Author: staff
European leaders must “toughen up” and lead the continent, rather than wait for direction from the U.S. or even the EU institutions, Sweden’s Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch said. In an interview with the EU Confidential podcast on the eve of the Munich Security Conference, Busch, who leads the Christian Democrats in Sweden’s center-right coalition government, added: “Europe has to be saved from itself” by becoming more agile and not being slowed down by an increasingly powerful bureaucracy. She said that instead, European leaders need to “toughen up and need to stop waiting for the Commission to take a lead”…
That contrasts sharply with the view of pro-EU Prime Minster Donald Tusk, who said the loans were being issued on “very favorable terms, unavailable on the market in any other way.” SAFE provides low-interest, long-term loans with a 10-year grace period for principal repayments, raised by Brussels on capital markets and offering significant savings compared to national borrowing. Those terms are crucial for Poland, which plans to devote 4.8 percent of its GDP to defense this year, one of the highest levels in NATO. The country’s public finances are under pressure due to its long-term effort to build up its military…
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez lodged a protest with Rome over the decision, according to newspaper El Mundo. Joking he was meeting journalists outside the castle “in splendid isolation” while others breakfasted, Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin said “we weren’t invited” and “I don’t get the necessity” of a private club convening separately. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, however, denied there was a rival clique forming. “I think everyone was invited,” he told journalists. “We don’t want the perception that there is a large group of countries that wants to impose its will on other countries, like Spain. That is…
With the bloc buffeted by multiple geopolitical crises, it’s starting to realize that it can’t come to grips with them if it only acts when all 27 member countries agree. From defense to energy to investment, the European Commission, which makes the rules, and national governments, which are supposed to implement them, are finding themselves hamstrung. Meanwhile, businesses talk of being strangled by red tape and high energy costs. Donald Trump’s threats to seize Greenland and his wavering on helping Ukraine fend off Russia, combined with China’s strategy of flooding Europe with artificially cheap goods, have provided an impetus to…
European leaders floated a two-speed union as the fastest way to break a political impasse over economic reforms needed to reboot the European economy, as French President Emmanuel Macron set a summer deadline for a broad deal. “What we decided today is that between now and June, we will have to finalise the agenda,” Macron said upon departing the castle. “If in June we don’t have concrete prospects and concrete progress, we will continue with enhanced cooperation.” While the EU is built on consensus at 27, frustrations about the pace of reforms prompted calls to work in smaller groups of…
Spanish farmers have driven approximately 500 tractors through Madrid to protest against low incomes and an EU trade deal with South America. The protest took place Wednesday, causing traffic disruptions as the tractors moved toward the Ministry of Agriculture. Farmers are demanding immediate action to protect Spanish food security. They say rising costs and strict regulations are squeezing their earnings. They also oppose the EU-Mercosur trade deal, fearing it will flood the market with cheaper imports.
The Belgian capital had been without a regional government since an election in June 2024, with parties unable to agree on forming a coalition, causing chaos for the city’s finances. Brussels is currently grappling with a staggering €15 billion debt, raising concerns about a looming financial crisis. The parties involved in this week’s talks were the Francophone MR, socialist PS and centrist Les Engagés, and the Flemish leftist Groen, social democratic party Vooruit, liberal Anders and conservative CD&V. Speaking at an informal European leaders summit, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever reacted with cautious optimism to the news. “I’ve seen the WhatsApp…
Two Mexican Navy ships carrying humanitarian aid docked in Cuba on Thursday as a US blockade deepens the island’s energy crisis. The ships arrived two weeks after US President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country selling or providing oil to Cuba, prompting the island to ration energy in recent days. The Mexican government said that one ship carried some 536 tons of food including milk, rice, beans, sardines, meat products, cookies, canned tuna, and vegetable oil, as well as personal hygiene items. The second ship carried just over 277 tons of powdered milk. Yohandri Espinosa, a 34-year-old engineer, observed…
By Tokunbo Salako & Euronews France Published on 12/02/2026 – 19:42 GMT+1 Police in Paris have reportedly detained ten people suspected of running a massive ticket fraud scheme at the Louvre museum. Some of the suspects detained are said to include museum staff and tourist guides who targeted Chinese visitors as part of the scam which allegedly involved selling fake entry passes and overbooking guided tours. According to the French newspaper Le Parisien, police detained the suspects on Tuesday after being Louvre authorities reported “irregularities”. Three vehicles were also seized, along with €130,000 in cash, nearly €200,000 in bank accounts, and several bank…
Leaders played down differences as they gathered at the Alden Biesen estate, with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni saying her views on industrial strategy converged with those of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and brushing off suggestions the duo were trying to isolate French President Emmanuel Macron. “It is not something that we do against someone else, by excluding someone else,” she told reporters. Leaders reached a form of consensus on areas including the concept of a European preference, where there was openness to examining what it may mean and where it may be needed, according to a person briefed on…