Since taking office in May, Merz has helped spearhead European efforts to support Ukraine against Russia’s invasion

International News via Reuters:

Europe must assert its interests more strongly to ensure peace and prosperity in 2026 amid challenges from Russian aggression, global protectionism and changing ties with the U.S., German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in his annual address.

Since taking office in May, Merz has helped spearhead European efforts to support Ukraine against Russia’s invasion. Berlin has also ramped up defence spending since 2023 in a bid to show it is ready to assume more responsibility.

In his New Year’s speech, Merz pulled no punches, saying the “terrible” war raging on Europe’s doorstep posed a direct threat to continental freedom and security.

“We are seeing more and more clearly that Russia’s aggression was and is part of a plan targeted against the whole of Europe,” said Merz, adding that Germany faced sabotage, espionage and cyberattacks on a daily basis. 

He said a further challenge came from protectionism in the global economy, and that Europe’s dependence on imported raw materials was increasingly being wielded as a political lever against it.

Struggling to revive its export-oriented economy, Germany is trying to reduce reliance on China as it also grapples with global trade tensions and the effects of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade tariff policies.

Europe’s biggest economy has also been hit by what many economists say has been a lack of domestic reform and investment in recent years, and is expected to grow only modestly this year after two years of contraction.

Merz also addressed a more difficult partnership with the United States, long the reliable guarantor of German and European security, since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.

“For us Europeans, this means that we must defend and assert our interests much more strongly by ourselves,” said Merz. 

However, he said Europe must be guided by confidence, not fear, and must take matters into its own hands.

“This can be a decisive year for our country and for Europe. It can be a year in which Germany and Europe, with new strength, reconnect with decades of peace, freedom and prosperity.”

Reporting by Madeline Chambers; editing by Mark Heinrich

With this move, the government aims to defuse a legal dispute with the EU Commission over Italy’s use of golden powers to impose conditions on bank deals, which Brussels says breaches EU rules

International News via Reuters:

Italy plans to revise its golden power rules designed to shield strategic assets, deferring its own review of major financial-sector M&A deals until the European Commission and European Central Bank have completed their assessments, a document seen by Reuters showed on Tuesday.

With this move, the government aims to defuse a legal dispute with the EU Commission over Italy’s use of golden powers to impose conditions on bank deals, which Brussels says breaches EU rules. The outcome could shape cross-border consolidation in Europe’s fragmented banking sector.

The clash erupted after UniCredit, Italy’s No. 2 bank, blamed government intervention for abandoning a takeover bid for smaller lender Banco BPM.

Italy has signaled openness to changes to avoid an EU infringement procedure, Reuters reported in October, while insisting on its right to protect national interests in business matters.

EU TO MAKE FIRST MOVE

The amendment under discussion in parliament says the government should wait for EU decisions on “prudential and competition” issues before invoking golden powers in deals involving banks and insurance companies, the document said.

Rome also intends to state that economic and financial security fall within the scope of national security, a principle strenuously defended by Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti in talks with Brussels.

The EU Commission has challenged Italy’s stance by arguing significant corporate mergers should be vetted at the EU level to prevent member states from taking unjustified measures.

In a separate proceeding, the EU is weighing whether to order Italy to withdraw the decree that set conditions on UniCredit’s bid for BPM.

Among those conditions, Italy told UniCredit to exit Russia by early 2026 to ensure Banco BPM’s savings did not benefit Moscow’s economy during its war on Ukraine.

While Rome is willing to revise its golden power framework, it is unclear whether it will comply with any EU demand to scrap the UniCredit-BPM terms or challenge the move in court.

A ruling against Italy could expose the state to billions of euros in damages claims from UniCredit.

Editing by Gavin Jones and Louise Heavens

Nasralla finished second to conservative candidate Nasry Asfura, who was backed by U.S. President Donald Trump and was declared the winner on Christmas Eve, more than three weeks after the November 30 election

International News via Reuters:

Honduran presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla has formally challenged the results of the country’s recent election, the latest twist in a closely contested race that was beset by delays, technical problems and fraud allegations. 

Nasralla finished second to conservative candidate Nasry Asfura, who was backed by U.S. President Donald Trump and was declared the winner on Christmas Eve, more than three weeks after the November 30 election. 

Less than 1% of votes separated the two candidates, according to the CNE, Honduras’ electoral authority.

Nasralla’s legal team filed an appeal with Honduras’ Electoral Justice Tribunal (TJE) on Monday, prompting the tribunal to issue a resolution late on Monday evening calling for additional documentation before it decides whether to admit the challenge.

“There have been too many inconsistencies in this electoral process,” Nasralla’s lawyer Karla Romero said on Monday night, asserting that in many departments of the country, votes for Asfura had been “inflated.”

Nasralla’s lawyers have not made evidence of fraud presented in the appeal publicly available.

Asfura’s party has denied Nasralla’s accusations of fraud.

Nasralla, a centrist who has unsuccessfully run for president twice before, is seeking a comprehensive review and recount of presidential ballots in at least 12 of Honduras’ 18 departments.

The TJE has set a 48-hour deadline for the CNE to submit paperwork pertaining to the recount requests.

The challenge unfolds amid heightened political tension and public mistrust in the electoral process.

Nasralla, who also disputed his loss in the 2017 general election, rejected the CNE’s declaration of Asfura’s victory last week, saying the electoral authority had excluded ballots that should have been counted.

The head of the Honduran Congress, from the ruling Libre party, has also rejected the results. Libre supporters demonstrated outside the CNE headquarters in Tegucigalpa on Monday.

Asfura is due to take office on January 27 for the 2026-2030 term. 

Reporting by Laura Garcia, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien