Author: Press Room
Published on 17/03/2026 – 11:50 GMT+1 Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said NATO is not obliged to respond positively to demands by Donald Trump that the alliance help reopen the Strait of Hormuz arguing that NATO’s raison d’être is the defence of Europe and the North Atlantic. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Valtonen also stressed that NATO is a “defensive” organisation and will not be drawn into a war of its choosing, in an interview with Euronews’s flagship Europe Todayshow. “NATO is indeed a defensive alliance, and we won’t be dragged into any war of choice”, she said. Valtonen said a like country…
By Tamsin Paternoster & Video by Baptiste Goudier Published on 17/03/2026 – 8:00 GMT+1 President Donald Trump has threatened to cut off trade with Spain after Madrid refused to allow US forces to use its military bases in its ongoing operation in Iran. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “We don’t want anything to do with Spain,” Trump told reporters at the White House in early March. Two weeks later, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares insisted relations between the US and Spain were “normal”, as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez reaffirmed the country’s firm “no to war” stance. If Trump should carry out his threats against…
Good morning from Brussels. I’m Mared Gwyn. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT European nations have resisted pressure from US President Donald Trump to join an international naval mission to force the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz – as they seek to distance themselves from the war that continues to rage in the Middle East. The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday there was “no appetite” among EU foreign ministers to extend the mandate of the EU’s naval mission Aspides into the Strait, despite Trump directly appealing to European nations to secure the maritime artery in a bid to rein…
European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica has responded to criticism of her presence at the first meeting of US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace in February – just days before the US and Israel triggered the war with Iran – saying that the EU has “not legitimised” the controversial initiative. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Šuica sparked backlash among EU countries when she attended the meeting convened by Trump in Washington on 19 February as an observer. France and Spain said that her attendance was in breach of the EU treaties, as the institution that she represents lacks the competence to…
Energy dependence became Europe’s urgent problem in 2022. And yet, the EU continues to lean on imported fossil fuels. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT To reduce Russian influence, Europe has shifted to liquid natural gas (LNG), with 10-15% of its supply now passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Recent attacks in the Gulf have slowed shipping through the strait, intensifying the impact on Europe. Scarcity is increasing demand for oil and gas, driving up electricity and fuel prices. Europe’s efforts to reduce energy dependence have not matched its capabilities. According to MEP and Volt co-founder Damian Boeselager, a decade-long “reactive stance” is responsible.…
US President Donald Trump has called on allies to send ships to secure the Strait of Hormuz, effectively closed since the war in Iran started last month, and responsible for one-fifth of global oil traffic. If allies do not respond to the US or react negatively, Trump has threatened a “bad future” for NATO. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT While the Americans call reopening the waterway “a small endeavour”, Europeans say the reality on the ground is far more complex and riskier as Tehran fires off missiles and drones indiscriminately. But why is securing passage so crucial? Euronews explains: Why is the Strait…
Published on 16/03/2026 – 19:34 GMT+1 Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said on Monday there was “no appetite” to extend the mandate of the EU’s naval mission Aspides into the Strait of Hormuz despite growing calls for Europe to help secure the waterway and prevent major disruptions to global oil supplies. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “The discussion was that it (Aspides) should be strengthened because it does not have too many naval assets,” Kallas told reporters at a press conference following a gathering of foreign ministers in Brussels. “But the discussion on whether we are also extending this mandate to…
The United Arab Emirates Minister of State Lana Nusseibeh launched an appeal to the world to force Tehran to lift its stranglehold on the vital shipping waterway, the Strait of Hormuz, and hailed the support provided by the European Union since the start of the Iran war. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In a wide-ranging interview with Euronews in Abu Dhabi, Nusseibeh said, “Iran must not be allowed to hold the global economy hostage by its rogue state behaviour.” In the interview, Nusseibeh warned that the consequences of the disruption of the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman extend far beyond the region,…
Published on 13/03/2026 – 15:57 GMT+1•Updated 16/03/2026 – 10:33 GMT+1 Despite reducing its fossil fuel imports since the invasion of Ukraine, the EU still heavily relies on foreign reserves. According to Eurostat, in 2023, the bloc’s energy dependency rate reached 58%, meaning that imports accounted for more than half of the EU’s energy needs. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT While import reliance varies across member states, 65% of the EU’s overall energy imports in 2023 were oil and petroleum, 25% were natural gas, 5% were solid fossil fuels, and only 2% were renewables. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East shows that energy…
A missile strike that hit the Shajarah Tayyebeh primary school in southern Iran, killing more than 170 people, has sparked international outrage as the Iran war continues. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT UNESCO called it a “grave violation of humanitarian law”, with authorities and news outlets widely labelling it the deadliest attack of the conflict so far. The US and Iran were quick to point the finger at each other, with an investigation into what exactly happened and who is responsible underway. Euronews’ fact-checking team, The Cube, looked at satellite imagery and news reports to dissect how the events leading up to and…