Author: Press Room

Good morning, I’m Mared Gwyn writing in the early hours from Brussels. The real heavyweights steering EU policy – top industry chiefs – will join political leaders including the French President and German Chancellor at an annual industry summit in Antwerp later today, in what is set to be a taster session before EU leaders gather to talk competitiveness on Thursday. Corporate leaders called on the bloc to streamline and simplify its industrial policy in a statement at the same summit two years ago. Geopolitical upheaval, fiercer global competition and a lagging European economy are now adding an immense sense…

Europe’s top leaders will meet some of the most influential industrial chiefs at a gathering in Antwerp ahead of a crunch summit later this week focused on competitiveness. The meeting comes as the power dynamic between the industry and the political leadership shifts with a focus on reducing bureaucracy and cutting costs for European companies faced with higher energy costs, tariffs and increasing competition from China. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are expected to particulate at the gathering held in the Belgian port city. They will be joined by the…

Published on 10/02/2026 – 18:10 GMT+1•Updated 11/02/2026 – 7:01 GMT+1 EU leaders will gather on Thursday to informally discuss priorities for Europe’s economic agenda, including how to strengthen the single market and make Europe more economically independent and competitive. Among proposals on the table include dismantling barriers for European Union-based businesses via a “simplification” agenda, attracting investment from outside the EU, using Eurobonds, and giving preference to EU firms in order to strengthen European industries. Although all leaders agree that the bloc need to be stronger and more resilient in the face of rising Chinese market dominance and the United…

Published on 11/02/2026 – 7:00 GMT+1 Political groups of the European Parliament reached an agreement on Tuesday on the EU-US trade deal, which was struck in July 2025 by US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and still needs to be ratified. The agreement sets US tariffs at 15% on EU exports, while the EU committed to cutting its tariffs on US goods to zero, but its approval has proven controversial in recent weeks due to Trump’s threats to take control of Greenland. The Parliament froze the approval process in January after Trump said on…

MEPs from Hungary’s main opposition party, Tisza, voted against a resolution at the European Parliament on safeguards related to the EU’s Mercosur trade deal, breaking with the European People’s Party (EPP) for the third time in a month. On Tuesday, the Tisza delegation said it rejected the Mercosur safeguards to protect Hungarian farmers. “Tisza stands by Hungarian farmers even when it means going against the mainstream in Brussels,” a party statement said after the vote in Strasbourg. In January, Tisza supported a resolution to refer the Mercosur agreement to the European Court of Justice. Tisza MEPs also failed to appear…

Should the European Union pick up the phone and call Vladimir Putin? It depends on who you ask. The idea of re-engaging diplomatically with the Kremlin as part of the ongoing efforts to end the war in Ukraine has sharply divided the 27 member states, with some in favour, others against and most are on the sidelines, testing the temperature. Though the debate is not entirely new, it has taken on a new salience after both French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni endorsed the idea in back-to-back public statements last month. The two leaders, who have…

Published on 10/02/2026 – 9:41 GMT+1 “God bless America, whether it’s Chile, Argentina, Uruguay…”: Bad Bunny listed over 20 nations across North, Central and South America during the Super Bowl halftime show. And this statement was not just a shoutout. It was intentional and carried a message. Your reporter was asked to explain the phenomenon. And even if I do not usually listen to reggaeton, latin or trap, I have to tell you: it is big. So, why is everyone in Europe talking about Bad Bunny? Short answer: because he made history. He became the first artist ever to perform…

Published on 10/02/2026 – 10:18 GMT+1•Updated 10:19 The European Union remains the least corrupt region globally, but anti-corruption efforts have largely stalled over the past decade, according to Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index released on Tuesday. The global average has fallen to a new low of 42, while the EU’s regional average stands at 62 out of 100. Since 2012, 13 countries in western Europe and the EU have significantly declined, and only seven have significantly improved. Hungary scored 40 in the index, tying it with Bulgaria as the worst-performing EU member state. Romania scored 45. The erosion of…

Good morning, I’m Mared Gwyn writing from Brussels. Welcome to Tuesday. EU leaders are raising the stakes ahead of their informal gathering on Thursday, with both European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron unveiling separate pitches for a major overhaul of Europe’s economic doctrine over the past 24 hours. In an interview with seven media outlets published earlier today, Macron repeated his call for the EU to issue common debt to fund strategic investments, saying the move is needed to “challenge the hegemony of the dollar” and avoid Europe becoming a spectator of its own…

For decades, NATO’s reserve forces sat at the margins of defence planning, but Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has forced the alliance to confront a hard reality: its existing approach to reserves was not fit for purpose and didn’t match the scale, speed and complexity of modern collective defence. Now, allies are all taking steps to boost their reserve numbers – and they’re hoping to attract talent from fields that are becoming increasingly important for victory on and off the battlefield, but which aren’t necessarily competitive salary-wise, including cyber and IT. “All nations are doing that in a different way,…