Author: staff
Published on 15/06/2026 – 16:58 GMT+2 The Czech cabinet has signed off on legislation that would end licence fee funding for the country’s public broadcasters, replacing it with direct state budget financing — a shift that journalists, media freedom groups and tens of thousands of citizens say puts editorial independence at risk. The bill, approved on Monday, affects Czech TV and Czech Radio, which would instead receive fixed annual sums broadly in line with the licence fee revenues they collected between 2008 and 2024 — before a previous centre-right administration increased them last year. Culture Minister Oto Klempir, from the…
The text must next be voted on next month in Parliament’s plenary session. It will enter into force in the second half of 2027. The reform, aimed at striking a better balance between airlines’ interests and passenger rights, maintains current compensation rules for delayed or canceled flights and introduces new rights for consumers. “Behind every delay and every cancellation, there are real lives. The three-hour threshold and compensation levels remain,” Andrey Novakov of the European People’s Party, Parliament’s lead negotiator on the reform, said in a statement. “Parliament was clear from day one: we would modernize the rules, but we…
Published on 15/06/2026 – 18:19 GMT+2•Updated 18:53 A London court convicted two men on Monday of plotting a series of arson attacks on properties linked to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, orchestrated by a mysterious Russian-speaking figure who remains unidentified and uncharged. Roman Lavrynovych, 22, a Ukrainian national, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, a Romanian citizen, were found guilty at the Old Bailey of conspiring to damage property by fire. Lavrynovych was additionally convicted on two counts of arson reckless of danger to life. A third defendant, Petro Pochynok, 35, was acquitted. The men are due to be sentenced Friday. The…
Updated: 15/06/2026 – 18:00 GMT+2 Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this June 15th, 2026 – latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel. … More
With a two-thirds majority in Hungary’s parliament, Prime Minister Peter Magyar has been racing to cement the changes he promised during his campaign, which he dubbed a crusade for “regime change.” The two-thirds majority in parliament allows him to push through constitutional amendments, paving the way for major changes in Budapest. Tisza’s first constitutional amendment could effectively end Orbán’s chances of returning as prime minister, just days after he was reelected as party chair of Fidesz over the weekend. At the same time, the move would be a significant limit on Magyar’s own power, as he vows to restore liberal…
The Albanian government has assured the European Commission that a controversial project linked to US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will comply with environmental law, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos has said. “We have received assurance from the government of Albania that a full environmental impact assessment will be carried out and that European environmental standards will be respected,” Kos told a press conference. Albania is currently a frontrunner for EU membership, widely considered the second most advanced of the current candidate countries, behind Montenegro. To complete accession, however, Tirana must align with the EU’s legal framework, including on environmental…
Dans une interview à POLITICO sur les questions internationales, Jordan Bardella explique qu’il n’a pas du tout renoncé à « tout changer » au fonctionnement de l’Union européenne quand bien même le projet de Frexit défendu par le Rassemblement national a été abandonné il y a 7 ans. Avant son déplacement en Pologne, le président du RN précise son positionnement vis-à-vis de l’Otan et les raisons pour lesquelles il ne veut pas se rendre en Ukraine. Anthony Lattier en discute avec Marion Solletty, qui a mené cet entretien, et Sarah Paillou, journalistes à la rédaction de POLITICO.
As the first explosions rang out across Kyiv overnight on Monday, images began to circulate on social media showing flames rising above the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra church complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site. For millions of Ukrainians seeking shelter across the country — including an estimated 42,000 people who spent the night in the capital’s metro stations — the sight of the cathedral under attack came as a particularly painful shock. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack on the historic cathedral as “one of Russia’s most serious crimes against Christian culture to date” and urged G7 leaders meeting in France…
Brussels to the rescue It’s not the first time creditors have pursued aggressive enforcement tactics against Spain over the renewable energy dispute. Earlier this year, Blasket obtained rulings in Belgium and the Netherlands allowing the seizure of Spanish-linked assets, including a historic building housing the Cervantes Institute — a state-run cultural diplomacy agency — in Utrecht. Madrid has resisted paying arbitration awards, arguing the bloc’s state aid rules forbid it from doing so without authorization from Brussels. A spokesperson for the EU executive confirmed: “Spain cannot pay the awarded compensation until the Commission has decided on the compatibility of the…
Published on 15/06/2026 – 16:44 GMT+2•Updated 16:49 Ukraine and Moldova open the first phase of negotiations on joining the European Union in Luxembourg on Monday, ending a two-year political deadlock driven by the former Hungarian government’s opposition to opening talks with Kyiv. “It is a historic milestone for my country,” Moldova’s deputy Prime Minister, Cristina Gherasimov, told Euronews on Monday. “This is also a strong signal for us that the EU is also getting ready to receive new member states.” Describing the talks as the “biggest step” in Ukraine and Moldova’s accession bid since they were granted candidate status in…