WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE EU - euobserver daily news -Wednesday 15 April 2026.

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Good morning. There is no coal comeback Before the war, roughly one-fifth of global liquid gas supply, about 112bn m³, passed through the strait. If used for power, that equals around 590 Terrawatt-hours, roughly France’s annual electricity generation. This however is more than made up for by renewable additions.  In 2025 alone, data from energy think-tank Ember shows the world added enough new wind and solar capacity to generate about 1100TWh a year, nearly twice as much, which helped reduce the need for more coal since the start of the crisis.  One reason there hasn’t been a coal resurgence is that coal was already cheaper than gas, even before the latest price shock, meaning coal plants are already running close to full capacity. The only way for coal to “come back is to build new plants, or revive old ones,” Ember’s Dave Jones told EUobserver. And by those metrics, there’s just not that much room to play with. Germany has seven gigawatt of coal power capacity in reserve. Italy's total coal generation was under five gigawatts in 2025 — less than one percent of national electricity output, according to the country's grid operator Terna.  Even if these plants, which currently operate at an €80m a year loss, are extended, it will not materially change either country's energy outlook. The speed with which renewables can be connected to the grid is the determining factor.  Data from another recent Ember study shows that almost 700GW of renewable projects are waiting for grid connection across Europe. In Italy alone, 231 GW of projects have a connection agreement but remain unbuilt — nearly twice the country’s entire power capacity. Building wires sometimes takes decades. But the International Energy Agency estimated that software and contract reforms alone could unlock up to 185 GW of capacity across Europe.  The most important bottleneck, it turns out, isn’t fuel, but the grid.   Wester van Gaal - economy journalist ADVERT Top story France blocks Palestinian advocate from EU parliament despite Belgian and Dutch support A leading Palestinian human rights advocate has been refused a visa to address the European Parliament, despite both Belgium and the Netherlands being prepared to grant entry. What else you need to know Belgium changes security around Russia’s frozen EU assets Top executives at strategic Belgian financial services firm Euroclear, which holds €193bn in Russian assets, previously had French bodyguards. Berlin summit aims to shape Sudan’s post-war future – despite boycott by warring groups A summit on Sudan’s future, jointly hosted by the EU on Wednesday, will gather dozens of the African country’s civilian political leaders as its civil war enters its fourth year. The timetable for now restoring rule-of-law in Hungary Beyond the relief of seeing Viktor Orbán gone, the EU should resist premature normalisation and not give Péter Magyar a blank cheque. It should require clear commitments and wait for concrete progress before unblocking EU funds. That also means that the process should not be politicised. This will depend on the European Commission but also on the European People’s Party — the party of Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Donald Tusk and now Magyar. Contrary to rumours, international law is alive and kicking Autocrats and ‘strongmen’ want us to feel defeated on international law. But ‘the fact that certain laws are being violated does not, of course, mean those laws no longer exist’, writes Caroline de Gruyter. [Interview] If I were Russian, I would attack Europe tomorrow, says German analyst Carlo Masala German analyst Carlo Masala looks at whether Europe is behaving wisely towards Trump and if the world will actually allow it to arm itself. Russian army failing to attract recruits, as Kyiv works on ballistic missiles (Ukraine Battlefield update, Day 1,510) Russia is paying record bonuses, but attracting 20% fewer recruits, while Ukraine claims to have fired two ballistic missiles. [Interview] Political scientist deciphers Magyar’s success: he didn’t have a Plan B, and he didn’t make compromises “He didn’t fall into Viktor Orbán’s culture war trap — like the opposition always did.” Hungarian political scientist Eszter Kováts explains the rise of Péter Magyar. The liberals and the mainstream rightwing European parties expect much more from him than he is ready to give, in her opinion. “But he will not be Orbán,” she says. Listen: Did Hungarians really choose Europe over Orbán? Hungary is unlikely to undergo a complete shift in the months ahead. It will however be interesting to see what changes occur — if any — as voters have removed Viktor Orbán from power. In case you missed it How different will Magyar be from Orbán? We analyse his views on EU, Russia, Ukraine, and Trump Over the past two years, Péter Magyar has travelled almost constantly around Hungary, saying he would curb corruption and fix public services. On foreign policy issues, however, he was cautious. Here is an overview of the key issues that will determine Hungary’s position on the geopolitical stage. EU businesses warn China’s new supply chain law puts firms on collision course with bloc’s rules Beijing’s new rules cover any commercial decisions that could be seen as affecting China’s supply security, including decisions to stop supplying Chinese customers or to exit China-related supply chains. Italy and Europe need migrants – but won’t say so Strip migration out of the equation, and Italy’s population would still be shrinking at pace. Yet politically, the country is moving in the opposite direction. Giorgia Meloni’s government has doubled down on a hard-line approach: extending detention, tightening family reunification, accelerating asylum procedures and pursuing expansive forms of externalisation beyond Italy’s borders.