Author: Press Room

Hungary’s Fidesz party is facing an existential crisis following its dramatic defeat in the country’s April elections, in which Péter Magyar’s Tisza party unseated Viktor Orbán after 16 years of governing with a supermajority. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Having been a key driver of Hungary’s democratic transition at the end of the 1980s and then a vehicle for Orbán’s nationalist, eurosceptic transformation of the country since 2010, Fidesz has since struggled to adapt to Hungary’s new political reality. Tisza commands nearly 70% support in opinion polls, while Fidesz’s own rating has fallen below 20%. Several leading figures have left politics altogether since…

Published on 27/08/2026 – 11:04 GMT+2 Iceland’s referendum on whether to restart EU accession negotiations is heading for a knife-edge result, the latest polls show, with the gap between “yes” and “no” narrowing sharply ahead of Saturday’s vote. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Maskína, a polling and market research company, says its survey of voting intentions for the high-stakes referendum put the “Yes” camp ahead on 51.3% and “No” on 48.7%. Previous polls have consistently shown a lead for the pro-accession camp, but also a steady closing of the gap. In earlier surveys commissioned by the Icelandic news outlet Vísir, Maskína put the…

Published on 27/08/2026 – 10:15 GMT+2 Norway’s 89-year-old King Harald is in an “extremely serious” condition after his health deteriorated while being treated in hospital for a blood disorder, the royal palace said on Thursday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “His Majesty the King’s health condition is extremely serious,” the palace said in a statement, without providing further details. Queen Sonja and Crown Prince Haakon, who is acting as regent during his father’s illness, have cancelled all royal engagements, while Norwegian media reported that members of the royal family were at the king’s bedside. Europe’s oldest reigning monarch has been in Oslo University…

Europe’s militaries are pouring money into the sea. EU defence expenditure rose to €418 billion in 2025, a 20 percent increase from the previous year, and is projected to reach €454 billion in 2026, equivalent to 2.4 percent of GDP. Maritime defence is one of the fastest-growing sectors. Production of naval vehicles and equipment across the bloc has reached €117.8 billion since 2016, with output hitting €13.7 billion in 2025 alone. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Who’s building Europe’s navies On paper, four countries dominate that output. France, Germany, Italy and Spain account for 87 percent of the EU’s maritime defence industrial base…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded tech billionaire Elon Musk the Order of Freedom, one of Ukraine’s most prestigious state honours, months after the SpaceX founder worked with Kyiv to block Russia’s illegal use of Starlink — a move that disrupted Moscow’s battlefield communications and helped slow the Russian advance. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The decree, published on Ukraine’s presidential website on Wednesday, cited Musk’s “outstanding personal merits in protecting human life and freedom” and his contribution to relations between Ukraine and the US. The award marks a striking turn in the complicated relationship between Musk, Ukraine and the country’s leadership, as Kyiv…

The Ionian Islands region was placed under a Code Red alert on Wednesday, as a very high risk of wildfires (Category 4) is forecast. The decision was taken by the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Under the alert, the National Civil Protection Mechanism is fully activated, deploying the necessary personnel, equipment and resources required to prepare for imminent threat, respond to emergencies and manage the consequences of any destructive event. Short-term recovery, relief and support measures are also activated to help mitigate the impact of the disaster. A high wildfire risk (Category 3) is forecast for…

The EU’s migration policy has increasingly centred on the controversial notion of using “return hubs” to externalise irregular migrants to third countries, as enshrined in the recently adopted Return Regulation. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “We need to set up repatriation centres in third countries, as well as other innovative solutions outside Europe. We are working hard on this,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen wrote in a joint statement earlier this month. Nineteen EU countries are convinced this is an “innovative solution” to pursue for migration management, as made clear in a joint letter sent to EU…

Published on 26/08/2026 – 12:46 GMT+2 State actors have been attempting to hack into EU officials’ Signal and WhatsApp accounts, according to a confidential European Commission presentation obtained by Euronews. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The presentation, prepared by the Interinstitutional Cybersecurity Board – a body set up in January 2024 to ensure EU institutions comply with the bloc’s cybersecurity rules – provides an updated overview of the threat landscape facing Brussels over the past year. In an unprecedented admission, first reported by Politico, the EU body acknowledged for the first time that state-sponsored actors have engaged in “spearphishing”, a highly targeted cyberattack…

Published on 26/08/2026 – 12:53 GMT+2 Poland is set to receive four Airbus A330 MRTT tanker and transport aircraft by 2030 under a joint procurement programme with Spain worth an estimated €5.4 billion. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The Spanish government approved the framework agreement at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, clearing the way for the two countries to jointly acquire at least seven aircraft, according to Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. “Most importantly, by 2030 Poland will receive four aircraft,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said on X, adding that the next step would be the signing of the final contract. The…

The Netherlands, Italy, France and Spain are among the top ten countries worst hit by additional fossil-fuel import costs caused by disruption in the Middle East, according to a report from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Across the 170 countries examined, 134 paid more for diesel than markets had anticipated before the war, CREA’s report reveals. The Netherlands recorded an estimated €11.5 billion in additional costs between March and August 2026, followed by Italy at €12.7bn, France at €10.8bn and Spain at €8.8bn. Together, the four EU economies absorbed almost €41bn in extra…