Author: staff
Tourists planning summer holidays face a difficult decision as the disruptions to global oil supplies, caused by the conflict in the Middle East, have spiked jet fuel prices leading to increases in flight costs that are passed on to passengers. According to the International Air Transport Association’s latest monitor, the global average jet fuel price stood at $195.19 per barrel last week, down 0.9% from the previous week, but still more than double the levels from late February. In the US, the Argus US Jet Fuel Index recorded over $4.60 per gallon on Monday, up sharply from around $2.50 before…
Good morning from Brussels. I’m Mared Gwyn with your last Europe Today newsletter before we go on a short break. We’ll be back next Tuesday. The EU’s energy chief Dan Jørgensen has warned member states that energy prices could remain high even if a peace deal to end the war in Iran is struck swiftly, urging capitals to prepare for the “potentially prolonged disruption.” Euronews’ Marta Pacheco reports that EU countries may consider fuel rationing, remote work, and even “car-free Sundays”— a measure from the 1970s energy crisis — to curb oil and gas demand, as prices have surged 70%…
Several dozen vehicles, mainly lorries and tractors, staged a go-slow protest on the N44 highway between La Veuve and Châlons-en-Champagne in eastern France. Moving at a snail’s pace, drivers aimed to highlight the sharp rise in fuel prices driven by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Footage shows long lines of heavy goods vehicles crawling along the road, while a banner on a car reads “lorries stopped – country paralysed.” Police monitored the situation as traffic slowed significantly, with protesters using the action to warn of the growing impact of energy costs on transport and the wider economy.
Every Patriot interceptor fired from US defence positions stationed close to the frontline of the Iran war costs $4 million (€3.7m). The Iranian Shahed drone it destroys costs, at most, tens of thousands of euros. Somewhere in that gap lie some of the most crucial lessons Europe needs to absorb as it plans its future defence spending. According to Bruegel, the defence calculus has fundamentally changed. Precision drones and missiles, once carrying a hefty price tag and limited to a handful of military forces, are now cheap enough to deploy at devastating scale. “The last two decades have culminated in…
Listen on Spotify Apple Music Amazon Music An energy shock that once felt distant is starting to look very real as the war in Iran spirals … and the EU is considering a Covid-style crisis response. From emergency meetings to talk of jointly purchasing energy — host Zoya Sheftalovich and Senior EU Politics Editor Ian Wishart explain how some of the strategies being floated are straight out of the pandemic-era playbook. Also on the pod, Péter Magyar is ahead in the polls in the lead-up to the Hungarian general election, but it’s by no means a slam dunk. According to some experts, years of gerrymandering and media capture by…
By Doloresz Katanich with AP Published on 01/04/2026 – 7:31 GMT+2•Updated 7:37 Soaring oil and gas prices in Europe resulting from the ongoing war involving Iran will not return to normal levels any time soon, even if peace is declared tomorrow, the European Union’s energy commissioner warned on Tuesday. Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said that although there are no immediate shortages of oil and gas supplies across the 27-member bloc, there is pressure on diesel and jet fuel supplies, as well as “increasing constraints” in global gas markets, which are driving up electricity prices. “What I find extremely important is to state as clearly…
By Roselyne Min with AP Published on 01/04/2026 – 6:46 GMT+2 Excitement is building as NASA’s new Moon mission approaches, with the Artemis II mission scheduled to launch on Wednesday, April 1. If successful, the mission will mark humans’ return to the natural satellite in more than half a century. NASA sent 24 astronauts to the Moon, and twelve of them walked on the surface between 1968 and 1972. Ahead of the Artemis II mission, Charlie Duke, who was the lunar module pilot for Apollo 16 is cheering on NASA’s new lunar exploration programme. Now 90 years old, Duke was the youngest person…
Venice is seeing a wave of new hotel openings and reopenings in 2026, with major luxury brands and restored historic properties adding to the city’s already crowded hospitality scene. As tourism grows in Veneto, the northern Italian region that includes Venice, the area recorded more than 22 million arrivals and more than 74 million overnight stays in 2025. From restored palaces to private island retreats and new coastal resorts, the latest openings show how Venice is expanding beyond its traditional city-centre stays. Travellers now have a wider mix of options, including quieter locations and more experience-led hotels. Here are the…
Der Ton aus Washington gegenüber den NATO-Partnern wird immer harscher. „Keine Einbahnstraße“ sei das Bündnis, sagt US-Außenminister Marco Rubio und will die Allianz in Gänze auf den Prüfstand stellen. Nicht nur Italien und Spanien gehen beim Iran-Krieg auf deutliche Distanz zu Trump, sondern auch der Kanzler – wenngleich Friedrich Merz gleichzeitig versucht, die Wogen zu glätten. Rixa Fürsen analysiert diesen Spagat und bespricht mit POLITICO White House Correspondent Dasha Burns, warum alles auf einen ungemütlichen NATO-Gipfel im Juni hinausläuft. Im 200-Sekunden-Interview ist dazu der Koordinator der Bundesregierung für die transatlantische Zusammenarbeit, Metin Hakverdi (SPD), zu Gast. Mit ihm geht es…
Going it alone At the heart of that resistance in Europe is the lack of consultation with allies before the U.S. launched the war, confusion about American war aims, and Trump’s demands mixed with his rage and insults at allies. “The fact that there is no full clarity on U.S. war aims and that there was little to no consultation before the war matter,” said a second senior European defense official. “For countries in the eastern flank, it is also a matter of ensuring their own territorial defense first,” the official added, referring to Russia as the dominant European security…