The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFEPWM) will be the first institution to implement the ELENA (European Local Energy Assistance) instrument at the national level in Poland. As the leader of green investment financing in Poland, it is launching a new advisory services segment for companies and local governments preparing sustainable investments. On March 3, 2026, in Luxembourg, Ioannis Tsakiris, a vice president at the European Investment Bank, and Dorota Zawadzka-Stepniak, the board president of the NFEPWM, officially acknowledged an agreement for the ELENA National Pilot Program. The project preparation budget is €4.5 million, with €4.05 million provided as grant support from the ELENA facility — a joint EIB and European Commission facility under InvestEU. Pre-investment support will target local government authorities and heating companies. Increased investments in heating and energy efficiency will lead to energy savings and reduced carbon dioxide emissions. These efforts are part of Poland’s energy transition, with the NFEPWM playing a significant role. In 2026, the fund will allocate 85 percent of its planned green investment budget of €8.8 billion to the energy transition. After a consultation, the European Commission formally approved the ELENA grant, and it was decided to leverage the NFEPWM’s experience to implement an ELENA pilot mechanism nationally. The fund will combine its experience with the EIB’s established practices under the ELENA instrument. After the pilot phase, the NFEPWM plans to continue and expand the program to include beneficiaries from other sectors. > In 2026, the fund will allocate 85 percent of its planned green investment > budget of €8.8 billion to the energy transition. “The competence center, established as part of the ELENA project, addresses market needs in investment consulting to support Poland’s energy transition. The ELENA program will provide the NFEPWM with a unique range of services in Europe, combining advisory and financial support for future beneficiaries. This initiative aligns with the fund’s strategy for 2025–2028, which focuses on developing advisory services and creating a competence center within the fund, as well as utilizing modern financial instruments,” explains Zawadzka-Stepniak. ELENA in Poland: pilot project assumptions Between 2026 and 2029, Polish investors planning thermal modernization of public buildings and upgrades in the heating sector will have access to advisory services. Local government authorities and heating companies will receive comprehensive expert support in preparing their investments. The involvement of relevant experts will facilitate the development of high-quality project documentation, leading to effective funding applications in calls for proposals conducted by the NFEPWM. The pilot program will support entities that choose not to modernize public buildings or heating plants due to a lack of know-how. It will target new investors who can evaluate the profitability of potential investments, helping to expand the NFEPWM program’s beneficiaries. Some Polish local authorities and heating companies, constrained by limited finances, avoid the risk of inefficient spending on investment analysis, missing the chance to secure support from European funds or the Modernisation Fund. Under the ELENA project, the NFEPWM will reach out to these investors, providing technical assistance and identifying financing opportunities for future projects. This approach addresses the need for local governments to enhance energy efficiency and the requirements for heating companies to adopt more environmentally friendly heat generation methods. The future beneficiary will gain a partner in the NFEPWM, an expert in preparing technical documentation for co-financing applications and green project funding. Assistance will focus on supporting preparatory processes, including energy audits, feasibility studies, technical documentation, public procurement services and ex-ante analyses. The transformation of district heating is a priority for change in the Polish economy, making it crucial to enhance the efficiency of district heating systems and increase the use of renewable energy from various sources. More than 15 million Poles are daily users of district heating produced by small municipal heating plants typical of the Central European region. Although the networks are extensive, improving their efficiency is often necessary. The challenges include reducing heat production from coal combustion and minimizing unnecessary heat consumption. Companies are increasingly investing in modern technologies that decrease the release of dust and harmful compounds into the atmosphere. The last 20 years have brought significant changes to the Polish heating sector — carbon dioxide emissions have fallen by nearly 20 percent, the production of harmful dust has been reduced by over 90 percent, sulfur dioxide emissions have decreased by almost 90 percent and nitrogen oxides by over 60 percent. > For nearly 37 years, the NFEPWM has led green transformation financing in > Poland, improving the natural environment and quality of life. It has > co-financed environmental protection and water management investments totaling > nearly 160 billion złoty. Modernizing the heating sector and improving the energy efficiency of public buildings will reduce greenhouse gas emissions locally and nationally. The ELENA project in Poland will co-finance at least 65 entities in the heating sector. Energy efficiency projects will lower energy consumption, increase renewable energy use and enhance facility comfort. Long-term investments will reduce local government operating costs, improving air quality and residents’ quality of life. The national pilot aims to support analyses and documentation for at least 80 thermal modernization investments in public buildings. The ELENA instrument is implemented by the European Investment Bank under an agreement with the European Commission. Established in 2009 as part of the Intelligent Energy Europe II program, ELENA provides pre-investment support for sustainable energy, transport and housing. It is an EIB Advisory grant facility, under InvestEU, which supports the preparation of sustainable investments. As of the end of 2025, the ELENA facility has provided €374 million in grants for 206 projects across the European Union, supporting investments of over €12.7 billion. For nearly 37 years, the NFEPWM has led green transformation financing in Poland, improving the natural environment and quality of life. It has co-financed environmental protection and water management investments totaling nearly 160 billion złoty. Thanks to the NFEPWM, green investments worth approximately 340 billion złoty have been implemented in Poland. Under the Ministry of Climate and Environment, NFEPWM supports EU environmental and energy policy objectives. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Polish National ELENA Pilot Programme Co-funded by the InvestEU Advisory Hub of the European Union

