Author: staff

Recent research highlights how a small group of large commercial owners, acting through fishing industry associations, has opposed stronger seabed protection in Brussels by questioning the science and warning of socio-economic disruption. Yet real-world evidence shows that well-enforced PAAs, where bottom trawling is prohibited, strengthen the resilience of small-scale fleets, accelerate fish stock recovery and protect coastal livelihoods. Ghana may not offer Europe a ready-made blueprint for preferential access, but the country’s experience demonstrates that governments can make significant policy changes when the voices of affected communities, evidence and objective political leadership come together. A decade on the frontlines —…

Ventura, whose party has surged in recent election cycles, is often described as a Portuguese Trump for his confrontational tactics and heated campaign rhetoric targeting Portugal’s ruling elite. The Chega leader traveled to Washington, D.C. for Trump’s inauguration and borrowed the MAGA slogan during last year’s parliamentary election campaign, saying he wanted to “make Portugal great again.” But with Portugal now among many European countries hit by increasing fuel prices caused by war in the Middle East, Ventura appears to be turning on his American role model — like other populist chiefs across Europe who have jabbed the U.S. president’s…

The Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez and French president Emmanuel Macron highlighted the close relationship between their two countries and urged greater European unity to confront key migratory, economic and geopolitical challenges. The joint press conference at the Moncloa Palace was also marked by the Spanish Senate’s rejection of the Treaty of Friendship between Spain and France. Sánchez apologised to Macron for the Upper House’s no vote and promised that parliament would approve an agreement of this kind before the end of the current term. “All I can do is apologise,” the Spanish premier said of Tuesday’s rejection, insisting that…

National Rally figurehead Jordan Bardella hit back at French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, after Macron called reports that Bardella had sent antisemitic messages in 2013 “extremely serious and unacceptable” and urged him to clarify his position. Responding to Macron on X, Bardella stated: “After October 7, 2023, I walked the streets of Paris and travelled to Israel. He did not.” Earlier on Wednesday, during a two-day state visit to Spain, Macron said France would “never tolerate antisemitic statements”, calling the remarks allegedly made by Bardella “appalling and unacceptable” and adding that they required “the most extreme condemnation”. The French…

For years, Ukrainians have lived with a war raging not only along the front line, but above their heads. In Kyiv, the battle in the sky has become part of daily life, measured in air-raid alerts, the sound of air defence and the explosions that follow. At an air-defence position protecting the capital, the work begins before anything appears overhead. Soldiers prepare their weapons and scan for threats that can arrive at radically different speeds and from different directions. The challenge is no longer simply the number of weapons Russia can put into the air. Its attacks increasingly combine different…

Is Europe ready to defend itself? That was the central question at the Euronews Defence and Space Summit, which brought together policymakers, lawmakers and industry leaders as Europe grapples with the need to rearm and deter potential threats. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has transformed Europe’s security landscape, exposing longstanding weaknesses and forcing governments to rethink defence spending, military capabilities and industrial capacity. As Russia continues its war in Ukraine and hybrid attacks against European allies increase, the pressure to act is growing. Here are five key moments from Wednesday’s summit. Radev raises the alarm Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev…

European countries are struggling with higher energy costs driven by the war in Iran, and fear that increased costs will put delicate growth at risk and stoke inflation. In September, inflation increased at a faster pace across the major eurozone economies. And in Italy, it jumped from 3.2% to 4.1%, according to the Italian Institute of Statistics’ preliminary data. “I am writing to President von der Leyen to ensure that the issue is addressed at the Ecofin meeting to be held next week in Luxembourg, and then, of course, at the next European Council, which is in two weeks,” Meloni…

Published on 30/09/2026 – 19:28 GMT+2 The UK’s Home Office said on Wednesday that its year-old deal with France to return migrants crossing the Channel on small boats had ended. “The government’s pilot with France to remove asylum seekers in exchange for an equal number of legal migrants is no longer processing new cases,” the Home Office said, confirming the end of the so-called “one in, one out” deal, which was launched in August last year and was due to expire on Thursday. The scheme, known as Operation Hillmore, was part of efforts by London and Paris to tackle illegal…

The numbers all came in above forecasts and hit multi-year highs. The increases were driven in large part by energy prices as the Middle East conflict continues to disrupt oil and gas markets. The ECB has raised rates twice this year, bringing its deposit rate to 2.5% in September. The next step is considered more challenging as it could push rates from the upper end of neutral into restrictive territory, where they begin to slow economic activity. Higher rates are also lifting government borrowing costs. Sovereign yields have reached their highest levels since the 2012 debt crisis, adding pressure to…

The EU is currently paying out installments on its two-year €90 billion loan to Ukraine, but Kyiv is asking for the money to come faster to fill the budget gap. “The funds are needed this fall … especially given the mobilization that the enemy is planning right now,” Defense Minister Evgeniy Khmara urged this week. But before releasing more funds, Brussels wants Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, to complete crucial reforms that are part of the country’s roadmap to eventual EU membership. “As reforms in the Rada progress, more budget support too. We have €37 billion still available in this calendar…