News Digest

• Hungarian opposition picks top business executives to dismantle Orbán’s rule

  2026-03-16

  Péter Magyar reckons boardroom veterans will have the experience needed to secure frozen EU funds. The outcome of the EU-U.S. trade deal is still uncertain, and bitterly contentious.

• 5 takeaways from France’s local elections

  2026-03-16

  The war in Iran has tightened markets, making sanctioned Russian shipments more attractive to buyers. Both the far right and far left did well in the first round. Much now depends on the complex alliance building before the second round runoffs on March 22.

• EU’s crisis-proofing summit derailed by … another crisis

  2026-03-16

  Leaders had hoped to focus on the EU's long-term competitiveness problem. Instead, they're back to firefighting. The EU is struggling to find a solution to its economic problems.

• How the Iran energy panic supercharged Europe’s great climate debate

  2026-03-13

  A war-fueled spike in oil and gas prices has divided EU countries into the green and not-so-green. The Industrial Accelerator Act’s green ambitions have evaded scrutiny.

• Britain scrambles to shield Gulf allies as Iran war pounds on

  2026-03-16

  Christian Turner is the U.K. government’s pick for the key envoy role. The move clears the way for a career diplomat to succeed Peter Mandelson. Blaise Metreweli suggested China needs to be handled differently from an “aggressive, expansionist and revisionist” Russia.

• I got a new heat pump. Ed Miliband, I have notes.

  2026-03-13

  Right-wing populists from across Europe are converging on the U.S. capital, where Speaker Mike Johnson is headlining a sovereignty conference. American ambassadors are bringing a new style of more abrasive and confrontational diplomacy to the EU.

• French elections: First-round results set up high-stakes negotiations

  2026-03-15

  Leaders of EU countries try to get on the same page as they attempt to distance themselves from the U.S. The race is on to cut deals before the Tuesday evening deadline to finalize candidacies for the runoff. Follow live coverage here.

• Former Global Counsel staff say they were left out of pocket after firm’s collapse

  2026-03-16

  Ex-employees of the lobbying firm co-founded by Peter Mandelson are preparing a mass claim for lost pay. A 147-page document drop about the former ambassador’s appointment shows Keir Starmer was warned about his continuing friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.

• Showdown: Hungary’s Orbán, Magyar flex strength at huge rallies as election looms

  2026-03-16

  Péter Magyar reckons boardroom veterans will have the experience needed to secure frozen EU funds. There are two weeks until the European Parliament is due to vote on the EU-U.S. trade deal. The outcome is still uncertain, and bitterly contentious.

• Sánchez’s Socialists defy the polls to finish strong second in regional vote

  2026-03-15

  Spain’s governing party unexpectedly gained seats in Castilla y León elections following anti-war — and anti-Trump — messaging. “What Europe needs today is leadership who pay homage to Trump, not vassals,” said Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz.

• ‘Polexit’ now a real threat, Tusk warns

  2026-03-15

  Unlike Paris, Warsaw and Berlin were told of the strikes before they happened. POLITICO examination maps the quieter pillar of Andrej Babiš’s empire and the regulatory blind spots that surround it.

• Zelenskyy decries ‘blackmail’ by Europe over Druzhba oil pipeline

  2026-03-15

  Tehran has had “good cooperation with these countries: politically, economically, even militarily,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said. The pipeline has been offline since January after a Russian attack, and has been at the center of a bitter row between Ukraine and Hungary.

• Iran says Russia and China providing ‘military cooperation’

  2026-03-15

  The pipeline has been offline since January after a Russian attack, and has been at the center of a bitter row between Ukraine and Hungary. Tehran has had “good cooperation with these countries: politically, economically, even militarily’

• Overseas aid cuts threaten UK aid watchdog

  2026-03-16

  The first set of disclosures show the former ambassador got a payout of £75,000 — but asked for north of £500,000 after he was dismissed. Labour MPs are voicing concerns about the plans, which would limit scrutiny of development spending.

• Floating zeppelins: a new system to guard the Lithuanian airspace?

  2026-03-15

  Lithuanian consortium Dobis has designed a system to intercept smuggling balloons. The system has three distinct functions. The first is a tethered aerostat – an airship suspended on a cable. The second is a mothership: a gas-filled balloon capable of reaching altitudes of five kilometres or more. The third is a net to capture more complex cargo – robotic arms. The Dobis concept emerged as a response to a national security challenge. The airship uses rotor motors arranged as a navigation system. Several Lithuanian institutions are interested in the system for different purposes.

• From late-night calls to poetry lines: longing for home as a foreign student in Lithuania

  2026-03-15

  LRT spoke with three young international students in Vilnius about how they navigate the feelings of homesickness. Some seek comfort by recreating home-cooked meals, while others turn inward by channelling their feelings into art. Young people tend to adapt more easily because of their openness and flexibility.

• Why the Iran crisis caught Europe flat-footed

  2026-03-15

• The Iran war may be about to escalate

  2026-03-15

• Donald Trump’s Iran war could hand Congress to the Democrats

  2026-03-15

• Trouble is brewing among America’s corporate borrowers

  2026-03-15

• Open-source intelligence shuts down

  2026-03-15

• What Nitish Kumar did for Bihar, India’s poorest state

  2026-03-15

• Industrial-scale fly-tipping is spreading across Britain

  2026-03-15

No VoxEU articles in this digest.

• The UK is struggling to achieve its aims on clean energy

  2026-03-16

• Lex. Was Revolut’s banking licence worth the wait?

  2026-03-16

• Canadian pension funds count cost of private equity slump

  2026-03-16

• Retail investors pull billions from private capital’s credit gold mine

  2026-03-16

• Private credit is key to keep Main Street moving

  2026-03-16

• India’s restaurants stop deep frying food as gas crisis bites

  2026-03-16

• Energy groups press UK to boost gas storage after Iran war price shock

  2026-03-16

• Singapore warns of illicit funds in popular low-tax investment vehicles

  2026-03-16

• Oil prices stabilise as Strait of Hormuz remains shut

  2026-03-16

• MPs and peers call for major review of UK financial regulation

  2026-03-16

• Trump warns Nato faces ‘very bad future’ if allies fail to help US in Iran

  2026-03-16

• FirstFT: India touts diplomacy with Iran to open Strait of Hormuz

  2026-03-16

• Iran war should prompt a North Sea rethink

  2026-03-16

• Zelenskyy challenges Europe over Russian oil imports

  2026-03-16

• Renewable jet fuel may face price war with China, warns top producer

  2026-03-16

• A buzz returns to Venezuela’s decayed oil heartland

  2026-03-16

• Retail traders rush into oil bets as Iran war drives wild price swings

  2026-03-16

• US oil groups in line for $63bn windfall from Gulf war disruption

  2026-03-16

• Higher oil prices are just a short-term worry

  2026-03-16