Every day across Europe, millions of citizens wear, sleep on, eat off or rely on rental textiles provided by industrial laundries. From hospital linens and reusable surgical gowns to industrial workwear, hotel bedding, restaurant textiles and hygiene products, textile services operate quietly but indispensably at the heart of Europe’s economy. In many countries, more than 90 percent of hospitals and hotels would be forced to close within days without a continuous supply of hygienically cleaned textiles, while pharmaceutical and food production facilities would halt operations within 24 hours. Behind this essential service stands a highly organi z ed European industry that combines operational excellence with a circular, service-based business model — washing and keeping textiles in use for longer, reducing waste and lowering environmental impact while safeguarding public health. By relying on reuse, repair and professional maintenance, the system significantly reduces the need for virgin raw materials sourced from outside Europe. At the same time, these locally anchored service models create skilled jobs, generate tax revenues in the communities where companies operate and drive continuous innovation in circular solutions — supporting new business opportunities and industrial development across the European Union . > In this time of on going and challenging geo-political change, it will become > crucial to fully recogni z e the strategic value of circular, service-based > business models, which strengthen competitiveness and resilience while > delivering on Europe’s sustainability objectives. > > Hartmut Engler, CEO of CWS Workwear As several important legislative files move forward in Brussels, it is time to reflect on what textile services need to continue to implement sustainable solutions. Public procurement rules are a great vector to promote and encourage circular business models while delivering on the strategic autonomy ambition of the EU. Public authorities across the EU spend over € 2.6 trillion annually on purchasing services, works and supplies, accounting for around 15 percent of the EU ’s GDP. However, too much of this investment is directed toward linear services and disposable goods, slowing down progress toward Europe’s environmental and industrial objectives. With the revision of the EU public procurement rules, it should be recogni z ed that the EU’s circular economy and environmental aims are greatly advanced by the textile rental industry. Specifically, g reen p ublic p rocurement should become mandatory across all EU m ember s tates and should also encourage alternatives to direct purchase such as leasing models or product-as-a-service business models. Public procurement should not be driven solely by value-for-money considerations, but by a holistic lifecycle approach that reflects long-term environmental and social performance. Introducing mandatory lifecycle costing as an award criterion would ensure that sustainability is measured over the full duration of a contract, not just at the point of purchase. > Longevity of product should be the first priority of the upcoming Circular > Economy Act. The most sustainable product is ultimately the one that is kept > in use the longest, putting durability and repairability at the centre of > environmental benefits. > > Elena Lai, s ecretary g eneral of the European Textile Services Association European Textile Services Association (ETSA) members already deliver sustainable business models with product-as-a-service models implementing repair, reuse and extended use. Such business models should be empowered and further supported in legislation, hand in hand with recycling. Extending a product’s useful life delivers far greater climate and resource benefits than breaking products down for recycling after short use cycles. It preserves the embedded energy, water and raw materials already invested. However, prioriti z ing longevity does not mean neglecting end-of-life solutions. At the same time, ETSA members are joining forces to invest in a joint recycling pilot project, translating circular ambition into practical industrial solutions. They are developing innovative processes to transform end-of-life textiles into recycled fib er s suitable for insulation materials, industrial wipers and other high-value applications — with the long-term vision of advancing closed-loop systems in which recycled fib er s can increasingly serve as raw materials for new textile production. Recycling requires stable markets and long-term policy certainty, and the sector is actively investing in building both. By developing concrete use cases for recycled content, these initiatives help strengthen European recycling value chains while further reducing dependency on third-country suppliers. > Europe does not need to invent circular solutions from scratch. They already > exist. The priority now is to put in place policies that support circular, > service-based business models. These models are built on durability and > extending product lifespans to get more value from the resources we already > use. > > Elena Lai, s ecretary g eneral of the European Textile Services Association Textile services are not an emerging concept but a proven, scalable European solution — reducing consumption, anchoring jobs locally, safeguarding public health and lowering emissions. By recogni z ing and supporting service-based reuse models in forthcoming legislation, the EU can accelerate its sustainability ambitions while strengthening competitiveness and strategic autonomy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT * The sponsor is ETSA – European Textiles Service Association * The ultimate controlling entity is ETSA – European Textiles Service Association * This political advertisement advocates for the recognition and support of circular, service-based business models within forthcoming EU legislation; by addressing the Circular Economy Act, the revision of EU Public Procurement rules, Green Public Procurement requirements and lifecycle costing criteria, it seeks to influence policymakers and the public debate on EU sustainability, industrial policy and procurement frameworks, bringing it within the scope of the TTPA. More information here.

