Author: Press Room
Thousands of residents who were forced to evacuate from the region of Madrid returned home on Wednesday as the wildfires had been stabilised. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT A day prior, Spanish authorities had lifted over a dozen evacuation orders for municipalities west of the capital of Madrid, where the fire had burned most fiercely. “24,000 evacuated individuals have been able to return to their homes, and another 20,000 have been released from confinement in the Community of Madrid,” central government delegate to the region Francisco Martin Aguirre said on X late on Tuesday. Regional authorities said weather conditions improved overnight, which helped…
A large wildfire on Paros is raging for a second day, with firefighting crews battling multiple fronts on the southern and southeastern side of one of Greece’s most popular holiday islands. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The operation was significantly reinforced at first light on Wednesday, after the fire flared up again overnight and authorities issued successive evacuation orders for residents and visitors in a total of ten areas. The authorities remain chiefly concerned about the strong northerly winds, which hamper access for ground crews and carry embers over long distances, sparking new outbreaks. Rekindling after sunset The fire broke out at midday…
By Alessio Dell’Anna & video by Léo Arnoux Published on 29/07/2026 – 7:30 GMT+2 Spain is the EU country that’s been worst hit by this year’s wildfires, recording the highest share of burned land in Europe relative to its size in 2026. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT That’s more than 200,000 hectares, or around 0.4% of the country’s territory, according to the EU’s Earth observation programme Copernicus. On Sunday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez warned that difficult hours lay ahead, after more than 90,000 people were forced to evacuate areas around Madrid and Ávila. Neighbouring Portugal is also facing a severe fire season, recording the EU’s second-highest…
A deadly attack at Berlin’s Pride parade has renewed scrutiny of how EU member states share intelligence on suspected extremists and monitor their movements across borders. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The suspect, 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, had travelled outside the Schengen Area before returning to the EU, yet was not detained despite his known links to Islamist extremism. A German citizen of Lebanese descent, Ballout had been known to German police and intelligence services for several years because of his involvement in Islamist extremist activities. He had travelled to Turkey looking to enter Syria. The case has reignited questions over whether Europe’s intelligence-sharing…
The European Commission’s long-awaited wildfire strategy, unveiled in March, was presented as a major shift in approach: moving away from simply fighting fires once they break out towards prioritising prevention measures. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Four months later, Spain and France are facing one of their worst wildfire seasons in years, exposing the gap between Brussels’ ambitions and the limited progress made on the ground. As flames spread across southern Europe, the Commission is facing growing scrutiny over whether its promise to put wildfire prevention ahead of emergency response came too late to make any difference this summer. The strategy unveiled in…
Europe is facing one of its worst wildfire seasons in years, with France and Spain bearing the brunt of large, fast-moving blazes fuelled by repeated heatwaves, drought and strong winds. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Thousands of firefighters are battling fires that have forced mass evacuations, destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of forest and disrupted tourism during the peak summer season. Portugal, Greece, Italy, Turkey and parts of the Western Balkans are also at risk due to expected rising temperatures. Euronews has examined the latest wildfire trends, the factors driving their spread and the challenges Europe faces in preventing future disasters. Where…
Western Europe experienced its hottest June on record this years as prolonged periods of extreme heat pushed temperatures to unprecedented levels across multiple countries. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The impacts extended beyond discomfort, putting pressure on healthcare systems and damaging crops. These four figures help indicate the scale of the heatwave across the region. 20.74: The average temperature Western Europe recorded its hottest June since records began, with an average temperature of 20.74 degrees, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change service. This average temperature was 3.06 degrees above the June average between 1991 and 2020, surpassing a previous record set in…
From this Sunday, AI companies will be subject to new obligations under the EU’s AI Act requiring them to make deepfakes and other AI-generated content clearly recognisable as artificial. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT However, technical challenges raise doubts about how effective the rules will be. Two years ago, the EU adopted sweeping rules to regulate artificial intelligence and created a dedicated AI Office to oversee the landmark legislation’s implementation. Among its many provisions, the AI Act includes the world’s first transparency regimes for synthetic media, requiring providers of generative AI systems like Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s ChatGPT to ensure that artificially generated…
If the European Union wants to reach energy sovereignty, it should accelerate renewable energy and heat pumps rather than locking itself into new gas imports, according to a new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The think tank contends that expanding wind, solar power and heat pumps is the most effective long-term answer, estimating that in 2024, these technologies displaced 8.8 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) – roughly equivalent to two-thirds of the EU’s imports of Qatari LNG that year. According to the study, if the bloc meets its existing…
By Paul Brotherton, Freshwater Manager, Wetlands International Europe; Andreas Baumüller, Programme Director, WWF European Policy Office; Sergiy Moroz, Head of Nature, European Environment Bureau Published on 28/07/2026 – 12:34 GMT+2 The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews. Europe is experiencing climate whiplash. As a record-breaking heatwave has recently swept across the continent, wildfires are spreading, health systems are under growing pressure and critical infrastructure is proving increasingly vulnerable. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Heat, drought, fire and floods are no longer isolated events. They are increasingly arriving in…