Special Reports

The technology is decades away from being able to mimic human decision-making.

Law enforcement would seek matches with surveillance photos using facial recognition technology.

Europe’s strategy is all about companies sharing their data. That’s easier said than done.

Paris and Berlin want strategy to prioritize industrial ‘champions’ over antitrust rulebook.

Without the British, Stockholm tries to lead the liberal resistance.

Internal market czar dismisses fear that overpowerful corporate kingpins will suffocate small enterprise.

Effort to attract European money is part of prime minister’s push to modernize economy and reduce debt.

African Union sets goals for free movement of goods, services and people. Now all Africa needs are roads and rail.

In speech, Council president says 22 EU countries did not have colonies and new leaders ‘are not hampered by the burden of nostalgia.’

Push at African Union summit for stronger joint capabilities highlights unease over French and other foreign troops.

African countries are wary of contradictory messages from Washington.

Von der Leyen leads large delegation to Ethiopia, as the geopolitical Commission pivots south.

‘We are facing a war. And when you face a war, you need to do war,’ Josep Borrell declares.

Many African countries reacted quickly to the pandemic, but they have not avoided economic harm.

The deal had been due to launch in July but that now looks impossible.

Political hacks could be your path to publicity and preferment — and will even buy you lunch.

Securing a trade deal with the US could require foreign policy concessions.

POLITICO takes a look at who wields the most influence on social media in Westminster.

An insider’s guide to the world of British politics.

Do you know your EDM from your Erskine May? POLITICO has the answers.

Former No. 10 Director of Communications Katie Perrior on how to win at British politics.

Staffers worry voluntary training may not be enough to make MPs clean up their act.

From Boris babies to Corbyn champions, these new parliamentarians could become household names.

The EU is making a big bet by pinning its trade hopes on the tiny fishing sector.

Boris Johnson has promised to solve one of the country’s biggest policy challenges — and it’s not Brexit.

Europe wants to shift cargo from road to water, but its old waterway infrastructure may not be ready to carry the weight.

The rise of online shopping and next-day delivery services is keeping air freight on an upward trajectory.

High hopes for shifting cargo and passengers to railways face a tough investment climate.

Truckers are grappling with congestion, greening efforts, a technological revolution and a lack of drivers.

Europe’s complex spectrum auction system is not helping the bloc catch up to Asia in deploying 5G networks. Optimists point to trial runs and pioneer cities as reasons to hope.

Security concerns surrounding Huawei is making European telecom operators nervous that they could lose their shirts amid changes to their plans.

The island nation has the world’s second-fastest internet.

Activists are warning about antennas and radiation and cancer — oh my!

Everyone’s divided, from research scientists to public health experts.

Ads from cigarette companies are reappearing on race cars, television and public billboards — as well as social media.

Drugmakers want e-cigarettes to be regulated as medical products.

Tobacco laws set to be first break with EU rules.

One MEP denounces the carbon reduction scheme as ‘an absolute joke.’

Flying has gone from glamorous to scandalous, and the industry is scrambling to prop up its fading popularity.

Battery-powered planes and alternative fuels are unlikely to allow the industry to go green.

The continued popularity of flying is making it difficult to clean up aviation.

Scientists still unclear about miracle material’s effects on human health.

Academics and regulators at odds over impact of chemical additives.

Medical devices are often exempt from bans on harmful chemicals.

… and where they end up.

In a policy void, scientists are scrambling to save dying soils.

If climate change models are correct, much of the country’s fertile land could transform into desert.

Experts say the weedkiller’s impact on soil health represents a serious threat to Europe’s long-term food security.

A look at the bloc’s damaged land, in graphics and charts.

Mandatory language lessons, tougher sentences for ghetto crimes, buildings demolished. Integration — by force.

While initial steps may seem small, experts say they represent revolutionary change.

For those vying to become president of the European Commission, a season of debates will inject the race with a much-needed jolt of democratic legitimacy.

Everyone is fighting to have a say in Horizon Europe’s research missions from 2021, and that tussle could ground them.

New online safety laws, regulating AI and Britain’s future relationship with the EU after Brexit will dominate tech policy discussions in the coming months.

Reforming the EU’s farming policy, tackling unfair trading practices, and assessing the pesticide approval process will be major topics.

What are the biggest sticking points, and why are they taking so long to resolve?

Vestager followed Joaquín Almunia’s mission statement and is now looking to set one for her successor.

The season will be full of negotiations, at home and abroad.

Populists’ economic reform could have ripple effects across the Continent; and elsewhere, Brexit issues still linger.

With the Commission poised to back EU-wide rules, the fight will be over how long companies have to adapt.

A tide of plastic and water files is rising, and EU legislators have to swim fast.