BRUSSELS — The European Commission will adopt the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) on Wednesday, finally backing the landmark measure that would define a European preference in green public procurement after several delays. Haggling over the planned regulation went right down to the wire, with a meeting of cabinet chiefs that began on Monday spilling into Tuesday, the day before Ursula von der Leyen’s College of Commissioners will now sign off on an agreed text. According to one Commission official, another 44 changes were made to the draft at the meeting that ran into overtime. Paula Pinho, the Commission’s chief spokesperson, confirmed at Tuesday’s regular midday briefing that “commissioners are expected to adopt a proposal for an Industrial Accelerator Act.” The landmark measure would define a “Made in EU” preference in green public procurement — while pushing back a decision for six months on whether friendly third countries can be included in its scope. This means that, even after Wednesday’s announcement, countries like the U.K. or Switzerland will still need to lobby to get inside the tent. The IAA would also set restrictions on inward investment for dominant players in strategic green industries. These would mainly have China in mind, and cover batteries and energy storage, electric vehicles and components, solar photovoltaic, and the extraction, processing and recycling of critical raw materials, according to a draft obtained by POLITICO last week. An earlier version of the proposal, which is being overseen by Industry Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné, was panned last month by as many as nine departments of the EU executive. By the end of last week that was down to three, including the Commission’s powerful trade department, according to one person familiar with the discussion. They were granted anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks. Germany also led a rearguard action by 10 EU countries — which styled themselves as the Friends of Industry — who support less industry regulation and more open trade, with Economy Minister Katherina Reiche saying it would create “a regulatory wasteland that nobody can understand anymore.” With so many changes being made at the last minute, including dropping entire industries like tech from the purview of the legislation, critics say the bill is nowhere near ready for prime time and is at risk of being heavily revised when it goes for review by the Council of the EU, which represents the bloc’s 27 member countries, and European lawmakers. Additional reporting by Gerardo Fortuna.

Europe’s ambition to become climate neutral by 2050 cannot succeed in healthcare unless we fix a basic problem: we do not measure sustainability in the same way across the single market. Currently, measuring Product Carbon Footprints (PCF) and Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) throughout the European Union consists of a patchwork of national methodologies and/or competing frameworks. This fragmentation is not just a technical inconvenience, it actively undermines fair procurement, increases costs, and risks unequal patient access across Europe.[1] Without a single, harmonized methodology or framework, this EU sustainability and competitiveness goal will remain challenging to achieve. Though the lack of harmonizsation may seem technical, its consequences are tangible. PCF and LCA outputs can differ widely depending on the standards and methodologies defined and endorsed by policymakers, the way they are applied by industry, or how existing international standards are interpreted and implemented across member states.[2] The result is that national authorities are effectively speaking different languages. A treatment considered more environmentally responsible in one country may be evaluated entirely differently just across the border. And without harmonized sustainability assessments for medicines, there is a risk that sustainability is given disproportionate weight compared with safety and quality, undermining high-quality medicine development. In short, fragmentation slows progress, weakens trust and, importantly, – prevents comparability. [1]  > In short, fragmentation slows progress, weakens trust and, importantly, – > prevents comparability. In practice, the absence of a harmonized standard allows 27 different interpretations of ‘sustainability’ to coexist, which is incompatible with a functioning single market. Fortunately, PAS 2090:2025 offers what the EU has been missing: a single, science-based methodology that allows regulators, procurers, and industry to finally speak the same language. Developed with stakeholders across the healthcare and life sciences sector, PAS 2090:2025 specifies the appropriate methodology for medicines under ISO standards, aligning the playing field for everyone involved. Published by the British Standards Institution in November 2025, it reflects broad technical consensus and strong credibility. PAS 2090:2025 provides the first practical methodology for measuring the environmental performance of pharmaceuticals, establishing a common framework to support comparable environmental reporting, reduce regulatory duplication and provide policymakers with a credible basis to demonstrate progress toward climate neutrality. It also gives industry the predictability needed to invest in sustainable innovation, while ensuring that patients receive consistent assessments of a treatment’s environmental profile, regardless of where it is evaluated. Importantly, this approach reflects principles already embedded in EU policymaking. The European Health Data Space, for example, demonstrates how interoperability and standardized frameworks are essential in making cross-border data meaningful and actionable.[3] Meanwhile, the European Commission has been equally clear: harmonized technical standards and coherent sustainability rules are critical to the effective functioning of the Single Market and ensuring the free movement of goods.