Author: Press Room
Published on 27/01/2026 – 15:40 GMT+1 According to France’s health watchdog, half of teens spend between two and five hours a day on their smartphones. But your reporter went for dinner with some tech lobbyists, and it is clear now this ban sounds like a nightmare. Let us investigate. Supporters say it protects kids from harmful content. Over one-half of European teens have seen online pornography. The average age of first exposure? Just 11. And in the era of Elon Musk’s GrokAI, they do not even need to search for it. They can generate it. Let us cheer for the…
The United States has produced 40 AI foundation models. China has developed 15. All of Europe combined has created just three. The European Union is losing the global “AI race” on nearly every key metric except regulation. While China and the United States invest billions in infrastructure, talent, startups, labs, and research, Europe remains focused on rules. Policy burdens and fragmentation across 27 member states create major hurdles: progress is inconsistent, talent leaves, and capital goes elsewhere. Clark Parsons, leader of the European Startup Network, is blunt about the imbalance. “The EU should stop patting itself on the back for…
Online platforms like X have “very clear obligations” to restrict illegal content, the EU’s tech chief Henna Virkkunen told Euronews’s flagship Europe Today morning show Tuesday, a day after the EU opened a formal investigation into the AI chatbot Grok for spreading sexualised images of real women and underage girls without their consent. “Service providers have to have practices in place to make sure illegal content is not spread online,” the European Commission executive vice president said. Virkkunen added that the Commission is also analysing other risks linked to Grok beyond the now-modified image feature. Grok is an AI chatbot…
European Union member states now have access to European-made “secure and encrypted” satellite communication, the bloc’s Commissioner for Defence and Space announced on Tuesday. “Last week we started GOVSATCOM operations,” Andrius Kubilius said from the European Space Conference on Tuesday, referring to the European Union Governmental Satellite Communications programme. “That means all member states can now have access to sovereign satellite communication. Military and government. Secure and encrypted. Built in Europe, operated in Europe, under European control.” He described it as the “first step in satellite connectivity”. Expanded coverage and bandwidth set for 2027, while the operationalisation of the Infrastructure…
Emmanuel Macron went viral last week for the iconic sunglasses he wore at the World Economic Forum in Davos, but the French president was also subject to viral claims of a different kind amid the geopolitics. Various posts on X, including some that were seen and shared thousands of times, claimed that Pope Leo XIV cancelled a meeting that he was due to have with Macron in early January, over his disapproval of the Notre-Dame cathedral’s new stained-glass windows. Pope Leo also called the change a “travesty”, according to one post, and allegedly criticised a proposed assisted dying law in…
Published on 27/01/2026 – 10:40 GMT+1 The European Commission said it is scrutinising Hungary’s request for €17.4 billion under the European Union’s Security Action For Europe (SAFE) programme due to the country’s poor record on public procurement transparency and conflicts of interest, with MEPs warning that the money could be diverted for the political benefit of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Hungary is the only EU country where EU funds are suspended due to the high risk of corruption. Out of the €27 billion foreseen for Hungary in this budgetary period, €17 billion is suspended, with payments conditional on reforms to…
Good morning from Brussels. After nearly two decades of protracted talks, the European Union and India have sealed a historic free trade agreement, which at its full potential creates a market of around 2 billion people accounting for almost a quarter of the world’s GDP. Under the deal, the EU hopes to slash €4 billion in duties and double its exports to India by 2032. The EU executive says the deal’s terms are the “most ambitious” that India has ever granted to a trade partner, representing a major win as the bloc aims to bolster its resilience amid global trading…
Published on 27/01/2026 – 7:39 GMT+1 •Updated 8:36 A historic EU-India free trade agreement is being signed today in New Delhi after years of taking one step forward and two steps back. As the EU looks to counter tariff threats from the current US administration and manage an influx of cheap goods from China, European leaders and business representatives are marking the moment at a landmark EU-India summit today. Under the deal, India is expected to ease market access for European products — from cars to wine. In return, it will be easier for India to export textiles and pharmaceuticals.…
After months of intense negotiations, the European Commission concluded on Tuesday a free-trade deal with India which sharply reduces tariffs on EU products from cars to wine as the world looks for alternative markets following President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The announcement was made during a high-level visit by European Union leaders including Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Both countries hailed a “new chapter in strategic relations” as both sides seek alternatives to the US market. India is currently facing tariffs of 50% from the Trump administration, which has severely dented its exports. After sealing the Mercosur deal with Latin…
Greenland’s Minister for Mineral Resources, Naaja Nathanielsen, has told Euronews her government is yet to “gain clarity” about Washington’s demands over Greenland, despite US President Donald Trump claiming that a framework for a potential agreement is already in place. “We still have to gain clarity about what America’s interests are concretely. We really haven’t heard anything yet,” Minister Nathanielsen, whose portfolio also covers business and energy, said on Euronews’ interview programme 12 Minutes With. The US, Greenland and Denmark are set to enter talks over a deal that would allow the US to gain an even greater foothold in the…