Author: staff

When asked if he would become chancellor if offered it by Farage, Lewis said he would “rather wire my nipples to electrodes” and that he would also never follow a party whip. Suggestions from Lewis that could boost Labour in the polls included the introduction of a starter ISA for young people, reforming energy bill standing charges, and overhauling the council tax system. As rumors of a wealth tax swirl, Lewis said that if the government was to pursue the policy, the “most effective” way would instead be to reform council tax rather than introducing a new approach. “You’d probably…

Published on 29/09/2025 – 17:36 GMT+2 •Updated 17:57 Water pollution is worsening in the EU with 62% of rivers, lakes and coastal sites currently in a bad ecological state, a significant increase from the 40% registered in 2020, according to a report from the EU environment agency (EEA) presented on Monday.  Published every five years, the EEA report provides a ‘health-check’ for Europe’s environment, climate and sustainability with this year’s report raising the alarm on the deteriorating state of its waters. Only 37% of Europe’s rivers and lakes had a ‘good’ or ‘high’ ecological status, according to EEA’s report, which urges policymakers…

Relations between Budapest and Kyiv have deteriorated in recent months as Hungary persists in blocking Ukraine’s EU accession while preserving energy ties with Moscow despite the Kremlin’s ongoing full-scale invasion. Orbán argued that Kyiv has already “lost one-fifth of its territory” to Russia and that its survival depends entirely on Western aid. “That is where sovereignty ended, and we support the remaining territory,” he said, adding that Hungary and Ukraine “may disagree, but we are not enemies.” Ordering an investigation into the incident, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday claimed “likely Hungarian” drones had crossed the border to conduct reconnaissance…

Intersex people — with biological characteristics that do not fit typical male or female patterns, or with traits of both — face increasing levels of violence and harassment in Europe, says the latest report from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. Around one-third of intersex people in Europe (34%) reported having been physically or sexually assaulted in the five years before the survey was conducted, which is a sharp increase from 2019 (22%). This rate is three times higher than the figure for LGBTIQ people overall. The highest levels of violent experiences were reported by respondents in Austria (45%),…

While Costa’s plan still requires unanimity to approve a country’s final accession — preserving the collective authority of EU nations over the ultimate decision — lowering the threshold to start talks could get things moving and alleviate frustration in Kyiv and Chișinău. The move would help candidate countries, such as Ukraine and Moldova, to begin reforms to align with EU standards, even if one or two members officially oppose beginning negotiations. EU diplomats see Costa’s proposal as a way to overcome repeated obstruction from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whose veto has stalled Ukraine and Moldova’s progress. “When a country…

A wave of viral claims has brought Spain’s 2023 amnesty law, which sparked controversy when introduced, back into the spotlight. A series of posts initially posted in 2023, claiming that 16 European countries issued a statement against Spain’s amnesty law, have resurfaced. Other resurfaced claims announced the EU itself labelled Spain’s system for appointing the attorney general a “democratic anomaly.” However, both claims are false. Fact-checkers confirmed that no such statement was made, and the European Commission’s Rule of Law report never used such wording. It did note concerns raised by outside stakeholders. What is Spain’s amnesty law? Spain’s amnesty…

Jørgensen confirmed the EU’s first-ever plan to take on the crisis — which is expected to be unveiled later this year — will include a revision of state aid rules, allowing national governments to use public funds to build homes for middle-class Europeans priced out of the market. As public cash alone will be insufficient, the commissioner explained these funds will need to be combined with private investment. Stressing that such investments need to “balance steady returns with social responsibility,” he said the Commission was working with the European Investment Bank and other financial institutions to ensure homes built through…

Published on 29/09/2025 – 14:36 GMT+2 The Council of Europe (CoE) is “ready to create the tribunal for Ukraine”, but now member states must make it a reality, the institution’s Secretary-General, Alain Berset, told Euronews in an interview. “We had a strong commitment addressing the necessity to create this tribunal. We are ready to have an advanced team to make it real. What we need now is really a clear support and commitment from states,” Berset said in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The Special Tribunal for Ukraine is a new international judicial body established…

Published on 29/09/2025 – 14:42 GMT+2 An Iraqi man has been sentenced to life in prison for human trafficking after he recruited Iraqi nationals to fight for Russia against Ukraine, court officials said on Monday. The Najaf Criminal Court said in a statement that the convicted man had “formed groups and sent them to fight in foreign countries in exchange for financial compensation” and that the verdict was issued based on Iraq’s anti-human trafficking law. An Iraqi judicial official and a senior security officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment, said the man, whom…

“Drone defense, of course, but not by a drone wall,” he stressed, adding that the priority is to make sure that development and procurement processes are flexible enough because of how fast the technology is evolving. His comments come as drones violated Polish, Romanian, Danish and Norwegian airspace in the past weeks; Russian fighter jets also crossed into Estonian airspace before being chased off. That’s increasing pressure on NATO and the EU to respond. Last week, Kubilius hosted a meeting with eastern flank countries, including Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia to discuss a drone wall. He has previously said that such…