Author: Press Room
Hungary has cleared the way for the EU to open two more negotiating clusters with Ukraine, signalling that Budapest is ready to lift its veto if Kyiv passes a minority-rights law next week. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The move removes a major obstacle ahead of next week’s European Council summit. It would also allow Moldova’s accession talks to advance, as the two candidate countries have been closely linked in the process. Budapest had blocked further progress until Ukraine adopted legislation strengthening the educational and cultural rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia. Following an agreement at expert level, Ukraine’s parliament, the…
Published on 07/10/2026 – 10:58 GMT+2•Updated 11:00 EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič heads to Beijing on Wednesday for two days of talks aimed at rebalancing trade relations that Brussels sees as heavily skewed in China’s favour. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT His meetings with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao come as the EU’s trade deficit with China has reached a record €1 billion a day – and an October deadline for progress approaches. The Commission opened negotiations in June to address what officials describe as trade-distorting Chinese exports, giving Beijing until October to deliver “tangible” results. At the heart of the talks is…
The world is marking the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks by Hamas — a day that shocked Israel to its core and reverberated across the region and beyond. Meanwhile, the war against Hamas in Gaza continues to produce a human catastrophe, with tens of thousands dead and no clear path to peace. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT At the European Parliament in Strasbourg, tensions erupted at a commemorative event, with French MEP Rima Hassan accused of kicking an Israeli flag to the ground. She denied throwing down the flag but only removing it from its stand. Also she explained on X:“My…
My grandfather had survived the Holocaust. On October 7, 2023, I was with him in Belgium when the images from Israel began to arrive. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT For our family, genocide was not an abstract word. It was part of the history that had shaped his life and made my own possible. Now, alongside him, I was watching the first images of another massacre of Jews. I felt horror, fear and helplessness. Nevertheless, there was something particularly painful about experiencing that moment with my grandfather. After everything he had survived, he had lived long enough to witness this. The attack by…
The Commission put forth on Tuesday a comprehensive proposal that includes institutional “safeguards” that could strip new member states of voting rights up to 15 years after they joined the EU. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The proposed measure is meant to avoid that regime change in a new EU country disrupts the EU decision-making process, and is accompanied by new suggestions on how to bring candidate countries closer to the Union. “I was criticised heavily when I first mentioned that I don’t want to see new Trojan horses in the European Union. This was still before the elections in Hungary. Today I…
Official government figures put the number of demonstrators at over a quarter of a million nationwide on this third day of protest. As pupils blockaded high schools, large crowds waving flags and placards gathered in Marseille, Strasbourg and other cities. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In Paris 56.000 took to the streets and small groups clashed with riot police at the end of a largely peaceful march. Students have drawn attention to rundown classrooms that lack basics such as desks and chairs, become sweltering in summer without air conditioning and, in some cases, are infested with rats. Other common complaints include staff shortages…
The European Commission proposed to exclude certain agricultural products from accessing the European market and receiving EU funding even after Ukraine becomes a full member of the bloc. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The proposal comes as part of an enlargement strategy meant to prepare the Union to better absorb new countries, and is meant to address concerns from several member states that their agricultural sector could be undercut by the Ukrainian one. “One area where we have to be very careful is agriculture. Why? Because the structure and the size of agriculture in Ukraine is really unique, therefore, we are proposing that…
By Anna Kirchheim with AFP Published on 06/10/2026 – 23:36 GMT+2•Updated 07/10/2026 – 0:51 GMT+2 Swedish police say they shot an armed man outside the Royal Palace in central Stockholm on Tuesday evening after receiving reports of a disruptive individual carrying a weapon. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Police said officers responding to the incident opened fire on the man. “The man was hit and taken to hospital,” Stockholm police spokeswoman Susanna Rinaldo told AFP. She said his injuries were considered serious but not life-threatening. Rinaldo initially declined to specify the type of weapon involved, adding that the police operation remained ongoing but that there was…
Published on 06/10/2026 – 20:07 GMT+2 Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced the decision to take over the tasks currently carried out by the Netherlands. The Swedish regiment will be responsible for protecting the hub from threats coming from the air, including drones and rockets. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The Commander of the Swedish air defence regiment, Colonel Sofia Westermark, described the operation as the most complex mission Sweden has undertaken as a NATO member. She stressed that the location is exposed to threats both from the air and from the ground. The importance of Rzeszów-Jasionka is exceptional. It is one of…
After months of tensions, relations between Brussels and Beijing are entering a crucial phase, with the European Commission having set October as a deadline to secure “tangible” results with Beijing to rebalance their trade relationship. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The stakes are high for the EU, whose trade deficit with China has now reached a record €1 billion a day. Key talks will take place in Beijing at the end of this week between EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao. They will be followed next week by a meeting of EU leaders, with China set to top…