Author: staff

In her State of the Union address, Ursula von der Leyen warned of a “battle of narratives” seeking to weaken confidence in Europe. A new study, ‘Future Nostalgia: Europe’s Unfinished Song’, published by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and the European Cultural Foundation (ECF), suggests that the confidence problem is real, and its authors call it an “imagination gap”: most Europeans still want a stronger, more united continent, but a majority doubt it will ever get there The findings, based on nearly 6,000 interviews across six countries, paint a picture of a public that hasn’t abandoned the European…

Published on 18/09/2026 – 13:38 GMT+2•Updated 13:51 Luxembourg has deepened the deadlock over the EU’s sanction list renewal, tying a French demand to delist Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov to the case of Mikhail Fridman, who is suing the Grand Duchy over his frozen assets. Last week, Paris joined Slovakia in demanding the removal of Usmanov from the sanctions list pending renewal. Now Luxembourg says that if Usmanov comes off the list, Fridman should too. “France risks setting off a race to the bottom, which is the absolute opposite of what the EU is signalling politically, given the Russian escalation in…

Published on 18/09/2026 – 14:52 GMT+2•Updated 14:57 Canada is seeking to join the European Union’s €90 billion support loan for Ukraine, the European Commission said on Friday. “I can confirm that Canada has expressed an interest in joining the €90 billion Ukraine support loan,” a Commission spokesperson told journalists. “We are working hard with Canada, and the respective technical talks are very much ongoing.” EU leaders set up the loan to meet two-thirds of Ukraine’s financial and military needs for 2026 and 2027, with the other third covered by other Western allies. So far, Brussels has disbursed nearly €15 billion,…

Published on 18/09/2026 – 14:54 GMT+2 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy launched a new regional cooperation framework with seven neighbouring countries on Friday in an effort to stoke regional investment. The initiative, dubbed the “Carpathian Eight” (C8), brings together Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary, with the European Union also taking part. Member states will work together on security, energy, logistics, cross-border economic ties and support for local communities. “In the past, people often looked at the Carpathians mainly as a region of tourism, climate issues and support for local communities,” Zelenskyy said at the summit’s…

Russia and China have vetoed a United Nations resolution that would have allowed independent experts to continue monitoring sanctions reimposed on Iran over its nuclear programme, dealing a blow to international oversight efforts. The United States had drafted the resolution to extend the UN expert panel’s mandate for a year. It was defeated on Thursday at the UN Security Council by a vote of 11-2, with Somalia and Pakistan abstaining. The UN Security Council sanctions, which were reimposed on 27 September last year under the snapback mechanism of the 2015 nuclear deal, remain in effect. They freeze Iranian assets abroad,…

The race to develop the energy source of the future is gathering pace. Who will win? The US and China? Or Europe? German start-up Focused Energy, based in Darmstadt, aims to become the global leader in the construction of commercial laser fusion power stations. The development of fusion energy is on top of the political high-tech agenda of Germany and the European Union. Fusion start-ups are being founded in great numbers around the planet, especially laser based fusion technology, which attracts huge amounts of risk capital. This spring, Focused Energy raised $240 million dollars alone – the largest figure ever…

Dozens of protesters marched through San Francisco on 17 September, calling on AI companies to “stop the AI race”. The demonstration began outside OpenAI’s headquarters in Mission Bay before moving to Anthropic’s offices at 500 Howard Street, next to the Dreamforce conference. The march ended at City Hall, where protesters urged Mayor Daniel Lurie and the Board of Supervisors to declare a local AI state of emergency. Organisers called for a pause in the development of increasingly powerful AI systems until stronger safeguards and international rules are in place. They also want a global treaty to limit the capabilities of…

Published on 18/09/2026 – 16:18 GMT+2•Updated 16:20 Emmanuel Macron has condemned what he calls Russia’s “intent” to “intimidate” and to “undermine efforts to support the Ukrainians”. In his view, “the outcome will be the opposite”. The French president was speaking after a confidential meeting at the Élysée with the main presidential candidates or their closest associates. Macron warned the “nature of Russian aggression and threats in Europe is changing”. One example cited by Macron was the discovery of a drone loaded with explosives at Leipzig airport this summer. “We are not intimidated because we know that what is at stake…

Published on 18/09/2026 – 22:26 GMT+2 President Donald Trump has said he is banning three major news organisations, CNN, MS NOW and Politico, from the White House with immediate effect, accusing them of publishing “fake news”, “fiction” and “lies”. It is not yet clear what the ban will entail. Trump also warned that restrictions could be extended to other media outlets. In a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday, the president said the three outlets “constantly write or report fiction and lies” about his administration, although he provided no specific examples. The move is the latest test of…

“The situation we face is serious. It is serious due to the international situation and the consequence of wars that we endure,” Macron said. “In this context we need to stay united.” France’s dire fiscal outlook, which has prompted the government to pursue a €54 billion budget squeeze next year, will make it difficult for the state to massively subsidize increasingly expensive energy bills. Macron told reporters, however, that the government was working on targeted assistance proposals. Macron also said he was seeking to firm up French access to oil and gas supplies during recent meetings with leaders from Saudi…