Author: Press Room
By Frances Lopez & Video by Léo Arnoux Published on 15/09/2026 – 10:15 GMT+2 Nearly every European agrees that speaking a second language is a valuable skill — but a recent survey suggests far fewer can actually do it, with fluency levels varying widely from one country to the next. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT According to a YouGov survey of adults in Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, between 87% and 97% across all six countries say learning another language is useful. Yet when respondents were asked whether they could actually speak a second language fluently, the numbers told a different story. Denmark recorded…
The EU is asking countries to offer at least one certified digital wallet by the end of 2026. Before the deadline, EU-funded pilot projects with 350 organisations issued over 1,500 digital credentials and completed more than 8,000 cross-border transactions. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The free wallet can hold national IDs, driving licences, diplomas, health insurance, and bank details. It uses three safeguards: selective disclosure, unlikability, and issuer-blindness. Using the wallet is optional, and paper documents are still valid. The rollout is uneven across countries. Italy leads with almost 8 million monthly users. Germany plans to launch in January 2027, while the Netherlands…
Published on 16/09/2026 – 10:17 GMT+2•Updated 10:18 Five people have been killed and at least seven are injured after a Russian drone strike hit a bus carrying passengers near the frontline in southern Ukraine. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The bus was travelling on a known route in the Nikopol district. In a post on Telegram, the regional governor of Dnipropetrovsk, Oleksandr Ganzha said: “Five people have been killed and at least seven wounded as a result of an enemy strike on a minibus in the Nikopol district. The Russians hit the bus with a drone,”. Photos provided by the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military…
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Wednesday that Canada has been invited to become the first “associate member” of the EU. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT She announced the move during her 2026 State of the Union address in Strasbourg, to an audience including not only MEPs but also Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who attended her speech in the midst of a trade war with the US. Since late August, the Canadians have been pushing hard for the Europeans to build a closer relationship with them, though full EU membership is not an option as Canada is not a…
The trial of Rachida Dati opened on Wednesday afternoon before the Paris criminal court. The former justice and culture minister is facing charges of passive corruption, passive influence-peddling, and concealment of abuse of power and breach of trust. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT At the heart of the case are the €900,000 she received between 2009 and 2013 from a Dutch subsidiary of Renault-Nissan, while she was serving as a Member of the European Parliament. The opening day was marked in particular by the absence of Carlos Ghosn. The former head of Renault-Nissan, who has been in Lebanon since fleeing Japan in 2019,…
At first glance, this X account below appears to belong to a Swedish woman named Ingrid Karlsson. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT But the profile uses a stolen photograph, according to researchers, rarely publishes its own content and is actually listed by the social media platform as being based in Benin, West Africa. It is one of more than 8,500 accounts identified by Dutch analysis company Trollrensics and the non-profit organisation Alliance4Europe, in collaboration with Swedish broadcaster SVT. The researchers say the profiles display signs of coordinated behaviour, including similar identities, reused photographs and overlapping patterns in the Swedish political accounts they follow.…
Published on 16/09/2026 – 12:00 GMT+2•Updated 19:44 Earlier today, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took the floor in Strasbourg for her annual State of the European Union address, with Europe facing mounting pressure on security, competitiveness, migration and its relationship with the United States. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT What did she promise — and what can she actually deliver? From Ukraine and European defence to the economy, migration and the EU’s response to a rapidly changing world, the speech came at a crucial moment for the Union. After the address, our debate show The Ring will put von der Leyen’s…
Published on 16/09/2026 – 13:52 GMT+2•Updated 19:56 European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament on Wednesday that she was “horrified by the images” of covincted war criminal Ratko Mladić’s funeral in Belgrade earlier this month, but stopped short of announcing any punitive measures against Serbia. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “The glorification of war criminals simply has no place in the European Union,” von der Leyen said during her annual State of the European Union speech. She refrained from directly criticising Serbia despite calls for firmer action from the bloc. Mladić, known as the “Butcher of Bosnia”, died in…
Published on 16/09/2026 – 13:54 GMT+2•Updated 13:55 Kyiv is ready for an energy ceasefire with Moscow, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding that Russia has yet to make the same commitment. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In an interview with CBS, Zelenskyy said US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner raised the possibility during their recent visit to Kyiv. He said Ukraine agreed, on condition that Russia also stops all attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure**.** “We never attack first. Our tactic is to respond where we can because Putin doesn’t respect and won’t even think of negotiating with weaklings,” Zelenskyy said. “When Steve…
By Kamuran Samar & AFP Published on 16/09/2026 – 18:09 GMT+2 An English village of around 350 people has voted overwhelmingly to “secede” from the United Kingdom in a symbolic referendum held in protest against plans to house asylum seekers at a nearby former military site. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In Piddington, near Oxford, 285 of the 312 ballots counted backed the call for the village to seek self-determination. The referendum has no legal standing, but residents celebrated the result by putting up a sign declaring the area the “Principality of Piddington”. The vote was organised by the parish council and was inspired partly by…