The Dispatch

White House weighs Budapest for possible Trump, Putin, Zelenskyy summit

The White House is considering Budapest as the site of a potential summit between President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to a Trump…

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Polish police bust smuggling networks and seize drugs worth $275 million

Polish police said on Tuesday they had dismantled a number of interlinked drug smuggling networks that operated across Europe, seizing narcotics worth 1 billion zlotys ($275 million). The core of…

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China cuts ties with Czech President Petr Pavel over meeting with Dalai Lama

China says it has suspended all ties with Czech President Petr Pavel over his recent meeting with the Dalai Lama, further straining relations between Beijing and Prague. During a private…

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Russia has won war in Ukraine, Hungary’s Orban says

Russia has won the war in Ukraine, right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Tuesday ahead of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir…

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Russian Facility in Królewiec Behind Baltic GPS Interference

Estonian news portal Delfi reports that a covert Russian military installation in the Królewiec region, just east of Poland’s border, is responsible for GPS interference affecting the Baltic states and…

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Polish PM Tusk says pause in Ukraine war could be close

A pause in the conflict in Ukraine could be close, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday after speaking to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump…

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Nationalist Nawrocki sworn in as Polish president, in blow for Tusk

Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian and supporter of Donald Trump's MAGA movement, was sworn in as Poland's president on Wednesday, setting the stage for conflict with the centrist government and…

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Former Romanian President Iliescu, who led free market transition, dies at 95

Romania's former President Ion Iliescu, who led its transition from communism and set it on the path to European Union and NATO membership, but faced charges of crimes against humanity…

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The ECB’s banknote design sparks controversy over Marie Curie

A new euro banknote design has reignited a long-running controversy between France and Poland over the legacy of the Nobel Prize-winning scientist Marie Curie (née Skłodowska). Born in Warsaw in…

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Europol-Backed Crackdown Halts Cross-Border ATM Scam

A highly organised criminal group involved in large-scale fraud in Western Europe has been dismantled in a coordinated operation led by authorities from Romania and the United Kingdom (UK), supported…

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Poland Sounds Alarm: New Guide To Tell Citizens How to Survive War, Disaster

Poland is preparing a manual on how to cope in case of war or natural disaster, an interior ministry official told Reuters, aiming to strengthen national resilience amid heightened regional…

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Slovenia passes assisted dying law

Slovenia approved a law to allow assisted dying on Friday, joining an increasing number of countries giving terminally-ill adults the right to end their lives if they face unbearable suffering…

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158 human traffickers arrested and 1,194 victims safeguarded in global operation

A major operation against human trafficking has resulted in the safeguarding of 1 ,194 potential victims and the arrest of 158 suspects. As part of ongoing investigations, an additional 205…

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Poland scrambles aircraft as Russia launches strikes on Ukraine

Polish and allied aircraft were activated early on Wednesday to ensure the safety of Polish airspace after Russia launched air strikes targeting western Ukraine, near the border with the Poland,…

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Poland imposes checks on German and Lithuanian borders amid migration fears

Poland introduced temporary controls on its borders with Germany and Lithuania on Monday, in what the government said was a step to check migrants more thoroughly amid public concerns over…

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Austria set to deport man to Syria, marking first for EU since Assad’s fall

Austria is preparing to deport a Syrian man whose asylum status was revoked due to a criminal conviction, in what an EU official and rights groups say will be Europe's…

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Poland to trial four-day week from July

Poland will begin its first-ever trial of a shortened working week this July, as the government explores ways to improve work-life balance and workplace efficiency. The pilot reflects growing public…

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Polish, Ukrainian security services thwarted 2024 assassination attempt on Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was the target of an assassination plot to be carried out by a Polish pensioner who had first been recruited by the Soviet Union decades ago,…

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Austria plans to tighten gun control rules after school shooting

Austria plans to tighten its gun control laws following its deadliest school shooting in Graz, where a 21‑year‑old former student killed ten people before taking his own life. Under current…

