Author: Press Room
Paris is demanding an explanation from the European Commission for its decision to send the Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, as an observer to the first formal gathering of United States President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace on Thursday, saying she doesn’t have a “mandate”. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “We are surprised because she doesn’t have a mandate from the Council to go and participate in this meeting of the Board of Peace,” spokesperson Pascal Confavreux told reporters in Paris on Thursday. “She will have to explain it when she returns.” France, Belgium, Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, Sweden and Portugal were among…
By Alice Tidey with AFP Published on 19/02/2026 – 15:18 GMT+1 French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday stuck to his position that Europeans should develop a single common fighter jet, despite his German counterpart and Airbus both expressing their willingness to look into a two-fighter solution. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “We Europeans, if we understand the direction history is taking us, have an interest in standardising, simplifying and therefore having a common model,” Macron told reporters while on a visit to India. “I think we need to redouble our efforts, but I am also trying to look at the strategy of our countries, of our…
Published on 19/02/2026 – 14:28 GMT+1 The United States would consider dropping out of the International Energy Agency (IEA) if it continues to pursue a climate agenda of reaching emissions neutrality by 2050, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told a panel on the sidelines of the IEA’s ministerial meeting on Thursday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “We’re definitely not satisfied (with current IEA’s policy scenarios), and we’re not there yet… For the US to remain a long-term member of the IEA, the agency needs to finish the reform… we don’t need a net zero scenario, that’s never gonna happen, net zero by 2050,”…
Homeownership was once the defining milestone for any working adult with a stable income. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT But soaring property and energy prices, job volatility and freedom of movement are slowly shifting the paradigm in Europe. Homeownership rates are declining in nearly half of the countries surveyed by real estate agency Re/Max Europe in its annual European Housing Trend report. The number of people owning their own house is down 2% in the UK, France, Germany, Romania and the Czech Republic; 3% in Croatia and Hungary; 1% in Greece; and a steep 9% in Turkey. Whether the slide continues remains to…
Good morning. I’m Mared Gwyn. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Today, as European Commissioner Dubravka Šuica joins the first formal meeting of US President Donald Trump’s controversial “Board of Peace” in Washington, there is deepening outrage in several European capitals. As scooped by my colleagues Maïa de la Baume and Jorge Liboreiro, a raft of member states voiced criticism of Šuica’s trip – which was not coordinated with EU governments – in a closed-door meeting of ambassadors in Brussels on Wednesday. France, Spain, Belgium, Ireland, Slovenia and Portugal were among those who raised strong objections. Germany, Sweden and Lithuania also spoke up. France…
The EPSO AD5 competition that leads to administrator-level posts at the European institutions, is back after seven years. IT failures, the pandemic, a cancelled competition that had to be rerun at a cost of about €300,000, and criticism from the European Ombudsman over an outdated and opaque testing system all contributed. EPSO’s leadership has admitted the institution’s reputation has suffered. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT During this pause, private coaching companies continued to support candidates preparing. Firms like EU Training and ORSEU Concours continued to offer courses, webinars, practice exams, and one-on-one coaching. Now that the AD5 exam is back, candidates are turning…
Europe doesn’t have an innovation problem, but a scale problem, says the latest report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), noting how the continent excels at research and pilot projects, but consistently fails to convert technological breakthroughs into large-scale industrial deployment. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The hefty report was presented on Wednesday as energy ministers gather on the sidelines of the IEA’s ministerial meeting to take stock of the latest technological achievements in the energy sector. Among the technologies assessed are the development of small modular reactors (SMRs), fusion energy, or carbon capture and storage – all set to play a role…
The Spanish government’s controversial decision to approve a decree that will regularise 500,000 undocumented migrants and asylum seekers has sparked debate across Europe. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Alongside more measured criticism and analysis, a wave of misleading claims has surfaced. Some widely shared posts on X, amassing millions of views and thousands of shares, claim that these newly regularised migrants will be given the automatic right to vote. Others say that they will be put on a fast track to citizenship, allowing them to vote and, in turn, creating a “loyal voting bloc” for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his left-wing government.…
Published on 18/02/2026 – 18:02 GMT+1 EU member states will extend the bloc’s mechanism to regulate price spikes beyond 2030 in a bid to ensure the carbon price under the upcoming tax on cars, vans and buildings does not spike excessively when the system takes effect in 2028. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Households and businesses using fossil fuels for heating and transport will likely see higher bills once the new version of the European Union’s emissions trading system (ETS2), or carbon market, comes into full effect, and resistance to the system’s full implementation has been growing. Slovakia and the Czech Republic have…
Published on 18/02/2026 – 18:59 GMT+1•Updated 19:20 EU lawmakers have drafted a procedure to select the future host of the European Custom Authority, a new decentralised agency tasked with supporting and coordinating national customs administrations across the bloc. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The agency is expected to be set up in 2026 and operational in 2028. Many EU countries have put themselves forward as potential hosts for the new body, including Belgium, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Romania. In a committee meeting in January, all the nine countries presented their candidacy, with Spain, France, Poland and The Netherlands…