Author: Press Room
EU Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi is facing renewed scrutiny after a leaked European Commission document indicated that Hungary’s Permanent Representation operated a spy ring during his tenure as Hungary’s permanent representative. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Last October, several media outlets reported that Hungary’s Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels had allegedly run a network of intelligence officers posing as diplomats, who targeted Hungarian nationals working at the Commission between 2012 and 2018. Várhelyi was drawn into the investigation because he served as Hungary’s ambassador to the EU between 2015 and 2019, which overlapped with part of the period under scrutiny. He was…
Violent clashes erupted between police and demonstrators outside Albania’s parliament on Thursday, as protests against a controversial resort development linked to US President Donald Trump’s family continue. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Since late May, protests have been held against the construction of a luxury hotel linked to Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner in a nature reserve in Zvernec, on Albania’s southwestern coast. For the second time this week, large groups of protesters had gathered outside the country’s parliament in an attempt to confront lawmakers and block entry to the building. Hundreds of demonstrators were met with lines of riot…
Published on 02/07/2026 – 15:24 GMT+2 European car suppliers and manufacturers are divided over Brussels’ “Made in Europe” strategy, an effort to shield the EU market from Chinese competition. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The EU car industry is facing fierce competition from China, threatening hundreds of thousands of jobs across the bloc. To address the issue, the EU is preparing the so-called Industrial Accelerator Act, which is designed to favour electric vehicles constructed mostly with European components in public procurement and public support schemes. However, EU car suppliers and manufacturers disagree over the proposed law, currently under discussion by EU countries and…
Published on 02/07/2026 – 14:21 GMT+2 Kyiv has urged its Western partners to take immediate decisions on air defence and sanctions after a large-scale Russian missile and drone attack on the Ukrainian capital killed at least 20 people, with the death toll expected to rise. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Residential buildings and civilian infrastructure were hit in what is described as one of the most intense assaults on Kyiv in recent months. Emergency services were continuing rescue operations on Thursday. “War criminal Putin can only wage a vile and terroristic war against civilians, women and children,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote…
A spectre is haunting Europe, or at least, its external borders: the Entry/Exit System (EES), an automated mechanism for registering foreign nationals entering and leaving the Schengen Area, which risks ruining the holiday season for millions of travellers. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The EES is gradually replacing passport stamps with a digital system that records when travellers enter and exit the Schengen Area for short stays, collecting biometric information such as facial images and fingerprints, along with personal data from travel documents. It is now in place at all the external borders of all 29 countries in the free-travel area, meaning all…
Published on 02/07/2026 – 12:32 GMT+2 EU countries must match Europe’s defence ambitions in the upcoming budget negotiations, European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius said at a conference on Thursday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “If you want peace, prepare for war,” Kubilius said, citing an Ancient Roman proverb to argue that strength and readiness are the best deterrents against being attacked. Kubilius argued that saving money on defence comes at the expense of the future, pointing out the enormous economic damage that accompanies the escalation of tensions into open conflict. “In order to avoid the case for war, [the member…
By Sertac Aktan & Euronews with AFP Published on 02/07/2026 – 4:21 GMT+2•Updated 11:45 Russian forces launched massive overnight strikes on Kyiv, killing at least 17 people and wounding dozens, local authorities and emergency services announced. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The attack came after Ukraine’s air force warned that ballistic missiles were headed towards the capital and followed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cutting short a visit to Dublin on Wednesday, citing intelligence reports of an impending Russian strike. The heavy missile and drone barrage triggered explosions that affected five districts of the wider Kyiv region. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said it was Russia’s biggest attack on Kyiv…
The focus in Venezuela is shifting from search and rescue to providing medical assistance as a major health crisis is looming, João Almeida da Silva, one of 11 experts deployed to the disaster-struck country by the EU Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC), told Euronews. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “What we see is that there’s going to be a huge need to support Venezuela,” da Silva said on Euronews’ flagship morning programme Europe Today. He was speaking from an operations base in La Guaira Stadium, one of the country’s hardest-hit areas. Two earthquakes of 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude struck just minutes apart on…
Published on 02/07/2026 – 7:59 GMT+2•Updated 8:31 On today’s show: Euronews’ Angela Skujins reports on today’s Annual EU Budget Conference, the debate taking place there over the EU’s long-term budget, and the fight for cash between member states. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Euronews’ Méabh McMahon speaks to Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Pekanov. Euronews’ Jorge Liboreiro reports from Dublin on Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Euronews’ Lauren Walker speaks to João Almeida da Silva, the EU’s head of aid operations in Venezuela, about the humanitarian situation following the devastating earthquakes in the country. Explainer by Jakub Janas: the…
EU redistributes Western Balkans funding: First this morning, a scoop by my colleague Luca Bertuzzi. The European Commission is set to redistribute funding it has allocated to Western Balkan candidate countries, with frontrunners Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia poised to receive cash at the expense of other countries in the region, two EU officials told Euronews. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans, set up in 2024, provides €6 billion in financial incentives for EU candidate countries in the region to implement the reforms needed to advance in their bids to join the bloc. The tool…