Author: staff

The European Commission is preparing proposals to reform the EU enlargement process in an effort to reassert its role in a debate that has increasingly been shaped by member states, three EU officials told Euronews. EU enlargement has climbed to the top of the agenda, as Montenegro is approaching the finishing line to join the bloc. In recent weeks, member states have advanced a flurry of position papers floating ideas on how to reform the accession process. Five of the six EU founding members have proposed strengthening existing safeguards to prevent democratic backsliding and breaches of the rule of law…

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Amazon Music On today’s episode, we take a closer look at the busy life of António Costa’s right-hand man, Pedro Lourtie. The European Council President’s head of cabinet was recently thrust into the limelight for opening backchannels with Moscow on his boss’s behalf. Zoya Sheftalovich and Nick Vinocur dig deeper into who this man is and how he does his job. Also on the show: European Parliament President Roberta Metsola is asking lawmakers to vote again on a bill to fight child sexual abuse material — even though it was rejected by MEPs in March. To do this, she’s relying on a…

Published on 06/07/2026 – 5:27 GMT+2 Super Typhoon Bavi made landfall on Monday over the tiny US territorial island of Rota in the western Pacific near Guam, ringing powerful winds and torrential rain to the Northern Mariana Islands. A cyclone becomes a super typhoon when it has maximum sustained winds of 241 kph or stronger, equivalent to a high-end Category 4 or a Category 5 storm. Authorities on Rota said they had received reports of ‘major damage’ as winds of up to 290 kilometres per hour were forecast. “We are hanging in there. We are experiencing heavy winds and flooding…

STOCKHOLM — At first glance, Fryshuset in Stockholm looks like any ordinary school. A group of girls sit together during recess, laughing, while the rhythmic bounce of a basketball echoes from the gym next door. Only the social workers and monitors discreetly making their rounds hint that something else is happening inside. The sprawling building is at once a school, a social hub and a drop-in center for young people at risk of being drawn into crime. That mission has become increasingly urgent in Sweden, where gang violence has spread and teenagers are being recruited into organized crime at ever-younger…

Published on 06/07/2026 – 4:59 GMT+2 A wave of Russian missiles and drones hit Ukraine’s capital Kyiv overnight, killing at least eight people in an attack that was still underway early on Monday. A residential building in the Podilskyi district partially collapsed, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s City Military Administration in a post on Telegram. In the Darnytsia district, several multistory buildings were damaged and people were believed to be trapped under the rubble. “These are residential buildings. Places where people slept and lived their ordinary lives,” he said. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko stated that air defences were in…

And it’s not just a matter of getting EU leaders singing from the same song sheet. Costa’s team has played a major role in coordinating geopolitical efforts, such as mediating between Ukraine and Hungary to repair the Druzhba oil pipeline and unlock a much-needed €90 billion loan being blocked by Budapest, officials said. The move, one of the most difficult handled by the Council in recent years, ultimately saw the funds released. Playing politics For now, the strategy seems to be working. Costa faces having to renew his mandate from member countries at the start of next year. That could…

“People will tell you that my project is all about blood and tears,” Philippe said. “Let’s be serious. This isn’t about blood or tears. Maybe a little sweat, yes. Effort. Seriousness. Determination. And I want to be clear: I will ask for effort, but fair, shared effort, spread out over time.” He went on to detail his ambitions for France on education, health and public finances, calling for a smaller and more nimble government. He also hinted at changes to France’s state pensions system, an explosive topic in the country. In his remarks, Philippe derided the apparent discrepancy between Marine…

Over decades, Finland built its preparedness around the concept of “total defense” — a mobilizable population, civil resilience, shelters and a military designed to keep fighting with or without allies. The country can mobilize nearly 870,000 reservists out of a population of 5.6 million, a figure set to reach one million by 2031.“It’s fair to say Finland is more ready to fight alone than other frontline countries. The U.S. wind-down doesn’t impact its readiness,” said Eoin Micheál McNamara, a postdoctoral fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.Finland spends nearly 3 percent of its GDP on defense and, in line…

Under the rules, which were developed for eight years before taking effect, non-EU citizens are fingerprinted and photographed in lieu of traditional passport stamping. However, the rollout — which is the responsibility of national governments — has been plagued by technical problems and saw wait times spike for foreign visitors. Brussels has previously denied widespread shortcomings with the system, but Commission President Ursula von der Leyen admitted on Friday that “technical problems” would require significant work to resolve. While Brunner said the EES “works well” in most member states and at most EU airports, he acknowledged passengers were being forced…

“The suspicion that there is money coming from Russia is also present,” said the minister from the Social Democratic Party, SPD. It is “obvious that this must not happen,” Pistorius added. AfD came in second place in the February 2025 national election with 20.8 percent of the vote, the best showing by a far-right party since World War II. And two eastern states, Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, will go the polls in September. According to German media, the AfD believes its best chance of power in the short term is in Saxony-Anhalt where it could win an outright majority that would…