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Today's top stories

Good morning from Berlin.

The co-leader of Germany's far-right AfD, Alice Weidel, recently received a boost from Elon Musk’s open support ahead of the German election in February.

A political figure full of contradictions who seems to have two faces: a public one and a private one. 

Reporting from Berlin, Euractiv’s Kjeld Neubert and Nick Alipour analyse how a former banker in a same-sex relationship with a Sri-Lankan-born woman has become the figurehead of Germany’s surging far right. 

Von der Leyen’s Competitiveness Compass explained

In this episode, host Giada Santana talks to Euractiv's economy reporter, Thomas Moller-Nielsen, to unpack the Compass' key takeaways. Listen here. 
Bubbling in Brussels
Click on the picture to read the story |  [Uwe Anspach/picture alliance via Getty Images]

Anyone who has spent any time in the Brussels bubble lately will almost certainly have heard the buzzword Capital Markets Union. Thomas Moller-Nielsen explains in simple terms what we are talking about.

Can the EU fund border fences? Not right now, but that could soon change, reports Nicoletta Ionta.

Lastly, the European Commission has proposed a sharp increase in tariffs on Russian fertilisers to reduce external dependence. But EU farmers see a major risk.

Today's edition is powered by META 

Meta’s EU Innovation Day 2025 in Brussels 

Meta’s EU Innovation Day on February 4 will convene policymakers, leaders, and businesses for panels, demos, and an interview with Joel Kaplan on how to drive Europe's competitiveness and growth through cooperation and open source innovation. Register your interest

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Western Europe
Click on the picture to read the story |  [OLIVIER HOSLET/EPA-EFE]

PARIS

French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has not ruled out sending European troops to Greenland “if our security interests are at risk,” he signalled in a radio interview on Tuesday. Read more.

Southern Europe

ROME

Meloni under investigation as Italy's deportation of ICC suspect takes new turn. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is being investigated by Rome prosecutors for complicity and breach of trust in connection with the deportation of Osama Njeem Almasri, the chief of the Libyan judicial police subject to an ICC arrest. Read more.

Nordics
Click on the picture to read the story |  [Marli Miller/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images]

NUUK

Only six percent of Greenlanders want their semi-autonomous country to secede from Denmark to become part of the US, while 43% see Trump’s interest as an opportunity. Read more.

Eastern Europe
Click on the picture to read the story |  [EPA-EFE/STEPHANIE LECOCQ]

PRAGUE

The Czech government has postponed crucial legislation to curb money laundering through pass-through accounts, which allow billions of illicit funds to flow unchecked through the country under the guise of business transactions. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

Slovak National Gallery faces collapse amid mass resignations. One hundred employees of the flagship cultural institution say they cannot continue to work under the new leadership appointed by far-right Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová. Read more.

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WARSAW

Poland wants Paris on board for EU defence industry plan. Poland wants to find "consensus" on the EU's Defence Industry Programme, signalling to Paris that a deal will not be rammed through despite French opposition. Read more.

The Balkans

BELGRADE

Serbian prime minister resigns amid protests. Serbian Prime Minister Miloš Vučević has announced his resignation amid a wave of public protests triggered by one of the deadliest infrastructure failures in recent Serbian history – the collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad. Read more.

Agenda
  • EU: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen chairs College of Commissioners meeting; Meets with King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein of Jordan; Attends EU-Jordan Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership Agreement signing; Participates in press conference on Competitiveness Compass alongside Commission Vice President Stéphane Séjourné;
  • High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas delivers speech at 17th European Space Conference;
  • Health and Animal Welfare Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi receives US Chamber of Commerce delegation; Meets with Medicines for Europe executive board;
  • Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos gives speech on “Communicating EU Enlargement Policy: Challenges and Opportunities” at Heads of European Commission Representations conference;
  • Agriculture and Food Commissioner Christophe Hansen exchanges views with Parliament’s AGRI Committee on vision for Agriculture & Food;
  • Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union Commissioner Maria Luis Albuquerque hosts Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) representatives;
  • Parliament President Roberta Metsola presides over session on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Martina Monti]

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