Author: staff
It could trigger another fight between the U.S. and the EU over enforcement of Europe’s tech regulations. Top officials in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump blasted a move by the European Union in December to fine X €120 million over violations of the bloc’s content moderation rulebook, the Digital Services Act. The Irish regulator is in charge of enforcing the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on many of the world’s tech giants that have their European headquarters in Ireland. It has the power to impose fines on X as large as 4 percent of global annual turnover. The…
Published on 17/02/2026 – 8:00 GMT+1 Four years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union is still importing Russian steel – and not everyone is happy about it. Next week, MEPs and EU member states will begin negotiations on whether to ban Russian steel outright. What began as a sanctions debate has morphed into a high-stakes political fight. Swedish lawmaker Karin Karlsbro is preparing to take on the EU council, which represents the member states, with Belgium, Italy, the Czech Republic and Denmark all arguing that they still need imports of unfinished steel for major construction projects. “It is…
By Euronews Published on 17/02/2026 – 10:19 GMT+1 Greece has announced its intention to obtain photos that appear to show the final moments of 200 Greeks executed by a Nazi firing squad in Athens during World War II, after the previously unknown pictures surfaced on eBay. The images reportedly show the men being led to their deaths on 1 May 1944 at a shooting range in the Kaisariani suburb of the Greek capital. Although the executions were well known, there were no known photos or film documentation of the event. The photographs were put up for sale on eBay over the…
Published on 17/02/2026 – 8:41 GMT+1 The Vatican will offer artificial intelligence (AI)- assisted live translations of Mass in 60 languages, as the Catholic Church embraces and heeds warnings about the technology. The service will allow worshippers to follow services on their smartphones and is set to launch next week during the main celebrations at St. Peter’s Basilica, which marks the Fourth Centenary of the church’s dedication, which runs from 1626 to 2026. “Saint Peter’s Basilica has, for centuries, welcomed the faithful from every nation and tongue,” Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, Archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica and Vatican City Vicar General,…
The push would put Metsola and the EPP on a collision course with the Socialists and Democrats, the Parliament’s second-biggest group, which claims it should get the presidency as part of a power-sharing arrangement signed at the beginning of the term. But the EPP has remained vague about whether they committed to any such deal. The S&D hasn’t yet pushed a candidate to replace Metsola — a fact that hasn’t escaped some of the party’s own allies. One Green lawmaker, when asked whether they would support the Socialists, said “I will think about it when they have a candidate, I cannot…
Good morning. I’m Mared Gwyn with your Tuesday morning newsletter. The European Commission is sending a representative to attend the first meeting of Trump’s Board of Peace in Washington on Thursday – but is not becoming a member due to persisting concerns over the Board’s scope, governance, and overlap with the United Nations. As we reported on Monday, the European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, will join only the “specific part” of the meeting that deals with Gaza, as the EU executive aims to avoid getting completely sidelined from the implementation of the US-brokered 20-point peace plan without getting…
“He [Macron] is worried about the dangers ahead and wants to shore up his legacy,” a former diplomat said, while the West faces instability triggered by Russian belligerence and American unpredictability. Macron has already tapped an ally to become the country’s top auditor despite accusations of a conflict of interest. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a sweeping reshuffle is underway that will go beyond the traditional summer envoy swaps in French embassies. More than 60 outposts are expecting to receive new ambassadors in the coming months, including in Washington, London, Berlin and Kyiv. “Everything will be sewn up before…
EU countries need to “urgently coordinate” to anticipate and mitigate the effects of climate change, such as flooding, severe storms, and heatwaves, a report from the EU’s advisory board on climate change warned on Tuesday. The scientific report from the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change (ESABCC) urges the EU27 to strengthen its rule-making to ensure the bloc is prepared to address the impacts of climate change by mitigating hazards and adapting to risks, exposing the European Commission’s failed 2021 climate adaptation strategy. The warning comes as Spain and Portugal are reeling from the impact of three powerful storms…
Published on 17/02/2026 – 7:00 GMT+1 Defenceless penguins are being killed en masse as puma populations recover in Monte Leon National Park in Argentina’s ruthlessly wild Patagonia. After cattle ranching was abandoned in the country’s south in the 1990s, pumas began recolonising parts of their historical range. At the same time, Magellanic penguin colonies have expanded from nearby islands to the mainland, where “terrestrial predators” had previously been absent. It’s resulted in what scientists are calling a “conservation dilemma” that could see penguin colonies dwindle in the region. Now, a study by Oxford University has quantified the risk of long-term…
A battle for power in the European Parliament is already underway — though quietly for now — with the midterm reshuffle a year away. Behind the scenes, MEPs are counting votes, testing alliances and positioning themselves for the presidency and other top jobs. On this episode of the Brussels Playbook Podcast, host Zoya Sheftalovich is joined by senior European politics editor Ian Wishart to unpack the maneuvering — and what it means for Roberta Metsola, the far right and the balance of power in Brussels and Strasbourg. They also examine how debates over trans rights are gaining visibility in Brussels,…