Author: Press Room

Spanish police said on Friday they had dismantled what they called one of the largest criminal networks involved in smuggling migrants across the Mediterranean, arresting 78 people and seizing 18 high-speed boats. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The network allegedly used the vessels to transport synthetic drugs such as ecstasy from Spain to Algeria and, on the return journey, to smuggle migrants to Spain’s Mediterranean coast and the island of Ibiza, police said in a statement. Investigators believe the group was responsible for at least 64 migrant smuggling operations in which more than 2,000 people were brought to Spain, generating profits of more…

Nicosia has expressed its satisfaction at the entry of the French investment group Meridiam as majority shareholder in the Great Sea Interconnector. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Cyprus’ Energy Minister, Michalis Damianou, said that the participation of the French group gives new momentum to the project’s implementation and confirms the shared political will of Cyprus and Greece to advance electricity interconnection. He added that the Republic of Cyprus is still awaiting the due diligence study of the European Investment Bank (EIB) before deciding whether it will participate in the project as a shareholder. Damianou described Meridiam’s entry as a “vote of confidence” in…

Blue whiting, mackerel and golden redfish could prove more decisive at the ballot box than US President Donald Trump’s expansionist ambitions, Russia’s looming threats or European politicians’ sweet nothings. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In Iceland, where the sea shapes the economy, livelihoods and national identity, the most significant crossroads of the last decade ultimately comes down to one thing: fish. On 29 August, Icelanders will vote on whether to resume negotiations to join the European Union, restarting a process that was frozen in 2013. If voters approve, negotiations with Brussels will kick off again – with the prospect of joining the EU…

Published on 07/08/2026 – 10:35 GMT+2 Russia is considering staging a false-flag attack against critical infrastructure in the Baltics using Ukrainian drones in an attempt to discredit Kyiv and weaken NATO’s backing for Ukraine, Lithuania’s defence minister, Robertas Kaunas, has warned. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “We are talking about a potential false-flag operation where a fake Ukrainian drone could be used,” he said during a press briefing. “That’s the most realistic current scenario.” For such an attack, parts of Ukrainian drones that were launched against military and energy targets inside Russia could be used. Ukraine has repeatedly launched long-range drone attacks against…

In the coming months, European governments will intensify their efforts to establish how the EU’s long-term budget for the period 2028-2034 should be financed, with new revenues, called “own resources”, at the centre of the debate. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The discussion on own resources is not new. During the last long-term budget negotiations, the 27 member states failed to agree on any resources at all, and the budget was eventually financed by a national contribution, each country contributing 1.13 percent of its gross national income. But given the bloc has grand ambitions to make large new investments in strategic sectors such…

The European outrage at Spain over the crisis in Ceuta has subsided on the surface, but the incident has revived a broader question in Brussels: is Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez becoming what Danish MEP Henrik Dahl called Europe’s “red Orbán” — a left-wing leader increasingly isolated from the EU mainstream? ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Though the merit of the “red Orbán” label is debatable, the Ceuta crisis has become the clearest sign yet of the growing isolation of Spain and Sánchez within the European political landscape. “Like Orban, he is seen as a spoiler,” said Dahl, a member of the European…

Published on 06/08/2026 – 10:14 GMT+2 Ukraine struck two Russian oil refineries hundreds of kilometres from the border in an overnight attack, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday, as Russia hit a train station and commercial ship in Ukraine. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Both sides have been intensifying their long-range attacks in recent months, leading to a jump in civilian deaths. Kyiv has been firing record numbers of drones at Russia, while Moscow has been launching all-time high missile attacks. Zelenskyy said Ukraine had hit oil refineries in the Bashkortostan and Yaroslavl regions, about 700 kilometres from the front. The attacks were…

Published on 06/08/2026 – 10:24 GMT+2•Updated 10:46 Hungary’s Prime Minister Péter Magyar says he is optimistic that the Paks nuclear power station will be able to restart soon as water levels on the Danube slowly rise. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Hungary shut down its sole nuclear power plant, which relies on the waters of the Danube for cooling, on Sunday because of low water levels. The waters of the Danube, Europe’s second longest river, have dropped in parts to a record low due to successive heatwaves that have parched the continent since May. “The good news is that we are now nine…

Images and videos of mass migration into Ceuta, which borders Morocco, quickly spread across social media after tens of thousands of migrants rushed into the Spanish territory last week. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Mixed in with genuine reports about the crisis, which saw roughly 72,000 people from Morocco cross into Ceuta, was a wave of misleading visuals, including AI-generated images presented as authentic news photographs and recycled videos falsely linked to the crossings. One example is this dramatic image purportedly showing a “soldier” raising a large rock above a migrant climbing an embankment, which was shared on YouTube, X and Reddit. The…

Published on 06/08/2026 – 16:52 GMT+2 Ceuta Mayor Juan Jesús Vivas has described the breach of the Spanish enclave’s border with Morocco as an “invasion” and demanded the immediate return of migrants still there after last week’s border incident. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Vivas made the remarks in his testimony before the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on Thursday. The hearing was convened after roughly 80,000 migrants entered Ceuta by sea in what has been described as one of the largest migration crises in the EU’s history. The Spanish government declined its invitation to attend the session;…