[4] This is a shared concern across stakeholder groups. Both the Federation of European Academies of Medicine and European Academies’ Science Advisory Council, representing Europe’s leading academies of medicine and science, have similarly highlighted the fact that common standards are essential for transparent procurement and fair competition across therapeutic categories.[5]And the innovative pharmaceutical industry, via the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, has outlined both the challenges caused by the absence of harmonized standards and called for policymakers, regulators and healthcare stakeholders to endorse PAS 2090:2025 as the one, internationally accepted standard for measuring PCA and LCA in the pharmaceutical industry.[6]Europe’s leading academies of medicine and science, the European Commission, and the innovative pharmaceutical sector all point to the same conclusion: without harmonized standards, sustainability policy cannot work. > At Chiesi, we support PAS 2090:2025 not because it is convenient, but because > it makes our environmental performance directly comparable and therefore > accountable.[2]  That is why our teams have laid out ambitious, yet reachable, targets regarding the reduction of Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions. We also know that in order to reach these targets, we need to measure our actions and emissions. Measuring what matters is the foundation to making a meaningful difference.[3]  > Measuring what matters is the foundation to making a meaningful > difference.[3]  Our support for PAS 2090:2025 reflects a commitment to transparency, science-based decision-making and long-term sustainability; we use it ourselves because we believe it is the way forward — making it simple to compare products fairly, design transparent tenders, and procure with clarity. Further, industry members will be able to innovate with confidence, knowing that the life-changing efforts will be assessed with science and clear understandings. That said, no single actor can deliver alignment alone. Real progress depends on collaboration between regulators, policymakers, scientific bodies, and industry around a shared approach to measuring and comparing environmental impact. Chiesi stands ready to work with policymakers and partners across the healthcare ecosystem in favor of the adoption of PAS 2090:2025, understanding that achieving true regulatory harmonization is essential for ensuring patient access, maintaining high safety and quality standards, and fostering a globally competitive pharmaceutical industry in Europe. At the end of the day, the EU does not need another pilot program, framework, or national workaround. It needs a decision. It needs action. Europe must agree on how sustainability in healthcare is measured consistently and credibly across the single market. Measuring what matters, in the same way across Europe, is the only path to a climate-neutral, competitive, and fair European health system. Endorsing PAS 2090:2025 as the reference methodology would turn that principle into practice. Andrea Bonetti Andrea Bonetti is head of the EU office at Chiesi Farmaceutici, where he oversees the company’s public affairs strategy at European level across healthcare, sustainability and planetary health. Since opening Chiesi’s Brussels office in 2020, he has strengthened the company’s engagement with EU institutions, contributed to key policy discussions and supported initiatives to advance awareness on climate and environmental priorities in line with Chiesi’s values. He collaborates closely with cross-functional teams on the development and implementation of Chiesi’s sustainability strategy and represents the company within European and international trade associations. With more than 15 years of experience in health and environmental policy, he supports Chiesi’s external positioning and contributes to sector-wide work on environmental and sustainability frameworks. Disclaimer: POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT * The sponsor is Chiesi Farmaceutici * The political advertisement is linked to advocacy on EU sustainability and Single Market policy. More information here. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] European Commission. (2023). Annual Single Market Report 2023. https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-01/ASMR%202023.pdf   [2] Healthcare Without Harm. (2022). Report: Procuring for greener pharma. https://europe.noharm.org/media/4639/download?inline=1   [3] European Union. (2025). Regulation (EU) 2025/327 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2025 on the European Health Data Space and amending Directive 2011/24/EU and Regulation (EU) 2024/2847. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2025/327 [4] European Commission. (2026). Public procurement. https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/public-procurement_en [5] European Academies’ Science Advisory Council (EASAC) & Federation of European Academies of Medicine (FEAM). (2021). Decarbonisation of the health sector: A commentary by EASAC and FEAM. https://easac.eu/fileadmin/PDF_s/reports_statements/Health_Decarb/EASAC_Decarbonisation_of_Health_Sector_Web_9_July_2021.pdf.pdf [6]European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). (2025). Advancing environmental sustainability assessment of pharmaceuticals through standardisation and harmonisation of product carbon footprint assessment. https://www.efpia.eu/news-events/the-efpia-view/efpia-news/advancing-environmental-sustainability-assessment-of-pharmaceuticals-through-standardisation-and-harmonisation-of-product-carbon-footprint-assessment/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

