Author: staff
“The additional effort decided today reflects a clear determination to act without delay to meet our targets for controlling public finances and debt,” Economy and Finance Minister Eric Lombard said in a statement. Measures to reduce healthcare spending include lowering the amount spent in reimbursing drugs and medical services, while government ministries will be asked to tighten their belts in order to rein in the state budget — which is tabulated separately from the social security budget. France has struggled in recent years to rein in public spending. Fresh data from the country’s statistics agency, Insee, showed that the country…
By Euronews with AP Published on 26/06/2025 – 11:45 GMT+2Two people were killed and 17 others injured as torrential storms swept across France, toppling trees, flooding the streets of Paris, and causing the roof of the National Assembly to spring a leak.”Have you noticed it’s raining?” Prime Minister François Bayrou remarked, glancing up at the National Assembly’s leaking domed ceiling after delivering a speech on the Middle East, as heavy rain poured outside, quickly flooding Paris boulevards on Wednesday evening.The assembly’s vice president, Roland Lescure, suspended the debate to allow fire crews to assess the damage. When the session resumed about 15 minutes…
One of the most egregious recent examples saw MEP Giusi Princi named in Parliament because Belgian authorities wanted immunity to be lifted so that she could be investigated over allegations of corruption connected to Chinese tech firm Huawei. The request was withdrawn shortly afterwards. “The Parliament, at several levels, is keen to convey the message to Belgian authorities that they need to act up and be more professional,” said a high-ranking Parliament official, granted anonymity to speak about sensitive matters. “Their mistakes and carelessness can extremely damage the reputation of members and EU institutions.” Under the plans, which Metsola conveyed…
The agreement adds: “The question of UK accession therefore merits further review, and this is reflected in feedback from business. We will now engage business and PEM members to consider the benefits of joining PEM.” But the document says the government recognizes “that PEM rules could have varying effects on businesses” and says it will assess “whether we are using our current trading relationships with these partners to best effect.” PEM covers the 27 EU member states, as well as dozens of other countries in the region ranging from Turkey, Morocco and Syria to Serbia, Moldova and Ukraine. The agreement…
“The role of the NATO summit was to lay the foundations for what will happen next,” said Camille Grand, a former NATO assistant secretary-general. Make the 5 percent happen Options to boost defense spending include raising taxes, cutting public spending (including popular welfare and social programs), and issuing debt. The European Commission is helping with its new €150 billion loans-for-weapons scheme dubbed SAFE, and its planned smaller €1.5 billion European Defence Industry Programme. The EU’s next multi-annual budget is expected to earmark more cash for defense — but that will only kick off in 2027. “The only European countries with…
“The most natural outcome would be to have a right-wing majority” when agreeing the new regulation on deportations, said Dutch MEP Marieke Ehlers, a leading member of the Patriots for Europe group working on that law. “If the EPP were to work with the left on this file, they would end up with a proposal that is weaker than what their own commissioner has proposed, so I don’t really see how they would sell that to their voters,” she added. But while von der Leyen might find some marriages of convenience on environmental themes and immigration with the far right,…
The 27 leaders of the European Union have arrived in Brussels for what is expected to be a one-day summit with a heavy geopolitical flavour, covering the Israel-Iran conflict, the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the battered state of the transatlantic alliance in the new Donald Trump era, all of which have compounded the sense of alarm and uncertainty across capitals.Tariffs, migration, competitiveness and the 2040 target under the Green Deal are also set to make an appearance during the closed-door discussions on Thursday.Follow the live blog for more updates.
US strikes caused “severe damage” to Iran’s nuclear facilities after a leaked report downplayed the extent of the operation, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said on Wednesday. According to Ratcliff, key sites had been destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the “course of years”. He stopped short of declaring that Iran’s nuclear programme had been outright eliminated.The new intelligence assessment comes a day after a leaked early assessment from the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) played down the extent of the destruction and concluded that key components of Iran’s nuclear programme could be restarted in months.It also mentioned that much…
Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy serve up their essential guide to the day in British politics. In a statement sent to Sam overnight, the government admits that concessions are on their way after an internal struggle over welfare reforms inside the Labour Party. It seems like meaningful talks are under way. Next Tuesday — the day of a supposed crunch vote on disability cuts that could have seen the government lose a vote — could now be just “the start”. As Chancellor Rachel Reeves prepares to row back on savings, how much of the…
Finally some good news. After trademark woes, fears over Trump’s tariffs, and endless speculation over the identity of the actor who will take over the 007 mantle, here’s a very promising update for the 26th Bond adventure.Amazon MGM Studios put out a press release confirming the identity of the filmmaker for the first 007 film under the studio. They have picked French Canadian director Denis Villeneuve to guide James Bond into a new era.Villeneuve will also serve as executive producer, alongside Tanya Lapointe. As previously announced, Amy Pascal and David Heyman will serve as producers.Villeneuve said in a statement: “Some of my…