Author: staff

The European Commission has effectively stopped making decisions over files related to Hungary, two sources familiar with the matter told Euronews. The reason for putting sensitive decisions on hold is simple: the Commission does not want to be seen as interfering in the Hungarian election campaign and does not want to give ammunition to Orbán’s anti-EU rhetoric during the hot phase of campaigning. “With the Hungarian dossiers, the front lines are frozen, and nothing is happening. The Commission is waiting for April to happen and is watching opinion polls in Hungary very closely,” an EU diplomat told Euronews, speaking on…

The National Rally has been forced to perform a delicate dance when it comes to Trump, whose administration last month hinted it was ready to throw its weight between “patriotic European parties” in its bombshell national security strategy. In contrast with his jabs at the U.S., Bardella didn’t explicitly mention Russia in his speech, although in response to a question from POLITICO he warned against being too confrontational with Moscow. “Russia is today a multidimensional threat for a number of European interests,” he said. “But Russia is a nuclear power and … it’s never good in the world that we know when two…

Published on 12/01/2026 – 16:52 GMT+1 •Updated 17:01 Speaking on Monday during a trip to India, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa could sign a free trade agreement with New Delhi by the end of the month. Merz’s comments came days after a majority of EU member states backed the Mercosur free trade pact, a deal strongly supported by Germany as part of the bloc’s strategy to diversify trade ties beyond the US and China – two countries that have pursued strongly nationalist trade policies over the past…

Myanmar heard accusations that it is responsible for genocide against the Rohingya ethnic minority at the top court of the United Nations, as long-awaited hearings began in The Hague on Monday. The West African country The Gambia first filed the case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2019, arguing a so-called “clearance operation” by Myanmar’s military in 2017 violated the 1948 Genocide Convention. The Southeast Asian country, which has since been taken over by the military, has denied the allegations. In his opening statements, Gambian Justice Minister Dawda Jallow said his country brought the case out of “a…

X did not comment on Ofcom’s investigation when contacted by POLITICO, but referred back to a statement issued on Jan. 4 about the issue of deepfakes on the platform. “We take action against illegal content on X, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary. Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content,” the statement said. Big test   The OSA came into force last summer, and until now Ofcom’s enforcement actions have focused on…

Published on 12/01/2026 – 18:49 GMT+1 The simplification of rules in the upcoming EU budget in the field of research may put undermine the bloc’s ability to control how allocated funds are spent, the European Court of Auditors said in a report published on Monday. The court, which is responsible for auditing how EU funds are collected and spent, has conducted an assessment of the next EU budget for competitiveness and research, which as written totals €409 billion – about one-fifth of the overall €2 trillion EU budget for 2028-2034. The auditors’ report stresses that the field of research is…

Der Iran erlebt die heftigsten Proteste seit Jahren und sie werden immer brutaler. Menschenrechtsorganisationen sprechen von mehr als 500 Toten und über 10.000 Festnahmen, während das Regime versucht, das Land vom Internet abzuschneiden. Die Parolen richten sich längst nicht mehr auf Reformen, sondern offen gegen das Ende der Islamischen Republik. Rixa Fürsen spricht mit Aras-Nathan Keul vom Nahost-Friedensforum NAFFO über ein Regime, das intern geschwächt ist, außenpolitisch an Einfluss verliert und dennoch mit harter Gewalt reagiert. Es geht um die Rolle der Revolutionsgarde, gezielte Sanktionen, den Einsatz von Starlink als Lebensader für die Proteste und die Frage, was Deutschland, Europa…

All the Iranian diplomats and representatives will be banned from the European Parliament’s premises as a response to Iran’s crackdown on protesters, the Parliament’s president, Roberta Metsola, announced on Monday. “This House will not aid in legitimising this regime that has sustained itself through torture, repression, and murder”, Metsola wrote on X. The ban will apply to all the Parliament’s premises in Brussels, Strasbourg, and Luxembourg, and will remain in place until revoked by another president’s decision. In the meantime, the European Union is prepared to push for fresh sanctions on the country after the repression of the protesters. Earlier…

About 100 participants, mostly men wearing white loincloths and a few women in white robes, stepped into tubs of ice cold water in the shrine courtyard. After warm up runs and chants to the purification goddess Haraedo no Okami, they poured water over themselves with wooden buckets, shouting to steady their nerves. Drums and flutes accompanied the ceremony, now in its 71st year. The rite is rooted in Shinto beliefs that physical hardship cleanses the spirit and protects against misfortune. Once limited to shrine members, the event now accepts public applications, which filled quickly this year as onlookers watched from…

Asked if this meant cuts to programs or pushing them back, Knighton said: “All of those things are options under consideration, but so is the level of ambition we might take and these are straightforward facts.” The Ministry of Defence is currently locked in a battle with the Treasury over the Defense Investment Plan (DIP), which was originally meant to be published in the fall last year.  The DIP is intended to build on the strategic defense review (SDR) and put hard numbers against the government’s plans before an uplift to defense spending from 2027. The Times reported that military…