Author: Press Room

For a generation, €19.99 flights became standard. Companies like Ryanair not only transported people but also reduced perceived distances. Studying abroad became routine, and weekend trips to cities like Lisbon were commonplace. As a result, Europe felt smaller, and the concept of being European evolved. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Now the Commission wants rail to trigger the same transformation. Not because of prices, but because of comfort. Brussels presented its “one journey, one ticket” proposal: rules to allow searching, booking, and paying for a multi-operator, cross-border rail journey in a single transaction, with full passenger rights covering the entire trip if something…

Published on 28/05/2026 – 15:39 GMT+2 Germany and the Netherlands will set up a joint tactical headquarters in the Baltics this year to command forces on NATO’s eastern flank and help deter Russia, Berlin said on Thursday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The joint German-Dutch command centre known as 1GNC will “assume a command role on NATO’s eastern flank, specifically in the region Estonia and Latvia” in coming months, the German defence ministry said in a statement. “The deployment of an additional tactical headquarters to the region strengthens the cohesion of NATO and supports the deterrence of Russia,” it said. 1GNC is a…

Published on 28/05/2026 – 16:23 GMT+2 Hungary is on a “clear and steadfast” path toward restoring the rule of law, and the EU will work with Budapest to evaluate progress — a key step toward unlocking the bloc’s frozen funds, European Commissioner for Justice Michael McGrath told Euronews’s Europe Today show. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT McGrath also announced he would travel to Budapest next week to meet Márta Görög, the country’s justice minister, “to agree on the reforms and look at the progress that they intend to make over the months ahead.” “So far they have demonstrated a very clear and steadfast…

Published on 28/05/2026 – 16:28 GMT+2 Ukraine plans to buy up to 20 latest model Gripen fighter jets and Sweden will donate 16 older models to boost its air defence, the two countries said on Thursday during a surprise visit to the country by Ukraine’s president. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Ukraine plans to allocate €2.5 billion from an EU loan for the new aircraft, the Swedish government said in a statement. Regarding the latest model Gripen E jets, “the aim is to quickly conclude a final agreement with deliveries as of 2030”, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said at a joint press conference…

French lawmakers were moved to tears in parliament on Thursday as France inched towards repealing outdated legislation that defines people enslaved in its colonies as “moveable goods,” in a symbolic move as the country grapples with its colonial legacy. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The French were the third largest slave traders in Europe, after the British and the Portuguese. Ships departing from French ports between the 17th and 19th centuries forcibly transported more than 1 million men, women and children from Africa into slavery, many in plantations in its overseas colonies in the Caribbean, according to expert estimates. France abolished enslaving humans…

Published on 28/05/2026 – 16:54 GMT+2•Updated 17:32 Investing in the electrification of transport and heavy industry is the right energy strategy if the European Union wants to preserve its economic sovereignty and revive struggling industries, International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol told Euronews. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “We can generate electricity from renewables, nuclear power and perhaps natural gas, and we should electrify our economies as much as possible,” Birol said, arguing for a shift away from fossil fuels towards an electricity-powered economy. His comments come as the EU faces a deepening energy crisis, worsened by the US-led conflict with Iran…

Published on 28/05/2026 – 17:53 GMT+2 Six European Union countries have raised renewed concerns over the bloc’s carbon market, saying that the costs it links to pollution could force industry to relocate production outside the EU to countries with weaker environmental rules. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT During a gathering of industry ministers in Brussels on Thursday, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Poland, Romania and Slovakia warned that their steelmakers, cement plants, aluminium smelters and chemical producers are being squeezed between soaring energy costs, geopolitical instability and tightening carbon rules under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), the bloc’s carbon market. At the…

The European Commission is set to unveil a new proposal aimed at boosting demand for European chips, particularly for artificial intelligence technologies, according to a draft seen exclusively by Euronews. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Brussels is preparing a major shift in its industrial policy on semiconductors through a revised Chips Act, due to be published on 3 June. “While the initial Chips Act has been predominantly supply-driven, the Chips Act 2.0 places greater emphasis on demand-side measures. The two dimensions are mutually reinforcing: cultivating robust local demand supports the strengthening of local semiconductor supply,” an early draft of the proposal reads. The…

The European Union will not seek to mediate between Ukraine and Russia nor attempt to replace the United States in the peace process, High Representative Kaja Kallas has said amid an ongoing debate on whether the bloc should appoint a special envoy. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The hot-button issue, which has sharply divided member states and fuelled intense speculation about potential candidates, was top of the agenda during an informal meeting of foreign affairs ministers on Thursday in Lemesos, Cyprus. “One thing is very clear: Europe will never be a neutral mediator between Russia and Ukraine, because we are on Ukraine’s side…

Easing sanctions on Russian energy would be a “major mistake” by European countries, International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol warned in an interview with Euronews, as the bloc deals with the ramifications of a second energy shock in four years. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The EU is weighing measures to ease price pressures on member states resulting from the Strait of Hormuz crisis, a vital route that carries one fifth of global oil supplies, after the regime in Tehran effectively shut down the passage last March. The turmoil in the Middle East has contributed to a 65% increase in oil prices, according…