Author: Press Room
Published on 04/03/2026 – 22:06 GMT+1 Russian President Vladimir Putin handed over two prisoners of war to Hungary during a visit by Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó to Moscow. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The two men, holding both Hungarian and Ukrainian nationality, had fought in the Ukrainian army and had been held in Russian captivity. Both boarded the Hungarian government’s aircraft shortly after Szijjártó concluded his talks with Putin. On Tuesday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had asked Putin for the release of Hungarian nationals during a telephone conversation. Later that day, Putin confirmed the decision during Szijjártó’s visit. “These are citizens…
Published on 04/03/2026 – 20:30 GMT+1 A spiralling conflict has erupted in the Middle East, risking major regional spill-over and dragging in European Union countries. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The war is exposing the deep fault lines separating EU leaders, with Spain the only country to publicly condemn the US and Israel’s initial attack on Iran. US President Donald Trump has reacted by threatening to sever all trade ties with Madrid. Despite not being consulted in advance on the military intervention, several European nations are moving to provide defensive support to their allies, while Cyprus, an EU member state, has been impacted…
Published on 04/03/2026 – 18:38 GMT+1 The leaders of the European Parliament’s political groups refused on Wednesday to hold a debate on threats made by United States President Donald Trump against Spain, sources told Euronews. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Trump called the Spanish government “terrible”, criticising Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s refusal to allow the US military to use its bases to support its operations in and around Iran and pushing Madrid to spend more on defence. “We’re going to cut off all trade. We don’t want anything to do with Spain,” he said. Among the…
Pedro Sánchez knows exactly what he is doing. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT By defying Donald Trump and doubling down on his bras de fer with the US president, the Spanish prime minister consolidates a two-fold strategy. On the one hand, he seeks to mobilize his progressive electorate domestically, resuscitating a “no to war” movement which resonated strongly with Spanish voters during the US-led war against Iraq in 2003. Sánchez is also hoping for a moment akin to that of Dominique de Villepin: a Cassandra warning against an unjustified war that will bring disastrous consequences. Only now it’s Iran. In doing so, he…
As military escalation surges in the Middle East, Iran’s announcement of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent crude oil and natural gas prices soaring. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Faced with rising energy costs at home, European leaders are scrambling to avoid a cascading energy crisis, and are especially concerned about mitigating the price shock already being felt in markets. Many European countries like Italy, Greece, Spain, Poland and Belgium rely on the Strait of Hormuz for imports or refining. Experts say the closure of this corridor will not cut off Europe’s oil supply, but will continue to drive oil…
Published on 04/03/2026 – 13:58 GMT+1 The European Commission said on Wednesday it would make sure the European Union’s interests are fully safeguarded after the the White House threatened to cut off trade relations with Spain. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The Commission offered its support after United States President Donald Trump lashed out at Madrid for its refusal to allow the US military to use its bases to support its operations in and around Iran. Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Trump called the Spanish government “terrible”. “We’re going to cut off all trade. We don’t want anything to do with…
The European Commission on Wednesday unveiled its long-awaited industrial plan, rolling out a “European Preference” that shuts China out of European public funding and tightens the screws on Beijing’s future investments in the European Union. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The move comes after 200,000 European jobs were wiped out in energy-intensive industries and the automotive sector since 2024, with 600,000 losses projected this decade in carmaking alone, as China floods Europe with exports while building plants that create scant local employment. “Facing unprecedented global uncertainty and unfair competition, European industry can count on the provisions of this act to boost demand and…
By James Thomas & video by Maud Zaba Published on 04/03/2026 – 10:30 GMT+1•Updated 11:00 Despite significant progress in women’s representation in leadership roles and a narrowing gender pay gap, full gender equality in the EU is said to still be at least 50 years away, according to the European Institute for Gender Inequality Index. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT One area that still needs improvement is pensions: new figures from Eurostat show that the average pension for women aged 65 or above in the EU was 24.5% lower than that for men in 2024. When broken down by country, Malta had the largest pension gender…
Hungary’s last-minute veto on the €90 billion loan to Ukraine highlights the need for the European Union to move away from unanimity, Rob Jetten, the new prime minister of the Netherlands, said on his first trip to Brussels since taking office. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “The new Dutch goverment is in favour of less and less decision-making by unanimity on the European level,” Jetten told a group of media, including Euronews, on Tuesday. “This is a clear example of why that is important because we cannot explain to our constituents that Europe is sometimes way too level in reacting to great issues…
European Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen hailed his visit to Azerbaijan on Tuesday as “fruitful” as the European Union deals with the halt in liquid natural gas (LNG) production from Qatar, an important energy exporter, and the impact of the Strait of Hormuz’s closure amid the conflict in the Middle East. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “Diversification, energy security and clean transition are top priorities. This is even more important in the context of the ongoing tensions in the Middle East,” Jørgensen wrote on X, as EU imports from Qatar accounted for 8% in 2025, according to real-time data and intelligence market Kpler Insight.…