ALDEN BIESEN, Belgium — The European Union should open up more to its trade partners in public procurement and curb Chinese investment in sectors like green tech, according to a new draft of a landmark industry act obtained by POLITICO on Thursday. Free-trade partners like the United Kingdom and Japan will breathe a sigh of relief as the draft Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) foresees a definition of “Made in EU” that includes “trusted partners.” Brussels wants to throw up a higher barrier to investment from China by imposing a cap on foreign direct investment by countries that dominate a given global industry. The leak of the bill came as EU leaders held a retreat at a Belgian castle to wargame ways to reverse the bloc’s industrial decline in the face of China’s export dominance and America’s tech supremacy. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is trying to find a balance between France’s protectionist instincts and calls for more openness led by Germany, Italy and the EU’s Nordic contingent. Leaders played down differences as they gathered at the Alden Biesen estate, with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni saying her views on industrial strategy converged with those of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and brushing off suggestions the duo were trying to isolate French President Emmanuel Macron. “It is not something that we do against someone else, by excluding someone else,” she told reporters. Leaders reached a form of consensus on areas including the concept of a European preference, where there was openness to examining what it may mean and where it may be needed, according to a person briefed on the talks. The meeting kicked off an intense month of politicking on restoring EU competitiveness and its single market project, with the IAA due out on Feb. 25 and leaders to reconvene for a full-blown summit on March 19-20. The draft drew a swift and strong rebuke from Chinese business. “The latest version of the Industrial Accelerator Act is likely to undermine the investment confidence of leading Chinese companies,” the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to the EU said. “Beyond the political signaling, many of the proposed measures raise serious practical concerns, including the feasibility of mandatory local partnership requirements, which in many cases may simply not be commercially or technologically viable.” A big question mark over the industry push, which is being led by Industry Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné, is whether it can be sufficiently decisive to turn the economic tide. “Whatever new FDI rules will be enacted will be ineffective,” said Yanmei Xie, a senior associate fellow at the Mercator Institute for China Studies. Each EU member country has a different agenda and building a united front against Chinese dominance is a near impossibility. “Whoever is the lowest denominator becomes the de facto gatekeeper.” TRUSTED PARTNERS The latest draft of the IAA, which runs to 96 pages, broadens the definition of a European preference as it would apply to public procurement and other taxpayer-funded programs in energy-intensive industries, net-zero technologies and the automotive sector. In so doing it should allay fears among friendly trading nations of a “Fortress Europe” scenario.  The scope of Made in EU should include content originating from the EU and the European Economic Area, which spans Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The draft also leaves the door open to “trusted partners” whose manufacturing “should be deemed equivalent to Union origin content.” Earlier on Thursday, Séjourné dismissed the notion that the Made in EU push would exclude trade partners. His cabinet said there was broad support, both politically and in industry for the work of the Commission, although “opinions diverge on the conditions and modalities of its implementation.” A broader Made in EU concept will be welcome in the U.K. after the country’s finance minister, Rachel Reeves, said on Wednesday that Britain needed to be part of the Made in EU club. “I actually support the idea of some sort of ‘Made in Europe’ or ‘Made in countries that share each other’s values,’” she told an event. Japan, a major auto exporter, will also welcome the shift. The country “very much meets the definition of a Trusted Partner of the EU,” Patrick Keating, Honda Europe’s head of government affairs, told POLITICO.  GETTING TOUGHER The EU executive doubled down on its efforts to curb foreign direct investments from China in its latest draft.  Should the current form hold, the IAA would limit investments by companies based in countries that control more than 40 percent of global manufacturing capacity across four sectors: batteries, electric vehicles, solar technologies, and the processing and recycling of critical raw materials. “The sectors indicated — those in which Beijing is a leader — as well as the reference to the 40 percent manufacturing capacity, highlight how the increasingly clear target of these measures are Chinese foreign direct investments,”said Luca Picotti, a lawyer at Italy’s Osservatorio Golden Power. The Commission’s proposal, which effectively mirrors Beijing’s 1980s forced joint venture policy, remains in the new draft. Chinese automakers that could be forced to give up some of their technology to their European competitors are pushing back on that strategy. BYD CEO Stella Li has called the model “outdated.” “It’s not efficient: We take decisions in a second, a joint venture takes months. It’s a model of the past,” she told Italian daily Corriere della Sera at the Davos World Economic Forum last month. Governments would also be compelled under the IAA to buy more climate-friendly materials, though the scope of the requirement remains elusive in the latest draft of the upcoming industry booster. The act also proposes introducing voluntary green steel labels.  The scale of the Commission’s intervention remains unclear in the draft, which is missing a section devoted to specific materials as well as a set of annexes, though hints are sprinkled throughout the document. “Public procurement is a powerful lever,” von der Leyen told industry representatives at an event in Antwerp on Wednesday, noting it amounts to 15 percent of EU GDP. “This is massive financial firepower controlled by European governments. But too often, we see that our public buyers have to take the subsidized foreign products instead of the high-quality European alternatives. That is homegrown value that we are leaving on the table.”  Aude van den Hove reported from Alden Biesen, Francesca Micheletti, Jordyn Dahl and Sebastian Starcevic from Brussels, and Zia Weise from Antwerp.

