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Belarus opposition leader calls on EU to do more
Accepting European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize, Tikhanovskaya urges EU to find ‘unconventional’ ways to back protesters.
Ursula von der Leyen tells MEPs: Brexit deal ‘so close … yet so far’
Commission president concedes little time for ratification but calls on the European Parliament to ‘ensure a good outcome.’
Viktor Orbán’s MEPs aim to dodge Parliament group expulsion
Senior members set to decide whether to vote to expel Hungarian party leader Tamás Deutsch.
Europe’s gambit to fight off cyberattacks
New rules hoped to prevent hacks like the one on EU’s medicines agency.
Dishonorable: Italians return top French award over Macron’s Egypt ties
‘Humanity, sovereignty and European identity … worth more than any medal,’ says ex-Cabinet minister.
5 challenges to the new EU digital rulebook
Brussels’ digital rulebook is out. Cue the wrangling and legal fights.
Boris Johnson urges a (confusing) little Christmas
British prime minister strengthens his advice to limit contact over the holidays but declines to change the law.
Introducing the Westminster Insider podcast
Welcome to Westminster Insider: Jack Blanchard’s brand new weekly podcast on how Westminster really works. Subscribe now and never miss an episode.
Editors’ picks
Inside the EU’s divisions on how to go after Big Tech
Public and private disagreements underscored a split over EU plans to promote a more aggressive stance on tech.
The US-UK trade talks Joe Biden inherits
Documents show both parties were close to completion on some chapters — but substantial differences remain.
Most-read articles
POLITICO 28: How one object explains each of our No. 1 picks
Angela Merkel
Giuseppe Conte
Ursula von der Leyen
Pavel Durov
Politics
Brexit
Bertie Ahern: Brexit deal possible ‘as long as Boris doesn’t have more dinners’
Former Irish prime minister says Brexit negotiators could learn from Northern Ireland peace talks.
EU, UK parliaments sidelined as Brexit talks drag
Officials concede that parliaments will have little time to scrutinize and ratify any potential agreement.
What Brexit crunch means for champagne, bacon and fries
Deal or no deal, the food and drinks industry sees trouble ahead.
US Transition
Germany
The imperfect spy case
Exonerated EU ambassador Gerhard Sabathil says Chinese whisper campaign put him under suspicion of espionage.
Meet the German Donald Trump
Hardline conservative Friedrich Merz makes a bid for the CDU leadership.
German prosecutor drops spy case against ex-EU envoy Sabathil
Retired diplomat had been under suspicion over ties to China.
France
Britain
UK to levy hefty fines on companies that don’t protect people online
The Online Harms proposals include penalties of up to 10 percent of companies’ global revenue.
Boris Johnson: ‘Strong possibility’ there will be no Brexit trade deal
British prime minister said the UK Cabinet is united in its view that the EU’s proposed deal isn’t right.
Brits face EU travel ban on January 1 under COVID rules
After the end of the year, the UK will be treated as a third country for coronavirus travel rules.
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