Author: Press Room

The European Parliament and EU countries have failed to reach an agreement on new rules for migrants’ returns, with lawmakers and diplomats clashing over when it will come into force. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The new law, called the “return regulation”, is set to introduce stricter measures to speed up the return of irregular migrants, among them deportation centres outside the EU, longer detention, and entry bans for third-country nationals who have no right to stay in Europe. After three sessions of talks in Strasbourg, negotiators gave up and decided to resume talks on 1 June. According to multiple sources in the…

Published on 21/05/2026 – 9:43 GMT+2 Montenegro marks 20 years of independence from a union with Serbia this week, with concerts and various celebrations being held in the capital Podgorica and other towns across the country. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Split between the supporters of independence and those backing the union with Serbia, Montenegro held a referendum on 21 May 2006 to choose its future path after a decade of wars and NATO bombing in 1999 aimed at stopping the war in Kosovo. The result: 55.5% chose independence. Splitting from the joint state was divisive given that Montenegro has historically close ties…

Good morning. This is Angela Skujins, penning today’s newsletter from Brussels. And yes, your eyes don’t deceive you. I was just on Europe Today speaking about unmanned aerial vehicles. I am proof you can have your cake and eat it too. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Before we dive in, news has just come in that the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wants a “new dynamic” when it comes to the pace and style of negotiations surrounding Ukraine and Moldova’s bid to join the European Union (EU). “Enlargement of the European Union is a geopolitical necessity. However, the enlargement process takes much too long,”…

Published on 21/05/2026 – 7:56 GMT+2•Updated 8:02 Also on today’s show hosted by Mared Gwyn: ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Euronews’ Sasha Vakulina reports on the political reactions to the drone incursion row. Interview with Henna Virkkunen, Commissioner responsible for tech sovereignty, security and democracy. Explainer by Jakub Janas: Why is German Chancellor Friedrich Merz increasingly disliked in Germany? Shona Murray reports on the gathering of NATO foreign ministers in Sweden today, where US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected. We report on global reactions on a video from Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir showing him taunting handcuffed activists from the…

Published on 21/05/2026 – 5:34 GMT+2 The German state is seeking a 40% stake in the tank and weapons maker KNDS, government sources familiar with the matter revealed to AFP on Wednesday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT According to an “agreement reached regarding the state’s participation in KNDS”, this stake is to start at 40% and then be reduced to 30% within “two to three years”, a source said. KNDS is currently effectively controlled by the French state, as it is part-owned by French public holding company GIAT Industries, with Germany’s Wegmann family owning the other part. The company had been planning an…

Hours after negotiators finalised their conditions for a contentious EU-US trade deal agreed to last summer, top European Parliament negotiator Bernd Lange has defended the pace and the scope of the agreement – but warned that Europe will never be out of the woods while US President Donald Trump is in office. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “We had to be really careful,” he told Euronews’ Europe Today programme Wednesday morning. “President Trump really used coercive measures against us. So now we have a safety net.” Diplomats and MEPs reached an agreement late on Tuesday to implement the contentious EU-US agreement, which eliminates…

Published on 20/05/2026 – 20:30 GMT+2 Europe finds itself at a moment of profound uncertainty, caught between wars on its borders, growing geopolitical rivalry, economic anxiety and questions about the future of the transatlantic alliance. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to dominate the continent’s security agenda, while instability in the Middle East and fears of a wider global economic slowdown have reinforced the sense that the post-Cold War world order is breaking apart. What should Europe’s answer to this challenge be? Two members of the European Parliament, Lukas Mandl from the European People’s Party from Austria and Marc…

Published on 20/05/2026 – 18:55 GMT+2 A former British pirate radio station apologised on Wednesday “for any distress caused” after accidentally announcing the death of King Charles III. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The erroneous announcement was made on Tuesday afternoon due to a computer error at its main studio in Maldon in eastern Essex, Radio Caroline said in a post on social media. The error had triggered the so-called death of a monarch procedure “which all UK stations hold in readiness while hoping not to require,” wrote station manager Peter Moore. “Radio Caroline then fell silent as would be required, which alerted…

Chinese leader Xi Jinping welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin to Beijing early on Wednesday morning for talks on the state of play in various global conflicts. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “In the current tense situation on the international stage, our close partnership is particularly needed,” Putin told Xi, calling the Chinese leader “a dear friend”. According to Chinese state media, Xi said China and Russia should promote what he described as “more just global order” warning of “unilateral hegemony running rampant” across the world. “As permanent members of the UN Security Council and important world powers,” Xi reportedly said, China and Russia…

The European Commission’s latest sweeping fertiliser plan attempts to shield Europe’s food prices from the fallout of the energy crisis, with leaders in Brussels warning that volatile fertiliser markets are feeding directly into higher grocery bills across the bloc. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT At the heart of the plan is an attempt to break the chain reaction linking gas prices, fertiliser shortages and rising grocery bills, triggered by the Middle East conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade passage for 30 percent of the world’s fertilisers and 20 percent of its natural gas supplies. Brussels argues that…