Albania’s Minister of State for Digital Intelligence, the world’s first virtual official, could soon be faceless as the actor she was modeled on is taking the government to court. In August 2025, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama made headlines by floating the idea of an AI minister or prime minister. A month later, he announced Diella, an AI-powered official tasked with fighting corruption in public procurement. Diella had already been familiar to Albanians as a chatbot on the e-Albania government services portal. The avatar was built using the face and voice of actor Anila Bisha under a contract that expired on Dec. 31, 2025. The avatar’s promotion to minister in September last year saw her image brought to life in a parliamentary address beamed across the world. But Bisha has now reportedly sued the Council of Ministers, the prime minister, a private company involved in the project and the National Agency of Information Society (AKSHI). She claims the government continued using her likeness beyond the agreed timeframe and scope — which was limited to the e-Albania platform. In court documents published by multiple local media outlets, Bisha seeks an injunction to immediately halt the use of her image pending the case’s outcome. She alleges significant and irreversible harm from the unauthorized use of her likeness. Bisha previously explained during a TV interview last September that she had recorded extensive video and audio material for the e-Albania chatbot, for a limited period and nominal payment, with no permission granted for other uses. Albanian government spokesperson, Manjola Hasa, told POLITICO: “Albania is a free democratic country where, as in every other country with no censorship, people are free to think and act through legal pathways against the government. In our view, this lawsuit is nonsense, but we welcome the opportunity to solve it once and for all in a court of law.” Bisha did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

EUROPE’S AUTONOMY PUSH EXPOSES OLD FAULT LINES The renewed drive to reduce reliance on Washington is bringing up familiar disagreements ahead of an EU leaders’ summit on Thursday. By NICHOLAS VINOCUR and GABRIEL GAVIN in Brussels While the meeting is not expected to produce binding commitments, it will set a broad political direction for the European Commission. | Sebastien Bozon/AFP via Getty Images EU leaders are gearing up for major fights over issues ranging from joint defense projects to economic reforms as a drive to loosen Europe’s dependence on Donald Trump’s America lays bare deep divisions among the bloc’s 27 countries. Ahead of an informal leaders’ retreat on Thursday focused on competitiveness, capitals had pledged to show unity and plot a path toward greater European autonomy after the U.S. president’s threats against Greenland set off the worst transatlantic crisis in decades. But as leaders prepare for their summit, that united front is already cracking — and long-standing disagreements are resurfacing over how to turn lofty ambitions for “strategic independence” into concrete action. While the meeting is not expected to produce binding commitments, it will set a broad political direction for the European Commission, which is due to draw up proposals ahead of a formal summit in late March. “Everyone around the table must … face a moment of truth,” said Manfred Weber, leader of the European People’s Party, whose members include German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Leaders should “not complain about each other” but do their “homework” to ensure reforms can be completed, he added. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told POLITICO ahead of the summit that “Europe has lots of leverage. We just need to stick together and make decisions … instead of whining and complaining, we need to understand that through strength Europe will actually have [a firm] position.” A glaring example is the recent disagreement between EU powerhouses France and Germany, whose leaders clashed over Emmanuel Macron’s refusal to endorse the EU-Mercosur trade deal. In an interview published Tuesday by several European newspapers, the French president trumpeted the need for joint European borrowing to finance ambitious industrial and defense projects — a call that was promptly rebuffed by Germany.  “You will have seen the interview with the French president published today,” said a senior German government official, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive summit preparations. “We think that … this distracts a little from what it’s actually all about, namely that we have a productivity problem.” Other capitals were quick to chime in. “[It’s] good that Macron sees the need to invest in Europe’s future economy,” said an EU diplomat from a mid-sized country. But, the diplomat added, such a push amounts to “daydreaming” given the possibility to spend via the EU’s long-term budget. In his interview, Macron also threatened to suspend a Franco-German program to jointly develop a battle tank, after a blame game over the lack of progress on a joint fighter jet program. “You can imagine that, if the German partner questioned the future of the joint plane, we would have to question the joint tank.” Pool photo by Sebastien Bozon/AFP via Getty Images It’s one of dozens of fault lines being exposed ahead of Thursday’s retreat in a flurry of position papers from EU capitals. While France is advocating “Buy European” policies that would prioritize EU industries for subsidies and public procurement contracts, Nordic and Baltic countries have pushed back against the idea in a joint position paper, saying it would add unwanted complexity just as Europe is trying to deregulate. At the same time, Germany has joined forces with Italy to push back against French initiatives, instead promoting an agenda heavily focused on deregulation. In a joint discussion paper backed by Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, they call for an “emergency brake” on new EU legislation, granting capitals the right to stop Brussels from coming up with laws they don’t like. But