Πέμπτη 23 Ιουλίου 2026
5 άρθρα
Greece stalls EU sanctions over Russian LNG
Athens is withholding the unanimity required for the EU's 21st sanctions package to protect its domestic shipping industry from a ban on transporting Russian gas to Asia. The delay has already allowed a previous oil price cap to expire, enabling Moscow to sell crude at higher prices via Western-insured vessels. Negotiators are now weighing exemptions for fleets like Dynagas, which has moved 10 million tonnes of Russian gas since 2025.
Chat control survives despite 314 negative votes
The European Parliament has extended voluntary message scanning until April 2028, even though more MEPs voted to reject the measure than to keep it. Because procedural rules required an absolute majority of 361 seats to kill the proposal, high abstentions and empty seats functioned as votes in favor. The decision protects end-to-end encryption while allowing providers like Google and Meta to screen unencrypted webmail and cloud messages.
Hungary joins EU prosecutor to secure €10 billion
Budapest has formally joined the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, ending a five-year holdout that helped freeze billions in recovery and cohesion funds. The decision takes effect on 2 August, though Hungarian officials say the constitutional amendments and domestic machinery needed for investigators will not be ready until 2027. This delay tests whether the move provides genuine oversight or is merely a tactical concession to Brussels.
France’s 5.2% deficit triggers IMF alarm
The IMF’s annual health check warns that Paris is failing to close the gap between spending and revenue, with the 2026 deficit projected to hit 5.2% of GDP. Rising borrowing costs near 4% now threaten to consume 60% of planned spending increases for the 2027 budget. As French debt yields converge with Italy’s, the government faces a €120 billion adjustment to stabilize its debt pile.
Rheinmetall doubles propellant output to 4,200 tonnes
The expansion at Aschau am Inn targets Europe’s most critical artillery bottleneck: the powder required to launch shells. Public funding is fueling a scale-up to one million modular charges by 2028, yet the investment lacks a clear priority framework. This leaves a private corporation to decide how to divide limited supplies between Ukraine’s front lines and depleted national stockpiles.