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Poland adds minefields to protective barrier with Russia and Belarus

Poland has added minefields to its “East Shield” border defence project along Russia and Belarus, as construction continues year-round since starting in November. The fortified barrier, spanning over 20km near…

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Poland may introduce partial controls on German border in summer

Poland is likely to introduce partial controls on its border with Germany in the summer if the number of migrant crossings continues to grow, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told…

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Fatal school shooting in Graz, Austria

Multiple people have been killed in an attack on a school in the southern Austrian city of Graz, according to authorities. Police said that there had been "several deaths" after…

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Poland scrambles aircraft as Russia launches strikes on Ukraine

Polish and allied aircraft were activated early on Monday to ensure the safety of Polish airspace after Russia launched air strikes targeting western Ukraine, near the border with Poland, the…

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UPDATED: Polish eurosceptic Nawrocki wins presidential vote

Polish nationalist opposition candidate Karol Nawrocki won the second round of the country's presidential election with 50.89% of the votes, the electoral commission said early on Monday on its website.…

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Poland’s pro-European course is at stake in presidential election run-off

Poland holds a presidential election run-off on Sunday, with the ruling party's candidate, liberal Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, facing nationalist Karol Nawrocki, in a vote crucial for the country's pro-European…

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Prague accuses China of hacking Czech foreign ministry

The Czech government on Wednesday condemned China for carrying out a cyberattack against its foreign ministry exposing thousands of unclassified emails. Czechia said that the Chinese state-sponsored group Advanced Persistent…

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Tens of thousands gather in Warsaw for rival presidential marches ahead of decisive runoff

Tens of thousands of people flooded the streets of Warsaw on Sunday for dueling political rallies led by the two contenders in Poland’s high-stakes presidential runoff on 1 June —…

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Poland intercepts Russian military aircraft

Poland said it had intercepted a Russian SU-24 aircraft performing dangerous manoeuvres over the Polish airspace on Thursday night. Defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said the order to intercept the aircraft…

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Centrist Warsaw mayor narrowly wins Polish presidential vote

Liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski narrowly won the first round of Poland’s presidential election on Sunday against his right-wing rival Karol Nawrocki, setting the two up for a nail-biting campaign…

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Centrist Dan wins Romanian presidency

Romania's centrist Bucharest mayor, Nicusor Dan, won the country's presidential election on Sunday in a shock upset over a hard-right, nationalist rival who had pledged to put Romania on a…

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Poland election: what you need to know

Poland will hold the first round of a presidential election on May 18, setting the scene for a vote that will be crucial for the pro-European government's hopes of implementing…

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Romania braces for heated presidential vote

Romania is heading towards its most polarised presidential election in the country’s democratic history, with voters braced for the battle between a right-wing populist and a centrist technocrat on Sunday.…

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Romania in chaos as prime minister resigns

Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said he would resign, throwing the country into further turmoil after a hard-right candidate easily won the first round of the country’s presidential election. An…

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Romanian hard-right leader clear winner in first-round presidential vote

Hard-right eurosceptic George Simion won the first round of Romania's presidential election re-run on Sunday, near final results showed, after a ballot seen as a test of the rise of…

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Impact of Far-Right Politics on Romania’s Future

Romanians are voting in a presidential election runoff that could bring to power George Simion, an ultranationalist who opposes military aid to Ukraine, criticises the EU's leadership, and aligns with…

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Hungary withdrawing from ICC as Israeli leader visits

Hungary's government has decided to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, it said on Thursday, shortly after Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, sought under an ICC arrest warrant, arrived in the…

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2,300 troops from 12 NATO countries take part in annual military drill in the Black Sea

Military personnel from 12 NATO countries begun an annual naval exercise led by Romania in the Black Sea and Danube river delta this week. Over 2,300 troops are taking part…

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Three-quarters of Poles oppose adopting euro

Nearly three-quarters of Poles are against replacing the national currency, the zloty, with the euro, according to a new report. The report, compiled by the Warsaw Enterprise Institute (WEI) think…

