justice of the EU rules the process to waive the lawmakers’ protection was not impartial.
www.politico.eu
February 5, 2026 at 12:00 PM
The Court of Justice of the EU today annulled the European Parliament’s 2021 decision to strip Catalan separatist lawmakers’ immunity, citing doubts regarding the impartiality of the process through which the measure was adopted.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s admission that this country's nuclear phase-out was a "serious strategic mistake" has won an emphatic endorsement from the head of the International Energy Agency.
Read our full interview with him here:
Read our full interview with him here:
Merz is right to reject Germany’s nuclear phase-out, IEA chief says
Germany should build as many nuclear plants as possible, Fatih Birol proclaims.
www.politico.eu
February 5, 2026 at 11:39 AM
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s admission that this country's nuclear phase-out was a "serious strategic mistake" has won an emphatic endorsement from the head of the International Energy Agency.
Read our full interview with him here:
Read our full interview with him here:
Donald Trump has aborted his threat to take Greenland by force.
But online the war is just getting started.
But online the war is just getting started.
How Europe could lose the war over Greenland
The Danish territory is vulnerable to the power wielded by the U.S. administration online.
www.politico.eu
February 5, 2026 at 10:33 AM
Donald Trump has aborted his threat to take Greenland by force.
But online the war is just getting started.
But online the war is just getting started.
🃏 QUIZ TIME: The EU’s elite recruitment competition opens today for the first time in seven years. Would you pass it?
Take our test 👇
Take our test 👇
Are you smart enough to work for the EU?
Take our test and see if you’ve got what it takes to get a job in the institutions.
www.politico.eu
February 5, 2026 at 9:54 AM
🃏 QUIZ TIME: The EU’s elite recruitment competition opens today for the first time in seven years. Would you pass it?
Take our test 👇
Take our test 👇
COMMENTARY: British PM Keir Starmer has only four months to save his premiership.
For Starmer, the clock is ticking
The prime minister wanted to avoid a Tory-style drama. Now, he’s heading one of his own.
www.politico.eu
February 5, 2026 at 9:43 AM
COMMENTARY: British PM Keir Starmer has only four months to save his premiership.
The fury over British PM Keir Starmer's handling of the Mandelson-Epstein crisis has put the already weak Labour leader in his moment of greatest peril.
Nervous MPs in his governing party are now rounding on him with renewed ferocity.
Nervous MPs in his governing party are now rounding on him with renewed ferocity.
Mandelson crisis puts Starmer in his moment of greatest peril
The ratchet of climbdowns and drama is speeding up for British PM Keir Starmer and his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney.
www.politico.eu
February 5, 2026 at 9:15 AM
The fury over British PM Keir Starmer's handling of the Mandelson-Epstein crisis has put the already weak Labour leader in his moment of greatest peril.
Nervous MPs in his governing party are now rounding on him with renewed ferocity.
Nervous MPs in his governing party are now rounding on him with renewed ferocity.
Marine Le Pen's recent public statements seem to indicate that she’s losing faith in her effort to quash the five-year election ban standing in the way of her becoming France’s next president.
Le Pen’s fighting spirit fades as presidential dream slips away
The far-right leader seems increasingly resigned to her fate despite fighting to overturn the ruling that knocked her out of the 2027 presidential election.
www.politico.eu
February 5, 2026 at 9:03 AM
Marine Le Pen's recent public statements seem to indicate that she’s losing faith in her effort to quash the five-year election ban standing in the way of her becoming France’s next president.
A German parliamentary delegation visiting Washington late last month saw center-left MPs frozen out by the U.S. State Department, people familiar with the matter told POLITICO.
Trump administration favored Germany’s far right in Washington visit
A planned meeting collapsed after State Department officials told the German embassy it refused to meet with center-left German lawmakers.
www.politico.eu
February 5, 2026 at 8:31 AM
A German parliamentary delegation visiting Washington late last month saw center-left MPs frozen out by the U.S. State Department, people familiar with the matter told POLITICO.
Spain is heading into a series of local elections that conservatives hope will collapse the government of Socialist PM Pedro Sánchez.
First up on Sunday: Aragón, dubbed the "Spanish Ohio" for its track record as a barometer of the national mood.
First up on Sunday: Aragón, dubbed the "Spanish Ohio" for its track record as a barometer of the national mood.
Trio of Spanish regional elections spells trouble for Sánchez
First up on Sunday is Aragón, nicknamed the “Spanish Ohio” as it tends to predict which way national politics are heading.
www.politico.eu
February 5, 2026 at 8:25 AM
Spain is heading into a series of local elections that conservatives hope will collapse the government of Socialist PM Pedro Sánchez.
First up on Sunday: Aragón, dubbed the "Spanish Ohio" for its track record as a barometer of the national mood.
First up on Sunday: Aragón, dubbed the "Spanish Ohio" for its track record as a barometer of the national mood.
The EU’s conservatives are convening for the second time in a week today to try coordinate on policy.
But their meeting is also another example of how EPP leadership is trying to bring more central control over policy in the Commission.
But their meeting is also another example of how EPP leadership is trying to bring more central control over policy in the Commission.
Europe’s conservatives gather again as leadership pushes to tighten central control
Lawmakers from the European People’s Party meet in Ljubljana as politicians and officials try to coordinate policy.
www.politico.eu
February 5, 2026 at 8:05 AM
The EU’s conservatives are convening for the second time in a week today to try coordinate on policy.
But their meeting is also another example of how EPP leadership is trying to bring more central control over policy in the Commission.
