The Agenda

Breathing space or just delaying difficult decisions? What does this week's budget really tell us about the state of the UK economy?

The anger is in France, but the hard choices spread across Europe. Defense growth, public services, what should be top of the list?

This week on the agenda, home truths. The Spanish government wants to ban evictions. The Portuguese government wants to speed them up. How does Europe solve its housing crisis?

This week on The Agenda, rocket revolution. Launching a satellite has never been cheaper, so why are so few countries and companies able to do it?

This week on the agenda, the great rate reversal. The world's major central banks are raising interest rates again. What's driving it and who will feel it the most?

This week on The Agenda, AI safety. Tech insiders are sounding the alarm and investors are listening. But can the world agree on who writes the rules?

Is the rise of the far-right AfD a problem just for Berlin or the whole of Europe? It was the far-right AFD's best election result yet. Turnouts in this regional election was almost 78%, the highest since reunification. Nearly 44% of that vote went to the AfD, more than double its result five years ago. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Grand Coalition is now openly split over defense spending, budget reforms, and how to respond. Germany built its post-war politics on keeping the far-right out of power. That's never looked shakier. And the rest of Europe, indeed the world, is watching to see what happens next.

Against the backdrop of the conflict in Iran, rising energy prices and trade tensions, BRICS leaders are holding a summit in New Delhi where a new initiative is being launched. BRICS Pay links up the national payment systems of members so money can move between them directly. What happens next? And could this ultimately deal a major blow to the power of the US dollar?

This week on the Agenda, Iceland says no to the EU, but what does that mean for Brussels and for every country still waiting to join?

This week on the agenda: digital sovereignty. Does it matter who controls the technology that runs our daily life?