Author: staff

The territorial destiny of Donetsk is the key issue preventing the conclusion of a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday.“The one remaining item … is the territorial claim on Donetsk. There is active work going to try to see if both sides’ views on this can be reconciled,” Rubio told a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting.“It’s still a bridge we haven’t crossed. It’s still a gap, but at least we’ve been able to narrow down the issue set to one central one, and it will probably be a very difficult one.”Ukraine’s…

Published on 28/01/2026 – 16:41 GMT+1 •Updated 17:12 Speaking to Euronews at the European Parliament, Domanski also stressed that the free trade agreement signed on Tuesday with India comes at a crucial moment for Europe, as global trade tensions rise and the EU looks to diversify its economic partnerships. Despite its strong economic performance, Poland remains cautious about joining the eurozone and Domanski argued that keeping the złoty provides economic flexibility in times of external shocks. “Our own currency can act as a buffer during crises and help the economy recover,” he said, while acknowledging there are also arguments in…

Iraq’s main candidate for the premiership Nouri al-Maliki denounced “blatant interference” by the United States on Wednesday, after President Donald Trump threatened to end all support to the country if he was re-elected to the post. The US has held significant sway over Iraqi politics since leading the 2003 invasion that ousted long-time ruler Saddam Hussein. “We categorically reject the blatant American interference in Iraq’s internal affairs,” said al-Maliki, the only former Iraqi prime minister to have served two terms since the invasion. “We consider it a violation” of Iraq’s “democratic system,” in place since 2003, he added in a…

The Ukrainian criticism has put Sabalenka — winner of four grand slams, the most prestigious tournaments on the tennis calendar — and her relationship with the Lukashenko regime back in the spotlight. Belarus, like its close ally Russia, has used sports as a soft power asset on the world stage, even as the West ostracizes Minsk over its support for Moscow’s all-out war on Ukraine. Sabalenka, whose visibility as the world’s best female tennis player has made her a central figure in Belarusian propaganda, faces Svitolina in Melbourne on Thursday morning, in a match that has added geopolitical significance while…

Published on 28/01/2026 – 20:30 GMT+1 What are the pros and cons of the EU-Mercosur trade deal? Why did the European Parliament send the text to the Court of Justice for clarification? Why did the EU sign an EU-India trade deal this week, and how will it impact you? Some of the questions we pose on our latest episode of The Ring – Euronews’ weekly debating show, brought to you from the European Parliament studio in Brussels. Irish MEP Ciaran Mullooly from Renew Europe and Swedish MEP Jörgen Warborn from the European People’s Party have a heated debate about their…

Published on 28/01/2026 – 20:32 GMT+1 The US Federal Reserve pushed the pause button on its interest rate cuts on Wednesday, leaving its key rate unchanged at about 3.6% after lowering it three times last year. The central bank said in a statement that there are signs the job market has stabilised while it also said growth was “solid,” an upgrade from last month’s characterisation as “modest.” With the economy growing at a healthy pace and no signs of deterioration in hiring, Fed officials likely see little reason to rush any further rate cuts. While most policymakers do expect to…

One of the arguments against putting the Revolutionary Guard on the terror list was fear of potential reprisals. Iran has repeatedly used a strategy of arresting Europeans to use as bargaining chips in international diplomacy, including former EU official Johan Floderus, who was released from the notorious Evin Prison in 2024. Paris has secured the release from Evin of two of its nationals — Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris — who are now under house arrest at the French Embassy in Tehran. “We need to send a strong signal,” van Weel said. The Revolutionary Guard “is the glue and the…

The European Union Governmental Satellite Communications programme (GOVSATCOM) is a long-awaited part of a wider EU strategy and the first step in satellite connectivity, the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, told Euronews. He noted that, realistically, the Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS²) — the EU’s more ambitious project, a multi-orbital constellation of 290 satellites — will only be operational by “around 2029”. “To avoid having an empty space now for several years, especially when geopolitical challenges and threats are coming from different sides, we definitely need to develop some precursor capabilities for secure…

However, raising the VAT requires a change in the constitution and a public consultation will open in the spring. Switzerland has been rethinking its defense stance since Russia’s attack on Ukraine almost four years ago. It is looking for more military cooperation with European nations and ramping up its rearmament, although it still has no intention of joining NATO. Switzerland spends about 0.7 percent of its GDP on defense, one of the lowest rates in Europe. The current goal of boosting that to 1 percent by 2032 is now out of date, the Federal Council said. “Due to the savings made…

MEP Henrik Dahl has defended NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s comments this week regarding the EU’s reliance on the US to defend itself. In an opinion article for Euronews, the Danish European lawmaker agrees with the NATO secretary general that Europe currently lacks key military capabilities, particularly in independent command, intelligence, and digital infrastructure, most of which are still provided by the US. “As of today, the European pillar of NATO cannot function as a fully autonomous deterrent force without the United States,” Dahl wrote. “Europe lacks a genuinely independent strategic command structure capable of planning and executing large-scale, high-intensity…