diplomats from other countries argue that the Berlin-Rome push misses the larger point, which is that Europe needs to wean itself off foreign dependencies. “Simplification (deregulation) is important,” said a second EU diplomat. “But it cannot be the alpha and the omega of our European policy. Bureaucracy isn’t everything. We urgently need to think about supply chains and how to reduce our dependencies.” A third EU diplomat put the situation bluntly: “We have the diagnosis, we have the prescription, we haven’t gone to the pharmacy.” TRUMP IN THE ROOM If these disagreements are now emerging into the cold light of day, it’s because leaders who have long avoided difficult conversations about internal reforms can now no longer afford to do so. Trump’s threats against Greenland triggered a reckoning among leaders during an extraordinary Council gathering in January, at which von der Leyen said Europe must now take the path of independence. Several diplomats briefed on the leaders’ discussions described the summit as a Rubicon moment from which there was no turning back. “Without GDP growth we will be really vulnerable for external shocks,” said Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domański. The Commission and other EU policymakers, he said, will have to “focus on growth, focus on deregulation and being more ambitious,” something that critics say has been too little, too slow. The problem is that translating that rhetoric into reality comes at huge political cost for leaders. Indeed, reforms to finalize the bloc’s fragmented single market or build up a true European deterrent capacity have been on the table for years, in some cases decades. Leaders have long opted to politely ignore them because following through on reforms would threaten national industries. Take the proposal to form a European capital markets union.  The idea of joining up the EU’s fragmented capital markets to create a far vaster pool of investable capital was first pitched more than a decade ago, and has won endorsement from former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi as a crucial step toward independence. But it has gone nowhere for years due to opposition from Berlin and Rome, among other capitals, which have blocked the initiative due to the threat it poses to regional banks. “Look at the Capital Markets Union,” said the EPP’s Weber. “The concept, the initiatives are on our table for years now.” The elephant in the room when leaders gather Thursday will be Europe’s relationship with the Trump administration. Despite consensus around the need for Europe to plot its own path, several countries are unwilling to risk alienating Washington — or seeing their companies prevented from selling into U.S. markets — due to protective EU policies. Relations between Brussels and Washington may well snap back to normal after the Greenland crisis, some diplomats suggest. But for some leaders, there is no turning back to the way things were before. “As we left the worst of the [Greenland] crisis, there was a cowardly form of relief,” Macron said. “There are threats and intimidation, then all of a sudden Washington retreats, and we think it’s over. But don’t think that for one single second … every day, there are new threats.” Max Griera and Nette Nöstlinger contributed reporting.

BRUSSELS — The European Commission’s vice president Henna Virkkunen sounded the alarm about Europe’s dependence on foreign technology on Tuesday, saying “it’s very clear that Europe is having our independence moment.” “During the last year, everybody has really realized how important it is that we are not dependent on one country or one company when it comes to some very critical technologies,” she said at an event organized by POLITICO. “In these times … dependencies, they can be weaponized against us,” Virkkunen said. The intervention at the event — titled Europe’s race for digital leadership — comes at a particularly sensitive time in transatlantic relations, after U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent threats to take over Greenland forced European politicians to consider retaliation. Virkkunen declined to single out the United States as one of the partners that the EU must de-risk from. She pointed to the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as incidents that point to Europe’s “vulnerabilities.” She said the U.S. is a key partner, but also noted that “it’s very important for our competitiveness and for our security, that we have also our own capacity, that we are not dependent.” The Commission’s executive vice president for tech sovereignty swung behind the idea of using public contracts as a way to support the development of European technology companies and products. “We should use public procurement, of course, much more actively also to boost our own growing technologies in the European Union,” she said when asked about her stance on plans to “Buy European.” Those plans, being pushed by the French EU commissioner Stéphane Séjourné, in charge of European industy, to ensure that billions in procurement contracts flow to EU businesses, are due to be outlined in an upcoming Industrial Accelerator Act that has been delayed multiple times. “Public services, governments, municipalities, regions, also the European Commission, we are very big customers for ICT services,” Virkkunen said. “And we can also boost very much European innovations [and startups] when we are buying services.” Virkkunen is overseeing a package of legislation aimed at promoting tech sovereignty that is expected to come out this spring, including action on cloud and artificial intelligence, and microchips — industries in which Europe is behind global competitors. When asked where she saw the biggest need for Europe to break away from foreign reliance, the commissioner said that while it was difficult to pick only one area, “chips are very much a pre-condition for any other technologies.” “We are not able to design and manufacture very advanced chips. It’s very problematic for our technology customer. So I see that semiconductor chips, they are very much key for any other technologies,” she said.

