Welcome to Better Europe’s weekly update on EU Affairs.
ELECTIONS: RELIEF IN PORTUGAL, POPULARITY TESTS AHEAD ELSEWHERE
Last Sunday, Portugal gave everyone in Europe a sigh of relief as centre-left António José Seguro won the presidency by a wide margin over far-right leader André Ventura. The relief is real, even if Ventura still got 33% of the votes, cementing his party Chega as a long-term player rather than a passing protest. Elsewhere, politicians in the Netherlands are campaigning for local elections on 18 March, which risk being turned in a stress test of the new government minority government to be installed in two weeks. France, meanwhile, has municipal elections on 15 and 22 March which will give a first hint of the Rassemblement national’s chances of seeing Marine Le Pen win the 2027 Presidential elections – provided the court allows her to run, on 7 July. And as if it’s not enough for election wonks: Germany is seeing neck-and-neck CDU popularity polls in Baden-Württemberg ahead of due 8 March state elections and those in Rhineland-Palatinate on 22 March.
MUNICH’S SECURITY CROWD CAN’T IGNORE CLIMATE ANYMORE
The 62nd Munich Security Conference opens in Bavaria this weekend, drawing heads of State, foreign ministers and security officials for their annual chat about global security. The agenda is packed with topics such as escalating conflicts, the future of the international order, AI and the quintessential question of the transatlantic relationship. But there’s more: even climate change is on the agenda, with the UK now framing climate impacts as a national security risk, as Pacific islands leaders continue to describe climate change as their greatest security threat. The Munich Security Report 2026 calls for stronger cooperation and pooled capabilities. If that’s the direction of travel, it’s a good thing that some have finally realised that climate policy is part of the toolkit, not a separate issue. There is some hope that this good intention won’t get lost in all the other urgent discussions this weekend, as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to keep his head relatively low.
LEADERS MEET IN A CASTLE TO AVOID TAKING DECISIONS
“It’s a meeting to reflect, not to take decisions”, polyglot Belgian PM Bart De Wever told the press in Dutch, French and English as he proudly welcomed his peers to Alden Biesen castle in the Limburg countryside – a day after hosting a similar crowd in his native Antwerp’s former stock exchange, where EU leaders received the Ten Commandments from the chemical industry. And indeed, some floated well-known ideas such as joint debt, “Buy European”, reduced energy costs by removing carbon taxes, a ban on gold-plating, and perhaps even abolishing the fax machine. However, with no formal decisions taken, the can is kicked down the road to the regular Summit in Brussels in March. In the meanwhile, the Commission will deliver its 28th regime proposal which Ursula von der Leyen threatened will be pursued under enhanced cooperation along with the already published financial supervision and securitisation proposals, if sufficient majorities cannot be reached. So, stop playing and get to work!
