Author: Press Room
In 2025, the EU saw 669,400 first-time asylum requests and 178,000 irregular border crossings. The scale is putting pressure on the five member states along the Central Mediterranean route: Spain, Italy, France, Germany and Greece received 83% of all first-time asylum applications. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Frontline countries lack the physical capacity to shelter applicants, and processing can take years, leaving hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people in legal limbo. Local budgets are also unable to provide adequate long-term healthcare, education and social assistance. The EU’s Migration and Asylum Pact aims to ease this pressure by bringing non-border countries forward: states must…
Good morning, Brussels. Angela Skujins here on newsletter duties. Roughly 24-hours ago we saw two lightning rod elections – one in Kosovo and one in Armenia — with candidates bristling against Russian influence and communities weighing whether to get closer to the European Union. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT This newsletter is all about the bloc’s battle of wills amid campaigns of foreign interference. Barbs at the ballot box. Near complete results from Kosovo’s snap election show the country’s incumbent Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s party on track to secure the most votes (43%). The social democratic, pro-EU party, Vetëvendosje, has not drummed up…
Armenians decided to turn the page on their tumultuous political past giving incumbent Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan a strong mandate for a balanced, pro-West future as early results on Monday show his Civil Contract party in the lead. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The vote on Sunday also signals diminishing influence in a region once dominated by Russia, despite reported threats from Moscow and claims of interference. Armenia and Russia are technically allies, but Moscow has compared the former Soviet republic’s ambitions to join the European Union to one of the reasons it triggered its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. With more than…
Published on 08/06/2026 – 6:05 GMT+2 The leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom backed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in calling for direct ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine, according to a joint statement issued following defence talks in London on Sunday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Zelenskyy met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at 10 Downing Street for talks as Russia’s war has stretched into its fifth year. The leaders “supported the proposal for a direct dialogue between Ukraine and Russia, with active US and European participation, to bring about a…
Published on 07/06/2026 – 18:14 GMT+2•Updated 18:38 Russian national teams and clubs from the Russian Federation will not take part in UEFA-run international tournaments in the 2026/27 season. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has extended the suspension of Russian teams from its competitions. “The UEFA Executive Committee has amended the list of entrants for the 2026/27 season in order to bring it into line with the current suspension of Russian national teams and clubs from UEFA competitions. The list of participants has also been adjusted to reflect competition results, namely the redistribution of titleholder places and…
Published on 07/06/2026 – 15:44 GMT+2 An equid skeleton has been uncovered during archaeological excavations in a bakery area of Pompeii’s House of the Chaste Lovers complex. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The Insula of the Chaste Lovers is one of the most important excavation sites in Pompeii because it preserves an entire production complex, including a bakery oven, storage rooms, workspaces and the owner’s residence. The complex is named after the famous “Chaste Kiss” fresco discovered in a triclinium of the house and comprises a large bakery with adjoining stables, where other equids used to operate millstones and transport grain for bread…
Published on 07/06/2026 – 11:57 GMT+2 European leaders will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Downing Street in London in a few hours to discuss increasing pressure on Russia as it faces military setbacks in Ukraine. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The meeting, set to start at 6:30 p.m. CEST, will bring together Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. It comes days after Zelenskyy publicly appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the more than four-year war, proposing direct talks in an open letter published ahead of the St. Petersburg…
Published on 07/06/2026 – 13:06 GMT+2•Updated 14:38 “Europe needs to open a new chapter regarding its relationship with China,” warned Manfred Weber, head of the European People’s Party in the European Parliament, in remarks to Bild am Sonntag. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “The era of naivety is over,” he said, urging the bloc to defend its economic interests more clearly and consistently and to reset its relationship with China. Europe and China’s rocky road Ahead of the EU summit on 18 June, several member states, led by France, are pressing for a firmer line on Beijing, warning that Chinese overproduction and low-priced…
Published on 07/06/2026 – 13:13 GMT+2 The Pentagon has elevated its counterintelligence alert concerning Israel to the highest level, according to several US media reports. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT NBC News reported that the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) recently designated Israel as a “critical” counterintelligence concern amid increasing tensions between the two allies over the war with Iran. The move reportedly followed concerns that Israel may have sought to gather intelligence on senior US officials in an effort to gain insight into the Trump administration’s internal discussions and decision-making on conflicts in the Middle East. The New York Times reported alleged…
Cruises have long been established in the mainstream travel market. Many holidaymakers like the fact that they can visit several destinations without constantly changing hotels; the room travels with them, costs are predictable, and the organisational effort remains manageable. Demand has risen in recent years, both on the high seas and on inland waterways, and this trend is likely to continue in 2026. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT River cruising in particular is on the rise. According to the German Travel Association (DRV), cruises were among the most dynamic areas of the German travel market in 2025. German holidaymakers spent around 6.7 billion…