Possible options on financing Ukraine remain vague following last week's EU summit that failed to secure a €140bn reparation loan sourced from Russian immobilised assets, amid Belgian worries about liabilities for Euroclear.

The playbook is brutally efficient: fabricate a scandal, delegitimise and defund organisations into dependency on philanthropic support, then criminalise their new funding as foreign influence — all while continuing to demand NGOs monitor consumer protections that governments refuse to fund themselves, warns new EUobserver columnist Alberto Alemanno.

After the collapse of the far-right government, the Dutch centre is likely to return to power after Wednesday’s election — but can a broad, potentially bland, coalition satisfy voters?

EU states are struggling with upcoming border rules that critics say could led to detention-like centres. Under the new regime authorities will have only seven days to screen a prospective asylum seeker.

Today, we kick off an anniversary campaign to convince new supporting members to join EUobserver's mission of providing the information citizens need to safeguard EU democracy.

Russian spies are still active in the EU capital and have a "higher risk appetite" than before the Ukraine war — despite Belgium's efforts to push back against their plots.