Author: staff

European lawmakers agreed on Wednesday to freeze the EU-US trade deal struck last summer, Euronews has learned, ratcheting up pressure on transatlantic relations after US President Donald Trump threatened fresh tariffs on several European countries who reject his insistence that the US should take over Greenland. The agreement was reached last year after weeks of trade tensions triggered by the aggressive tariff policy Trump rolled out following his return to power. While a political agreement was reached in the summer, the deal still required formal implementation by the European Parliament. Lead MEPs handling the file met on Wednesday afternoon and…

Storm Harry swept across parts of the Mediterranean this week, leaving flooding and damage in its wake. In Malta, residents woke on Tuesday to fallen trees and damaged buildings, with coastal towns such as Marsascala, Sliema and Birżebbuġa battered by strong winds and high seas. On the Italian island of Lipari, towering waves crashed onto the seafront, forcing closures and disrupting boat services. Further north, Corsica saw torrents of rain push rivers past their banks, flooding parts of the island after more than 200 millimetres fell in a single day. In Spain’s Catalonia region, waves up to six metres pounded…

Published on 21/01/2026 – 15:18 GMT+1 The State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) has formalised long-term strategic partnerships with global investment giants Brookfield Asset Management, BlackRock, and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) during the World Economic Forum in Davos. The agreements aim to expand existing relationships into structured, large-scale collaborations, opening the door to significant investment flows and expertise in infrastructure, digital technologies, and renewable energy. Under the Memorandum of Understanding, SOFAZ and its partners plan to explore investment and co-investment opportunities over the next three to four years. The initiatives will focus on sectors considered strategically important…

Published on 21/01/2026 – 12:23 GMT+1 The satirical Razzie Awards shine a light on the worst movies of the year, announcing their nominations a day before the Oscars unveil theirs. Love them or loathe them, the anti-Oscars are a tradition and each year, they remind us that for every good film that comes out, the cinematic scales must be balanced with terrible ones. It’s hard making films and not everyone can do it – however, if the crème de la crème is celebrated, many feel like the duds must get a look-in, regardless of punching down. And while they can…

“The European Parliament’s decision on the Mercosur Agreement is regrettable,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on X. “It misjudges the geopolitical situation. We are convinced of the agreement’s legality. No more delays. The agreement must now be applied provisionally.” In Paris, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu welcomed what he called “an important vote that has to be respected.” Foreign Minister Jean Noël Barrot chimed in: “France takes responsibility for saying no when it is necessary, and history often proves it right. The fight continues to protect our agriculture and ensure our food sovereignty.” Lawmakers will not vote on final consent to…

Support for Ukraine against Russia is NATO’s main focus, not the row over Greenland, the leaders of the military alliance, Poland and Finland sought to reassure on Wednesday.”The main issue is not Greenland,” NATO’s Mark Rutte told a panel in Davos. “The main issue is Ukraine.”He said he is “a bit worried we might drop the ball (on Ukraine) focusing so much on other issues”, or that some might think the urgency of the conflict is over with the peace process advancing. The US and Ukraine have said they are close to finalising their joint 20-point peace plan, while the…

It’s Trump Day at Davos! The President of the United States is once again en route to the World Economic Forum after his plane was ordered home due to a “minor electrical issue”, according to the White House. By switching aircraft, Trump managed, albeit unintentionally, to further heighten the tension in the Swiss mountain resort, where participants were eagerly awaiting the speech of the week, now scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. What used to be a meeting for the big movers and shakers of the world has this year become the Trump show, with a global audience holding its breath. The…

Published on 21/01/2026 – 13:54 GMT+1 The European Commission presented its long-awaited Digital Networks Act (DNA) on Wednesday, unveiling reforms meant to modernise the European Union’s telecom sector by reorganising the bloc’s fragmented rules. The Commission wants to accelerate the rollout of high-speed fibre and 5G, and reduce dependency on foreign tech. Yet the final proposal appears diluted, and has left both the telecom industry and big tech dissatisfied – highlighting the difficulty of reconciling Europe’s ambitions for an unified single telecommunications market with the bloc’s political realities. At the heart of the tension is the issue of whether tech…

According to Rutte, the big economies in Europe — including Spain, Italy and France — would have never agreed to allocate 2 percent of their GDP to defense if Trump had not become the U.S. president again. “No way, without Donald Trump this would never have happened. They’re all on 2 percent now,” Rutte said. “I’m absolutely convinced without Donald Trump you would not have taken those decisions and they are crucial, particularly for the European and the Canadian side of NATO to really grow up in the post-Cold War world.” Rutte’s own country, the Netherlands, which he led as…

Europe is in a housing crisis: since 2010, average house sale prices in the EU have risen by 55.4% and rents by 26.7%, outpacing income growth for many groups. At the end of 2025, the European Commission estimated that the average overvaluation of housing prices in Portugal is around 25% above fair value, “surpassing other property markets” in the bloc. This is hitting young people particularly hard, especially those between the ages of 18 and 29, as they are more likely to fall behind on paying for housing and utilities, according to a recent report by Eurofound, a foundation which…