Author: Press Room

EU commissioner urges Poland to back €43.7bn SAFE defence loans amid clash with president

European Commissioner Andrius Kubilius waded into Poland’s political debate on Friday urging Warsaw to approve participation in the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) defence loan scheme, which has been at the centre of a domestic political row. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “I am quite surprised about Polish discussions on SAFE,” Kubilius said from Warsaw on the first stop of his “Missile Tour” across the EU. “Saying no to SAFE is saying no to Polish jobs for Polish people.” Poland is set to receive the biggest allocation (€43.7 billion) out of the €150 billion SAFE programme, which was set up by the…

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Brussels urges Orbán and Zelenskyy to ‘dial down escalatory rhetoric’ over Druzhba

The European Commission has publicly urged both Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to immediately “dial down” their “inflammatory rhetoric” over the Druzhba pipeline, which has pitted the two leaders in a head-to-head confrontation without precedent. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In response to the halt in oil supplies, Orbán has vetoed a €90 billion loan to Ukraine that the 27 EU leaders had signed off on in December. “At the moment, there is a lot of escalatory rhetoric and inflammatory rhetoric,” Olof Gill, the Commission’s deputy chief spokesperson, said on Friday afternoon. “We believe that such rhetoric from…

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Ariane 64: Europe enters the era of mega-constellations with Amazon Leo satellites

Published on 06/03/2026 – 15:00 GMT+1 Ariane’s day starts early. Ours too: we are a group of around thirty international journalists invited to attend the maiden launch of Ariane 64, the most powerful European rocket. We arrive about a hundred metres from the launch pad shortly after three o’clock in the morning to watch the structure surrounding the rocket being moved. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Shortly afterwards, the area is evacuated in preparation for the launch. It’s a slow and delicate process. Philippe Clar, Director of Space Transport Programmes at ArianeGroup, explains: “In Europe, 13,000 people from 13 countries have been working…

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Did you spot these fake videos about the Iran war?

As the crisis in the Middle East escalates, social media has been flooded with an unprecedented amount of misleading videos and images claiming to show strikes and military action in both Israel and Iran. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT But many of the clips online don’t show the war at all. Some are footage taken out of context from other countries, while others, viewed by millions, come from video games or are generated entirely with AI. Here are three viral videos that have gained hundreds of thousands of views but do not show what they claim. ‘Strike on Tel Aviv’ or Algerian football…

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European Commission presents intergenerational fairness strategy

Published on 06/03/2026 – 11:22 GMT+1•Updated 11:51 The European Commission has presented its “strategy on intergenerational fairness”, an initiative intended to ensure that policies adopted today will improve tomorrow’s opportunities. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “The intergenerational fairness strategy proposes an intergenerational fairness contract,” European Commissioner Glenn Micallef said at the launch on Thursday. “This is a symbolic contract. It’s not a contract that we sign, but it reflects a commitment. It reflects a promise that we make politically.” Through this non-binding document, the European Commission is encouraging EU countries to mainstream fair policymaking, which takes into account decisions’ long-term consequences so that…

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Are European women closing the leadership gender gap?

By&nbspJames Thomas&nbsp&&nbspvideo by Léo Arnoux Published on 06/03/2026 – 10:30 GMT+1 International Women’s Day is celebrated on 8 March, and the data appears to show that more and more women are taking on positions of authority in the corporate world. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT New statistics from Eurostat say that, in 2024, 35.2% of all managerial positions in the EU were held by women, up from 31.8% in 2014. There was a higher share of young women managers aged between 15 and 39 than in other age groups: almost 40% of managers in that age group were female. The share decreases with…

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Podcast: From Brussels to Iran — celebrations and struggles this International Women’s Day

While people across Europe prepare to celebrate International Women’s Day on Sunday, 8 March, women elsewhere in the world face growing uncertainty. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The Iran war and the death of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes on Tehran on Saturday have raised urgent questions about what lies ahead for women in the country. To answer this question, and to assess where the European Union (EU) stands in terms of gender equality, Brussels, My Love? spoke to four experts: European Women’s Lobby’s secretary general Mary Collins, Euronews’ journalist Evelyn Dom, associate professor of sociology at the University of Amsterdam…

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Newsletter: Orbán-Zelenskyy dispute spirals to new heights

Hello from Brussels. I’m Mared Gwyn. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Just in: The European Commissioner for crisis management Hadja Lahbib has told Europe Today that the EU is “prepared for anything” as the war in the Middle East risks dragging the bloc in. “We are committed and prepared. We held a first meeting on Sunday immediately after the first strikes,” Lahbib explained. “And when it comes to the humanitarian crisis, we are ready with stockpiles, with warehouses, with sleeping bags, with tents,” she added, saying also that the EU is monitoring “nuclear risks.” Watch. But we lead this morning with the dispute…

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Europe Today: Commissioner Lahbib and Swedish Migration Minister react to Iran war

Published on 06/03/2026 – 7:39 GMT+1•Updated 8:01 On today’s show: ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Exclusive interviews with Hadja Lahbib, European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, and Johan Forssell, Sweden’s Migration Minister. Euronews correspondents in Doha and Baku, Aadel Haleem and Nadira Tudor, report on the war in Iran, which enters its seventh day today. Our Sasha Vakulina fills us in on Zelenskyy’s decision to send drone interception experts to the Middle East. Jakub Janas explains how artificial intelligence is being used in armed conflicts. When and where to watch Europe Today? You can join Euronews’ chief anchor Méabh Mc Mahon…

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Finnish Minister denounces Spain’s mass regularisation of migrants

Mari Rantanen, Finland’s Interior Minister who also oversees migration, criticised Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez’s decision to regularise thousands of undocumented migrants, suggesting it poses a risk to the Schengen area. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “I wouldn’t ever suggest acts like that,” the minister told Euronews’ interview programme 12 Minutes With. “The other thing is that, when we are in a common area, the Schengen area, this team Europe that people are talking about, then I think there is a high risk when some countries are doing basically the complete opposite of the other countries,” she added. “Because now, for example, those people…

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