Author: Press Room

Published on 15/06/2026 – 16:44 GMT+2•Updated 16:49 Ukraine and Moldova open the first phase of negotiations on joining the European Union in Luxembourg on Monday, ending a two-year political deadlock driven by the former Hungarian government’s opposition to opening talks with Kyiv. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “It is a historic milestone for my country,” Moldova’s deputy Prime Minister, Cristina Gherasimov, told Euronews on Monday. “This is also a strong signal for us that the EU is also getting ready to receive new member states.” Describing the talks as the “biggest step” in Ukraine and Moldova’s accession bid since they were granted candidate…

Published on 15/06/2026 – 15:45 GMT+2 As summer begins, thousands of tourists will soon take a stop on the side of the road on the plateau de Valensole, southern France, to take a selfie in front of lavender fields. But these Instagram-worthy landscapes are threatened, as some of them are no longer as profitable. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Farmers are starting to shift their production to pistachio, pomegranate or almond trees, whilst others are turning to a booming sector: laying hens. Two chicken coops are set to appear in the lavender fields of the plateau de Valensole, each of them to raise…

Published on 15/06/2026 – 14:03 GMT+2 A 34-year-old former consultant for the Swedish military went on trial on Monday, accused of trying to pass classified information to Russia’s intelligence services. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The man is a Swedish citizen, born to Iranian parents, who worked as an IT consultant for the military from 2018-2022, according to court documents and the military. Arrested in January, he was charged with attempted espionage. He is accused of having tried, during a trip to Moscow between November and December 2025, to disclose secret information “notably to the Russian FSB and GRU services, in exchange for…

The European Council and the European Parliament have agreed to maintain free cabin luggage and financial compensation for delayed flights under the bloc’s air passenger rights rules after more than a decade of negotiations. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Under the rules, air passengers will continue to benefit from free cabin luggage and will be entitled to financial compensation if flights are delayed by at least three hours – a key demand from the European Parliament that was resisted by several EU countries. “The fees that need to be paid are the same as those known for airlines for almost 20 years now.…

It sounded like the perfect sequel to the summer fairy tale: on 13 July 2014, Germany were crowned world champions in Rio de Janeiro, Mario Götze scored in the 113th minute to make it 1–0 against Argentina, millions celebrated in the streets, on balconies and at fan zones. More than 30 million viewers in Germany watched the final on television. Soon the question arose: shouldn’t such an exceptional state of euphoria also have consequences for the birth statistics? ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Even before the final, Saxon family policy expert Alexander Krauß (CDU) had predicted a baby boom in the Bild newspaper,…

Hello, this is Mared Gwyn writing in the early morning from Luxembourg, where there’s plenty of action on EU foreign policy and enlargement lined up for the day. More on that later. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT As you were sleeping, Russia launched yet another round of ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv, striking the city’s historic Assumption Cathedral within the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, one of Ukraine’s most significant religious and cultural sites which holds some of the country’s most revered shrines and relics. It comes just as President Zelenskyy is expected to join leaders at the G7 summit for talks on Ukraine’s future.…

Published on 15/06/2026 – 10:29 GMT+2 A cross-party coalition of 47 MEPs has sent a letter to the EU’s trade and foreign policy chiefs urging them to act immediately against exports of alumina to Russia – particularly from Ireland. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Earlier this week, the European Commission proposed the 21st sanctions package targeting Russia’s key sectors since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Alumina is not among the sanctioned exports. “That decision is a serious mistake – and the facts now demand it be corrected,” reads the letter, addressed to High Representative for Foreign Affairs and…

Published on 15/06/2026 – 9:33 GMT+2 Senior EU officials welcomed a deal between the United States and Iran to end the war on Monday, saying Europe was ready to contribute to “a lasting peace.” ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “I look forward to an end to this costly war and to the full restoration of freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” António Costa, the president of the European Council representing member states, wrote in a post on X. “Weapons must now fall silent,” Costa urged, saying the “European Union is ready to contribute to advancing a comprehensive strategy for lasting peace…

Technology and geopolitics will dominate the G7 summit in Évian, where host Emmanuel Macron will seek to paper over divisions between the group and the United States. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Leaders will gather for a three-day summit in Évian-les-Bains, a resort town on the shores of Lake Geneva, aiming to forge common positions on how to end the war in Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East and the development of safer technologies. Many on the sidelines of the summit had hoped the three-day gathering would help pave the way for an end to the Iran war, but those expectations were…

Russia fired a barrage of missiles at several major Ukrainian cities overnight into Monday, killing at least nine people and setting Kyiv’s historic Dormition Cathedral on fire. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The wave of attacks came as news of a US-Iran deal started to open a path to peace in the Middle East war, highlighting the lack of progress toward an end to over four years of fighting in Ukraine. Five rescue workers were killed during firefighting operations in northeast Ukraine, while at least five others were wounded after Russian strikes hit the city of Kharkiv, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said on…