Author: Press Room
Published on 31/07/2026 – 19:34 GMT+2 The European Commission said on Friday that no irregular migrants have moved from Ceuta to the European mainland. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT While the sudden migration crisis in the Spanish enclave has sent shockwaves across Europe and prompted calls to suspend Spain from the Schengen free-movement area, EU officials insist that migrants who crossed the border irregularly will not headto other member states. “There are no onward movements today towards the European continent,” an EU official said, claiming that migrants will not be able to freely move through Europe, as someleading right-of-centre figures across Europe are…
One person has been found dead after a two-storey building collapsed in the Italian city of Messina on Thursday, while five others remain missing. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The body is believed to be that of businessman Carmelo Leone. It was recovered by firefighters and taken to the mortuary at Messina’s university hospital. The building housed several businesses, including a supermarket and a shop, on the ground and first floors, while the second floor contained four apartments. Firefighters launched a search for people feared trapped beneath the rubble after relatives reported they had been unable to contact family members who had been…
Published on 31/07/2026 – 15:00 GMT+2 Already a member of NATO, the European Economic Area (EEA), the single market and the Schengen Area, for decades Iceland has debated whether or not it should become a full member of the European Union. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Fears for the fishing and farming sectors are the focus of the Eurosceptic messages. Opposition to the EU in rural areas is up to 80%, according to some polls. Farmer Stefán Geirsson markets milk and beef from the country’s agricultural heartland. Full EU membership would mean an avalanche of cheaper agri-food imports, with which farmers here would…
The European Commission says it is prepared to convene an emergency meeting of its Electricity Coordination Group over the shutdown of Hungary’s Paks nuclear plant, as the country’s prime minister warned of a looming energy crisis. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “Although the operator has emergency measures in place to guarantee nuclear safety, an event of this kind could further strain the regional electricity balance,” the Commission’s spokesperson, Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, told Euronews. “The Commission stands ready to convene an ad hoc meeting of the Electricity Coordination Group.” Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has warned that the country could face an energy crisis as…
Published on 31/07/2026 – 15:33 GMT+2 Nearly half of the 60,000 migrants who entered the Spanish enclave of Ceuta since the early hours of Friday have already returned to Morocco, according to Spain’s Interior Ministry, as cited by local media. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The estimate covers the period up to 1 p.m. local time on Friday, meaning the number is expected to increase as returns continue. Local media also reported that at least 34 people died while attempting to swim from Morocco to Ceuta. The mass arrival of migrants has overwhelmed the Spanish authorities and humanitarian organisations in the autonomous city,…
By Akis Tatsis & AFP, ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ Published on 31/07/2026 – 14:23 GMT+2 A man with dual British and Azerbaijani nationality is being held in Cyprus pending a hearing on a request for his extradition to the United Kingdom, where the authorities accuse him of spying at the Royal Air Force base at Akrotiri, in the southern part of the island. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The 44-year-old, who lives in Islington in north London, was arrested by the Cypriot authorities on 17 July at the request of the UK authorities, according to a statement by London’s Metropolitan Police. British authorities say he carried out “hostile surveillance”…
European right-wing figures blame the escalation in the Ceuta enclave on Spain’s naturalisation policy, in what left-wing parties call opportunistic attacks. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT On Thursday, thousands of migrants stormed the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, prompting Spain’s Interior Ministry to declare a national emergency and mobilise troops to restore order in the autonomous city. Leading right-to-centre figures across Europe have seized on the escalation, accusing Madrid of losing control of its border and blaming the mass illegal crossings on Spain’s extraordinary regularisation of hundreds of thousands of migrants. “Appalling situation at the Spanish border. The devastating images are the direct consequence…
Published on 31/07/2026 – 10:03 GMT+2 The European Commission is running short on capacity to manage several accession processes at the same time — and the worst may be yet to come. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The EU executive’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and the Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST) is facing a mounting capacity challenge, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter. Ironically, the strain is due to the bloc’s booming enlargement drive: more negotiating chapters have closed in the past six months than in the past decade. Montenegro, the “frontrunner”, is currently having its accession treaty drafted and aims to…
Published on 31/07/2026 – 11:34 GMT+2 Raffaele Fitto underlined the European Union’s intention to take on a significant role in the UN process on the Cyprus issue, following his meeting with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, in Nicosia. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The European Commission’s special representative for Cyprus and Executive Vice-President of the Commission was received on Friday morning at the Presidential Palace, during his first visit to the island since his appointment. “The European Union is sending a very clear message: that it wishes to work and to take part with a very significant role in…
Published on 31/07/2026 – 10:48 GMT+2 Around 40,000 migrants have crossed in recent days from Morocco into Spain’s Ceuta enclave, a police source said on Friday, as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was due to arrive there. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The influx marks the largest arrival of migrants in Ceuta since 2021 — predominantly young men and adolescents — with 18 deaths reported during the crossing, according to figures released on Friday morning by the same source. The number of entries means the population of the enclave increased by around 50%, as around 83,000 people are living in Ceuta. France reinforces…