Author: Press Room

Published on 16/12/2025 – 9:23 GMT+1 It sounds like a bad joke: “lumpy skin disease.” But in France, nobody is laughing. Farmers are clashing with police as their herds get slaughtered to stop a viral outbreak. And strangely enough, this virus might be what kills one of the biggest trade deals in EU history. Here is what links the two: French farming unions are fighting the systematic culling of entire herds when just a single case is detected. At the same time, Brussels is pushing the Mercosur deal, a trade pact that would open the door to South American beef.…

Published on 15/12/2025 – 20:50 GMT+1 European leaders have formally committed to come to Ukraine’s aid in any future attack launched by Russia, emulating the collective defence of NATO’s Article 5, marking a major development in the fast-moving efforts to end the war. These assistance measures, they said, should be broad, including “armed force, intelligence and logistical assistance, economic and diplomatic actions.” In a joint statement released on Monday after high-level talks in Berlin, European leaders provided their most detailed outline yet of the security guarantees they are willing to provide to Ukraine, with the endorsement of the United States.…

Italy’s silence on the Mercosur trade pact is deafening – and potentially decisive. Rome could become the kingmaker between supporters of the deal and countries seeking to block it. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen plans to fly to Brazil on December 20 to sign off the agreement. France, facing farmer anger over fears of unfair competition from Latin America, opposes the deal and wants to postpone the EU member-state vote scheduled this week to allow the signature. The trade pact with Mercosur countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay – aims to create a free-trade area for 700…

Soaring housing costs are fast becoming the Grinch of Europe, dampening people’s desires to make social plans for Christmas. Around 75% of Europeans say they’ve had to cut back on spending just to keep up with mortgage payments in the past 12 months, according to a survey among more than 20,000 people in 23 countries. Ireland and Hungary are feeling the squeeze especially hard, as a striking 90% of homebuyers there report having tightened their belts, says the 2025 Housing Trend Report. Romanians and Malteses are faring even worse, with 93% saying they’ve had to cut back, while Italy leads…

In Brussels, hyperbole is frequent, but to call this a make-or-break week for the bloc is no exaggeration. The European Union has reached a decision point on three crucial issues that could shape its global image and international standing. From Ukraine peace talks to issuing an unprecedented reparations loan that sparked Moscow’s ire and sealing the deal on Mercosur after 20 years in the making, all three are marred by uncertainty. At stake is the 27-member bloc’s credibility to shape its foreign policy and trade agenda, facing a more aggressive Trump administration looking to put America first and to shape…

Published on 15/12/2025 – 17:16 GMT+1 It will “be possible for the European Union to reach a deal on the Capital Markets Union within a year”, European Commissioner for Financial Services Maria Luís Albuquerque told Euronews’ flagship interview programme, The Europe Conversation. “I think it’s possible to have a discussion and an agreement within one year. We just need our co-legislators to share the same sense of urgency and level of ambition that we have”, the Commissioner said during an interview in Brussels. Albuquerque acknowledges that, although the package includes multiple files, the decisive factor in the legislative process is…

Energy ministers in the European Union want to level energy prices across member states and prevent discrepancies that see some member states paying up to seven times more for energy than others. Energy prices are significantly higher in the EU since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, even as the bloc acted to reduce its dependence on Russian energy. The Czech Republic, Denmark, Lithuania, and Romania have all seen prices surge by 87% on average, with gas bills in Belgium rising by almost 100%. Yet member states that rely on renewable power, such as Portugal and Spain, or see a large share…

From 2028, European Union countries will be able to expand cross-border energy infrastructure, like grids and pipelines, and renewable energy projects, as energy ministers overwhelmingly backed on Monday the architecture of the bloc’s multi-annual energy budget for 2028-2034. The funds, under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), will target grid infrastructure and renewable energy projects to boost solar and wind power, as outlined in the European Commission’s recent initiative to modernise electricity infrastructure and support cross-border projects. Hydrogen and natural gas infrastructure are also on the list, with critics arguing that the money will continue to prop up fossil fuels, as…

A spirited 10-year-old girl, a prominent assistant rabbi, a Ukrainian-born Holocaust survivor and a young network engineer from France were among roughly 15 people killed when two gunmen opened fire on families celebrating Hanukkah at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach on Sunday. Australian authorities, who classified the shooting as a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community, have not yet released an official list of victims. However, a day after one of the deadliest mass shootings in Australia, the identities of several victims emerged through social media posts, news reports, and the official website of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, whose Bondi Beach chapter…

Published on 12/12/2025 – 14:19 GMT+1 •Updated 15/12/2025 – 10:20 GMT+1 Hello Friday! While you start your weekend, Brussels is sweating over a deadline that has been 25 years in the making. Next Tuesday, the European Parliament votes on “safeguards” — basically, to ensure no disruption of our market and to keep the unfair competition in check. If that passes, it clears the path. Then, on Saturday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio fly to Brazil to sign the deal. Even if signed, the European Parliament must ratify it. With the hard right and…