But their meeting is also another example of how EPP leadership is trying to bring more central control over policy in the Commission.
For Keir Starmer, the crises and climbdowns just keep getting faster.
The PM is facing questions about his judgment in appointing Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to Washington despite his Jeffrey Epstein links.
The PM is facing questions about his judgment in appointing Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to Washington despite his Jeffrey Epstein links.
Mandelson crisis puts Starmer in his moment of greatest peril
The ratchet of climbdowns and drama is speeding up for British PM Keir Starmer and his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney.
www.politico.eu
February 4, 2026 at 8:16 PM
For Keir Starmer, the crises and climbdowns just keep getting faster.
The PM is facing questions about his judgment in appointing Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to Washington despite his Jeffrey Epstein links.
The PM is facing questions about his judgment in appointing Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to Washington despite his Jeffrey Epstein links.
The Winter Olympics have long doubled as a stage for global alliances, heated political rivalries and diplomatic turmoil.
From invasions to the Nazis to nuclear crises, here are five times politics and the Games collided 👇
🔗 www.politico.eu/article/5-ti...
From invasions to the Nazis to nuclear crises, here are five times politics and the Games collided 👇
🔗 www.politico.eu/article/5-ti...
February 4, 2026 at 7:57 PM
The Winter Olympics have long doubled as a stage for global alliances, heated political rivalries and diplomatic turmoil.
From invasions to the Nazis to nuclear crises, here are five times politics and the Games collided 👇
🔗 www.politico.eu/article/5-ti...
From invasions to the Nazis to nuclear crises, here are five times politics and the Games collided 👇
🔗 www.politico.eu/article/5-ti...
The face of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was erased from a church fresco in Rome following a controversy over the artwork earlier this week.
Meloni’s face painted over at Rome basilica
The Italian prime minister’s image appeared on a fresco and then suddenly vanished, earning the rector of the basilica a lecture on the rules of restoration.
www.politico.eu
February 4, 2026 at 7:21 PM
The face of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was erased from a church fresco in Rome following a controversy over the artwork earlier this week.
A Russian pacifist who fled the Ukraine front now faces deportation from Germany under tougher asylum rules.
The ruling reinforces Putin’s message that there is no safe exit for those who refuse to fight for him, the advocates for deserters say.
🔗 www.politico.eu/article/geor...
The ruling reinforces Putin’s message that there is no safe exit for those who refuse to fight for him, the advocates for deserters say.
🔗 www.politico.eu/article/geor...
February 4, 2026 at 6:41 PM
A Russian pacifist who fled the Ukraine front now faces deportation from Germany under tougher asylum rules.
The ruling reinforces Putin’s message that there is no safe exit for those who refuse to fight for him, the advocates for deserters say.
🔗 www.politico.eu/article/geor...
The ruling reinforces Putin’s message that there is no safe exit for those who refuse to fight for him, the advocates for deserters say.
🔗 www.politico.eu/article/geor...
Greece’s authorities today launched an internal investigation into a deadly collision between a coast guard patrol vessel and a speedboat carrying migrants off the island of Chios.
Greek authorities launch investigation into incident that killed 15 migrants
A coast guard vessel had its camera switched off when it collided with a boat carrying migrants.
www.politico.eu
February 4, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Greece’s authorities today launched an internal investigation into a deadly collision between a coast guard patrol vessel and a speedboat carrying migrants off the island of Chios.
Prosecutors in Paris opened an investigation today into allegations that Chinese citizens had sought to capture sensitive French government and military data using Starlink.
French police arrest 2 Chinese citizens over alleged attempt to access military data
The duo are accused of trying to capture sensitive French data using Starlink from an AirBnB they had rented.
www.politico.eu
February 4, 2026 at 6:06 PM
Prosecutors in Paris opened an investigation today into allegations that Chinese citizens had sought to capture sensitive French government and military data using Starlink.
With security guarantees from Ukraine’s allies looking threadbare, Kyiv’s Plan B is to turn into a “steel porcupine” to ensure Russian dictator Vladimir Putin doesn’t return for another attack.
🔗 www.politico.eu/article/stee...
🔗 www.politico.eu/article/stee...
February 4, 2026 at 5:37 PM
With security guarantees from Ukraine’s allies looking threadbare, Kyiv’s Plan B is to turn into a “steel porcupine” to ensure Russian dictator Vladimir Putin doesn’t return for another attack.
🔗 www.politico.eu/article/stee...
🔗 www.politico.eu/article/stee...
Disgraced British politician Peter Mandelson is facing demands to be stripped of his pension as a former European commissioner if investigators found he broke EU rules over his contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mandelson should lose pension if he broke EU rules in Epstein scandal, campaigners say
European officials are “assessing” whether the ex-commissioner contravened the ethics code.
www.politico.eu
February 4, 2026 at 5:31 PM
Disgraced British politician Peter Mandelson is facing demands to be stripped of his pension as a former European commissioner if investigators found he broke EU rules over his contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Marine Le Pen recent public statements seem to indicate that she’s losing faith in her effort to quash the five-year election ban standing in the way of her becoming France’s next president.
Le Pen’s fighting spirit fades as presidential dream slips away
The far-right leader seems increasingly resigned to her fate despite fighting to overturn the ruling that knocked her out of the 2027 presidential election.
www.politico.eu
February 4, 2026 at 5:18 PM
Marine Le Pen recent public statements seem to indicate that she’s losing faith in her effort to quash the five-year election ban standing in the way of her becoming France’s next president.