Author: Press Room

The far right’s victory in a German regional election this weekend has offered an early warning of how Europe’s energy crisis could reshape politics ahead of major elections in France and Italy next year. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The Alternative for Germany (AfD) emerged as the strongest party in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on Sunday, extending a run of electoral gains that has shaken Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s governing coalition. Its success comes as nationalist and far-right parties across Europe seek to turn soaring fuel and energy costs into an electoral weapon. The immediate political threat is now spreading beyond Germany. France, Italy, Spain and…

Thirteen member states are calling on Brussels to systematically design new EU legislation as pro-innovation and assess whether the current laws are still fit for purpose, as part of a broader push to cut red tape and make the bloc more business-friendly. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia signed a non-paper calling for “an exercise in legislative deep-cleaning” to determine, sector by sector, whether existing rules are still needed, need updating, or impose burdens without added value. “EU legislation cannot be an end in itself. Therefore, regulatory restraint to avoid…

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has asked EU countries to strengthen the Aspides mission in the Red Sea, amid increasing threats from Houthis to navigation in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, which is crucial for trade routes between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The proposal, contained in a letter dated 19 September and sent to EU capitals, follows a request by Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, who raised the alarm after an Italian frigate intervened to escort an Italian merchant vessel off the coast of Yemen last Friday. “We need more suitably equipped naval and air…

Published on 21/09/2026 – 23:19 GMT+2 Pope Leo XIV is making his first official visit to France from 25 to 28 September. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In the French capital, excitement is building. According to the police prefecture, up to 250,000 people are expected to line the streets along the route of Leo XIV’s procession through the streets of Paris. Around 80,000 people have also bought tickets to attend the youth mass that is set to be held at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, in the north of the city. Paris has not welcomed a pope since 2008, when Benedict XVI…

The interception of a sailing boat carrying more than two tonnes of cocaine in the Atlantic has led to the dismantling of a logistics network for drug trafficking. The joint military and customs operation off the Galician coast ended with the arrest of the crew on the high seas and of the network’s leader in Girona, marking one of the biggest seizures from the drug cartels’ maritime routes. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Operation Doncella, conducted by Spain’s Customs Surveillance Service together with the French customs authorities, resulted in five arrests and the seizure of more than 2,000 kilos of cocaine some 400…

Migration remains one of Europe’s most politically contested issues, yet EU countries issued more first residence permits to non-EU citizens last year than in any year since records began in 2008. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT According to Eurostat, around 3.9 million first residence permits were issued across the EU in 2025, a 10.1% increase, or 355,350 more permits, compared with 2024. Among new permits issued in 2025, employment led the way, at 33.6% of the total, up 16.1% on the year. Family reunification followed, up 14.1% to 28.1%, and education grew 9% to reach 15.5%. Only one category shrank: permits for other…

Lithuania is “very sceptical” of removing Uzbek-Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov from the latest sanctions list, the country’s finance minister, Taurimas Valys, said. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT France requested to delist Usmanov from the blacklist last week as part of a package that could see two French nationals released from prison in Azerbaijan. The country cited national security concerns as its reason for joining Slovakia in calling for the removal, but French officials have refused to comment or provide further details. “Regarding any loosening of sanctions, we’re very sceptical,” Valys said on Euronews’ interview programme 12 Minutes With. The French position has complicated…

Published on 21/09/2026 – 17:13 GMT+2 Calin Georgescu has been detained in Romania as prosecutors said they were investigating the former Romanian presidential candidate for fraud. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Georgescu, a pro-Russian politician who first made headlines during Romania’s 2024 presidential election, was detained by police and the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) on Monday. He was taken in for questioning over alleged fraud and forming an organised criminal group. Prosecutors accused Georgescu and two others of defrauding a Romanian businessman by making him believe he could get access to up to €15 million worth of foreign bank…

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia posed “no threat” to France or any other European country, local media reported. His comments came after the far-right National Rally party’s Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella issued a warning to Moscow on the weekend. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “We will never tolerate a foreign power, specifically Russia, attempting to dictate our country’s policies through intimidation, threats, destabilisation, or psychological pressure, either directly or indirectly,” the pair said in a joint statement. In response, Peskov told reporters that Russia was “not threatening France or any other country in Europe,” adding that “President…

The European Union is writing the sustainability rulebook for AI’s power-hungry future, but tech giants like Microsoft are already weighing in on how the bloc’s new rules should work. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT EU data centres with more than 500 kW of installed capacity that report under the bloc’s energy efficiency rules will receive an electronic sustainability label as of 21 September, according to new rules unveiled by the European Commission on Monday. “The aim of the rating scheme is to increase transparency about the energy use of data centres and to become a resource that will inform better policymaking and procurement…