Δευτέρα 21 Σεπτεμβρίου 2026
5 άρθρα
Merz’s CDU crashes below 5%
Twin state-election defeats have weakened Friedrich Merz without threatening his chancellorship. Provisional results put the CDU outside Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s parliament and second in Berlin, shifts that could cost his government support in the Bundesrat and make expensive European commitments—including Germany’s contribution to the 2028–34 EU budget—harder to sell at home.
Moscow raid exposes Europe’s interceptor gap
Ukraine’s largest long-range drone operation reached Moscow, ignited a refinery fire and temporarily closed four airports, demonstrating the reach of its domestically built arsenal. The unverified ballistic-missile claims obscure the sharper European concern: allies can supply only limited stocks of slow-to-produce interceptors as Russia prepares sustained attacks on Ukraine’s energy system before winter.
Europe’s EV boom meets three million missing cars
Electric models are taking a larger share of European sales, but they are replacing only part of a market that has contracted sharply since 2019. Stellantis and Volkswagen are cutting excess capacity as Spain loses production and Poland trades passenger-car assembly for batteries, components and electric vans—without proof that the new work will replace the jobs and value disappearing.
Russian missiles sever Ukraine’s steel chain
Three plants responsible for an estimated 90% of Ukraine’s recent steel output have halted production after repeated Russian strikes severed critical operating systems. The shutdown threatens export earnings and thousands of jobs, while Romania’s Iași pipe factory faces an interrupted supply line. Wider European effects depend on repair times, inventories and replacement suppliers.
US sanctions draft targets ICC itself
The unsigned plan would ban most transactions with the court and allow six to seven months to unwind US-linked services. Europe has pledged to defend the ICC, but its banks, cloud providers and insurers remain exposed to American pressure—and Brussels has yet to produce the guarantees, contracts or migration plans needed to keep 17 active investigations operating.