Brexit and EU elections are on the minds of those drafting tech policy.

Vienna has been left to handle around 200 unfinished pieces of legislation and the surrounding lobbying drama.

Commission officials worry the next Parliament could be more protectionist.

The EU institutions will also battle over a bill aimed to level the playing eld for airlines, but there too they lack consensus.

Germany’s car capital struggles with the clean mobility revolution.

The electric car revolution will upend millions of workers’ lives.

The clean fuel is losing the race with battery-powered cars.

Q and A with the CEO of Avinor Dag Falk-Petersen.

The industry once ruled Europe. Now it’s struggling to survive.

Finance shortfalls threaten EU’s 2030 clean energy goals.

Despite spending billions, it is falling behind other European countries.

It’s part of a broader push to shut nuclear power in Europe.

The devices can help households save money by using less electricity — when people can be bothered to figure them out.

Germany and Austria split their combined power market after complaints from Central Europe.

Europe needs thousands of kilometers of new power lines for green energy — but local resistance is strong.

Batteries are touted as the solution for stabilizing the grid, but EU institutions disagree over who should build and own them.

After more than three decades of struggle, the European Commission is inching closer to alcohol labels.

Booze carries none of the gory images and dire cancer warnings found on cigarette packets.

A visual look at the perception of health risks of drinking and the labeling of alcohol.

Foreigners flock to the Nile and Red Sea for a holiday — and a cure.

Knocking down drug prices requires more than bargaining as a group.

Tactics focus on locking in a reference price in rich northern countries.

This POLITICO special report delves into some of the complex questions raised by the advancement of artificial intelligence.

Self-teaching algorithms could collude in ways that are impossible to detect, much less prevent.

Germany’s Armin Grunwald is helping lawmakers map out the consequences of artificial intelligence.

A visual look at how people worldwide perceive AI — and what they expect from it in the future.

Philosoph Armin Grunwald hilft deutschen Parlamentariern, die Konsequenzen künstlicher Intelligenz abzusehen.

Beijing kills EU’s ‘out of sight, out of mind’ approach to its mountains of garbage.

Wind turbine blades have to be light and strong, which makes them very difficult to recycle.

EU optimism over job creation potential of circular economy policies appears overblown.

The prospect of microscopic bits of tires making their way into the ocean has policymakers and tire companies concerned.

The Commission is mulling an EU-wide system to prevent illegal car scrapping.

Old plastics could fuel cars, ships and planes, but green groups worry the practice would upend recycling goals.

POLITICO’s circular economy index produces some unexpected results.

In a museum on the outskirts of Brussels, plastic is still in style.

Wastewater can be used for irrigation though it may contain persistent chemicals and promote water overuse.

The fight over a Corfu garbage dump has drawn in the Athens government, the European Commission and the European Court of Justice.

Why regulatory push on data protection isn’t translating into cash.

Topics will range from EU subsidy reform to Mediterranean fish quotas.

Many doubt that the Common Agricultural Policy shake-up will result in tangible improvements for the environment.

Issues range from pipelines to coal and carbon markets.

A Commission proposal on capacity payments will see the European Parliament and Council clashing this year.

Issues include plastics, the bioeconomy and how the U.K. Brexit-proofs its environmental standards.

Brussels is forcing countries, by hook or law, to reduce pollution.

Get ready for start of MiFID II, euro-clearing debate, and eurozone reforms, among others.

In February, the Commission will unveil recommendations to help the fintech industry grow across the bloc.

Abortion, vaccines and the relocation of the European Medicines Agency are on the agenda during the first part of the year.

2018 is make-or-break for push to get countries to join up on prices.

It’s now or never (well until 2019) for the EU to regulate big tech.

Topics will range from screening Chinese investments to upgrading an accord with Chile.

Concerns over how multinationals can sue governments lie at the heart of public opposition to trade deals in the EU.

Issues range from rail mergers to trucking standards.

The effort is being pushed by France and Germany to protect Air France and Lufthansa.

‘I get looks like ‘you’re not supposed to be here.”

For some students, celebrations speak to a lack of sensitivity on issues of race and diversity.

EU takes ‘color-blind’ approach while UK collects data — and has strong anti-discrimination laws.

Failed Commission initiative demonstrates barriers minority job applicants can face.

We asked Brussels residents, policymakers and politicians.

The EU’s disputed system of geographical indications is taking over the planet.

Coldiretti is at the vanguard of protecting the sacred ‘Made in Italy’ label.

Calorie and ingredient labels for alcohol and labels indicating the amount of fat, salt, sugar and other things in food are at the center of controversy.

The list includes a European commissioner, a chocolatier and a farmer.