LONDON — Chancellor Rachel Reeves warned Britain “would never rule anything out” when it comes to retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. administration, following Donald Trump’s latest Greenland tariff threats. Speaking to the BBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday morning, Reeves said the U.K. “would not be buffeted around,” while stressing she had been reassured by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that the trade deal struck between Britain and Washington “will stand.” EU leaders have toughened their position ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s speech in Davos on Wednesday afternoon. Germany has joined France in urging the European Commission to prepare its most powerful trade weapon — the Anti-Coercion Instrument — if Trump refuses to back down on his threats, according to five diplomats with knowledge of the situation. The tool would allow the bloc to impose tariffs, restrictions on investment and public procurement, and limits on intellectual property protections.  On Wednesday morning, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the U.S. president’s “proposed additional tariffs are simply wrong,” warning that an escalation would only “embolden the adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of our strategic landscape.” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday called for calm over the U.S.’s fraught trade relationship with the EU and U.K., warning that the “worst thing countries can do is escalate against the United States.” “What I’m urging everyone here to do is sit back, take a deep breath, and let things play out,” he said.

President Donald Trump backed down from the most extreme “Liberation Day” tariffs after bond traders revolted at the prospect of economic upheaval. Now, his push to coerce Denmark into ceding Greenland has threatened to trigger a similar market rout. Bond yields spiked and stocks sank on Tuesday as investors reckoned with how Trump’s threat to impose new tariffs on Europe could hammer alliances that are critical to the global economy. That reignited fears that the “Sell America” trade that dominated market narratives last spring could reemerge, undercutting Wall Street’s hopes for U.S. assets in 2026. As global leaders and top financial CEOs gathered in Davos for the World Economic Forum, where Trump is scheduled to speak on Wednesday, the blowback from bond traders threatened to undermine the president’s bullish case for both the U.S. economy and its market outlook. “The narrative just won’t go away,” said Paul Christopher, head of global investment strategy at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute. Foreign investors flooded back into U.S. assets as tensions eased during the latter half of 2025, but now “they’re hedging because they’re not sure what Trump is going to do with tariffs next.” Trump has historically been highly sensitive to how the bond market responds to his policies, and he regularly cites the stock market’s surge as evidence of how his agenda is working. The latest turmoil has echoes of the volatility that hit global bond markets shortly after he announced eye-popping tariffs last April on dozens of trading partners at a White House press conference. The president later announced a temporary pause on the new import duties after the bond market started “getting a little bit yippy,” in his words. His threat on Saturday to impose more tariffs on Europe sparked a similar response. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by more than 870 points on Tuesday. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 both closed down by more than 2 percent — erasing the gains notched through the first three weeks of the year. Yields on the 10-year and 30-year Treasury securities — which are benchmark rates for consumer and corporate lending products — jumped to their highest levels since last September, and the dollar sank. The president warned that he would impose additional 10 percent tariffs on eight European countries that have sought to block his ambitions to acquire Greenland, the sparsely populated Danish territory that’s been a fixation of the president since his first term. French President Emmanuel Macron has said he’s planning to activate the EU’s so-called trade bazooka — the Anti-Coercion Instrument — to respond to Trump’s saber rattling. That would allow the EU to impose restrictions on investment and access to public procurement schemes, as well as limits on intellectual property protection. The White House pushed back on the notion that the markets were rejecting Trump’s policies. “The S&P 500 is up over 10 percent and 10-year Treasury bond yields are down nearly 30 basis points over the past year because the markets have confidence in the Trump administration’s pro-growth, pro-business policies,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said. “Accelerating GDP growth, cooled inflation, and over a dozen historic trade deals all prove that this Administration continues to deliver for American workers and companies.” Banking leaders — including Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, Citi’s Jane Fraser and State Street’s Ron O’Hanley — signaled optimism at the U.S.’s economic outlook in separate media appearances in Davos as they urged government leaders to find a resolution. “Let the people go to work,” Moynihan told CNBC. “They’re here in this beautiful place, and they’ve got a week to a few days to work on it. So, give them 48 hours and see if they can come up with solutions.” Throughout his first year back in the White House, Trump’s costly tariffs and insistence that Europe do more to finance its own defense have caused economic disruption and forced leaders across the continent to reckon with the possibility that the U.S. is no longer as strong a partner as it once was. And while markets have grown increasingly confident that the president’s frequent escalations result in policies that are far less severe than his initial threats, finding an off-ramp in the fight over Greenland’s future could prove challenging. “The market’s very complacent to the idea that this is just a negotiating tool,” said Brij Khurana, a fixed-income portfolio manager at Wellington Management. “I’m more nervous about it because I don’t, I don’t see what the middle ground is here.” In an appearance on Fox Business from Davos on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it’s “very difficult to disaggregate” the market’s reaction to Trump’s Greenland push from a massive sell-off in Japanese bonds that was triggered by mounting concerns about the country’s fiscal trajectory. As European leaders consider taking steps to retaliate against Trump, Bessent urged caution. “Sit back, take a deep breath, do not retaliate,” he said. “The president will be here tomorrow, and he will get his message across.” Aiden Reiter contributed to this report.