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Austria and Poland Take Tough Stance on Migration Amid Rising Pressure

Poland and Austria have introduced strict new measures on migration, signaling a hardening stance across parts of the European Union as governments face increasing domestic pressure over asylum policies. Polish…

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NATO warns Russia of ‘devastating’ response if Poland is attacked

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned on Wednesday that any attack on Poland or another alliance member would meet a forceful response, reaffirming the bloc's commitment to defending its eastern…

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Austria says it has uncovered a Russian-steered campaign to spread disinformation about Ukraine

Austrian authorities said Monday that they uncovered a Russian-steered campaign aimed at spreading disinformation about Ukraine following the detention in December of a Bulgarian woman accused of spying for Russia.…

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Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have left Romania for the US

Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are on a flight from Romania to the United States after a travel ban on them was lifted. They took a private plane from…

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Austria’s centrist parties clinch coalition deal without the far right

Austria's centrist parties have agreed to form a coalition government five months after elections in which the country's leading far right party won the largest share of the national vote.…

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Poland scrambles aircraft after Russia launches strikes on Ukraine

Polish and allied aircraft were activated early on Tuesday to ensure the safety of Polish airspace after Russia launched air strikes targeting western Ukraine, the Operational Command of the Polish…

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Two killed in knife attack at Czech shopping centre

An attacker killed two people with a knife in a shopping centre in the Czech city of Hradec Kralove on Thursday, police said, adding that they had detained the suspected…

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What next after Austrian coalition talks led by far right collapse?

Talks between Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPO) and the conservative People's Party (OVP) have collapsed, dashing the FPO's hopes of leading a government for the first time, at least for…

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Russian aircraft violates Polish airspace

A Russian SU-24MR military jet flew into Polish airspace in the Gdansk bay area of the Baltic Sea on Tuesday due to what Russia said was a navigation system failure,…

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Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis quits to pre-empt impeachment bid before election re-run

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced he will step down, effective Wednesday, to avoid the spectacle of an impeachment process launched by Bucharest’s parliament. Iohannis, who has been president since 2014,…

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Slovak opposition says PM Fico undermining EU membership, Fico warns of protests

Slovakia's opposition accused Prime Minister Robert Fico of laying the groundwork to take the country out of the European Union, but dropped its no-confidence motion to dismiss him and his…

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Romania confirms date, tightens rules for presidential election rerun

Romania's coalition government approved on Thursday a re-run of a two-round presidential election on May 4 and May 18 as previously agreed, and tightened campaign rules for big social media…

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Norwegian F-35s deployed after Russian aircraft approach Polish airspace

Two Norwegian F-35s stationed in Poland were deployed on Wednesday in response to a "massive number of airborne Russian aircraft" that approached Poland's air space, NATO's air command said. It…

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Poland accuses Russia of planning acts of sabotage against ‘airlines around the world

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused Russia of planning acts of sabotage worldwide that included “acts of air terror” against airlines. Tusk spoke at a news conference in Warsaw alongside…

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Romania to rerun presidential election on May 4

Romania's ruling coalition agreed on Wednesday to rerun a two-round presidential election on May 4 and May 18 and stuck to an original plan to endorse a single candidate, the…

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UPDATED: Austrian president tasks far-right leader with forming government

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen tasked the leader of the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) on Monday with forming a coalition government after a centrist bid to assemble one without…

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Poland introduces mandatory firearms training for schoolchildren

Poland has introduced mandatory Education for Safety lessons for children in schools, which include shooting training and basic first aid. Most countries want their children to be as far away…

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Romanian president tasks Social Democrat with forming new government

Romania's outgoing president Klaus Iohannis designated leftist Social Democrat Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu to form a new government on Monday after three pro-European parties agreed details of a coalition that…

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Slovak PM meets Putin in surprise Moscow visit

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico has made a surprise visit to Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin - becoming only the third Western leader to meet the Russian leader since…

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