Author: Press Room
Published on 23/07/2026 – 17:31 GMT+2•Updated 24/07/2026 – 7:01 GMT+2 Montenegro backs new safeguards to stop future EU members backsliding on the rule of law and democratic standards, but only if they rest on objective criteria for assessing systemic breaches, the country’s ambassador to the EU has told Euronews. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Montenegro is the most advanced candidate country in the accession process, aiming to become the 28th EU member state in 2028. But its bid might be complicated by a string of proposals to overhaul how enlargement works. Chief among them: five of the six EU founding members have called…
Published on 23/07/2026 – 8:00 GMT+2•Updated 8:39 On today’s show: Europe Today’s anchor Mared Gwyn interviews Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs about NATO, European security and the alliance’s future. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Shona Murray reports on what a meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov could mean for peace in Ukraine, and speaks to Colonel Martin O’Donnell, NATO’s senior military adviser. Luca Bertuzzi explains why the EU is set to fine Google for breaching the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). We also speak to Germany’s Minister of State for Europe, Gunther Krichbaum, about EU…
Published on 23/07/2026 – 16:13 GMT+2 Member states have once again discussed options for restrictive measures against Israel’s illegal settlements, but no majority backed a specific course of action, and there is still no sense of direction. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT On Wednesday, the sensitive question of relations with Israel returned to the table of EU ambassadors, who discussed next steps on a series of options for sanctioning the country’s settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The options – ranging from stricter enforcement of existing labelling rules for settlement products, to prohibitive tariffs, to a full trade ban – were discussed at…
NATO says it is poised to defend Bulgaria against any threat from Iran after Sofia agreed to host US tanker aircraft as part of Washington’s operations against Iran. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT A spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry warned Bulgaria on Tuesday against hosting up to eight US military aircraft at an air base on its territory. Bulgaria is both an EU and NATO member. Iranian Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told state media that any action that supports US attacks on Iran would be regarded as participating in hostilities and amount to “aggression and war crimes”. Meanwhile, NATO’s Colonel Martin O’Donnell told…
Published on 23/07/2026 – 13:50 GMT+2 Norway has been reeling from a huge fire that broke out in a townhouse in the southern city of Drammen last week and spread through the surrounding area and into nearby forests. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT More than 100 homes were destroyed, and hundreds of people were forced to evacuate following the start of the blaze on 17 June. The Associated Press reported that Norway’s Directorate for Civil Protection described it as the “largest fire of its kind in modern times”. Since then, posts circulating online have attempted to link the blaze to a decision allegedly…
Published on 23/07/2026 – 11:53 GMT+2 Activists behind the far-right “Save Europe Act” campaign are taking the European Commission to court after it refused to register a petition calling for a suspension of legal migration channels and the “remigration” of legal third-country nationals deemed “unintegrated”, to prevent what organisers describe as “demographic replacement”. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The Commission rejected the initiative on Thursday, arguing it would discriminate on the grounds of race and ethnic origin and was therefore “manifestly contrary” to EU values, prompting organisers to announce legal action. “We believe the Commission acted against European law by preventing citizens from…
The European Commission announced a €890 million fine against Google on Thursday over alleged self-preferencing practices and unfair treatment of app developers, just as the Trump administration prepares a fresh round of trade duties. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The fine caps an investigation the Commission launched in March 2024 under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a law setting out a list of dos and don’ts for large tech companies that dominate key digital markets. The flagship element of the case, leading to a fine worth €460 million, concerns Google’s search engine allegedly giving systematic preferential treatment to its own services — Google…
Hello and good morning. Angela Skujins penning your Thursday dispatch, with some hot news. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT We just heard that after marathon talks EU ambassadors early Thursday morning approved the EU’s 21st package of sanctions against Russia. The previous hold out? As my colleague Jorge Liboreiro reports, maritime heavyweight Greece previously clung to its veto due to issues regarding a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) and its transport. We expect further reporting from Jorge today regarding the play-by-play of how this deal finally got done. But before we go there, Latvian leader Andris Kulbergs said in exclusive comments…
Wildfires continued to spread across parts of France, Spain and Italy on Wednesday, forcing thousands of people from their homes amid soaring temperatures. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In southwestern France’s Gironde department, more than 10,000 people were evacuated overnight due to a blaze that’s ravaged more than 2,000 hectares in the region, local authorities said. The fire broke out in the town of Saumos on Wednesday and has advanced southwest towards the areas of Le Porge and Lège Cap-Ferret. As of Thursday morning, 500 firefighters are tackling the blaze, with aerial reinforcements on the way. Two firefighters were killed while tackling flames…
It’s a long and winding road to 2050. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Last week, the EU launched an infringement procedure against all members for failing to fully transpose the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), also called the Green Homes Directive, into law. The deadline to do so was 29 May 2026. Brussels planned to put the bloc on a common trajectory towards net-zero emissions by the first half of the century with a mandatory modernisation of buildings, Europe’s largest energy consumer. The opening of the infringement procedure, which means that each member state has been sent a letter of formal warning…