Author: Press Room

European Union-based carmakers will need to comply with a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions from 2035, instead of the 100% previously set in EU law, the European Commission announced today, revoking a controversial wholesale ban on internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles adopted in March 2023. Manufacturers will have to compensate for the remaining 10% of emissions by using low-carbon steel produced in the EU or by using sustainable fuels such as e-fuels and biofuels. The industry will be allowed to continue producing plug-in hybrids, range extenders, mild hybrids, and ICE vehicles beyond 2035. Full electric vehicles (EVs) and hydrogen vehicles…

Discussion about the digital euro has been constantly growing since it was first announced back in 2021, with conflicting narratives and even conspiracies about the currency cropping up online as the months go by. The European Central Bank (ECB) describes it as an “answer in a world of change”, with features such as enhanced privacy, universal acceptance and free basic use, while certain consumers claim it’s a tool for the EU to control people’s money. A petition, which has gathered more than 388,000 signatures, was published online in November, calling on MEPs and national governments to reject the digital euro.…

European lawmakers and EU governments are heading for a showdown over how far to go in protecting farmers under the Mercosur trade agreement. On Tuesday, MEPs backed a safeguard clause for the deal, a measure designed to strengthen monitoring of the EU market in the event of a surge in imports from Latin America, with tariff reductions to be suspended in case of serious disruption. The package approved by lawmakers also includedan amendment requiring Mercosur products to meet EU environmental and health production standards – a move that cuts across guarantees already endorsed by member states. The agreement, which was…

Several European Union member states gathered in Helsinki on Tuesday for a summit to discuss how to boost their defence and security, particularly at the bloc’s eastern border. “We need to do more together, and we want to send a clear and strong signal from here that we need to do more together and in close coordination with the European Union and NATO,” Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said ahead of the meeting he is hosting. “And why? This is why because Russia is a long-term threat for all of us in Europe. It’s a threat today, tomorrow and in…

Published on 16/12/2025 – 9:23 GMT+1 It sounds like a bad joke: “lumpy skin disease.” But in France, nobody is laughing. Farmers are clashing with police as their herds get slaughtered to stop a viral outbreak. And strangely enough, this virus might be what kills one of the biggest trade deals in EU history. Here is what links the two: French farming unions are fighting the systematic culling of entire herds when just a single case is detected. At the same time, Brussels is pushing the Mercosur deal, a trade pact that would open the door to South American beef.…

Published on 15/12/2025 – 20:50 GMT+1 European leaders have formally committed to come to Ukraine’s aid in any future attack launched by Russia, emulating the collective defence of NATO’s Article 5, marking a major development in the fast-moving efforts to end the war. These assistance measures, they said, should be broad, including “armed force, intelligence and logistical assistance, economic and diplomatic actions.” In a joint statement released on Monday after high-level talks in Berlin, European leaders provided their most detailed outline yet of the security guarantees they are willing to provide to Ukraine, with the endorsement of the United States.…

Italy’s silence on the Mercosur trade pact is deafening – and potentially decisive. Rome could become the kingmaker between supporters of the deal and countries seeking to block it. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen plans to fly to Brazil on December 20 to sign off the agreement. France, facing farmer anger over fears of unfair competition from Latin America, opposes the deal and wants to postpone the EU member-state vote scheduled this week to allow the signature. The trade pact with Mercosur countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay – aims to create a free-trade area for 700…

Soaring housing costs are fast becoming the Grinch of Europe, dampening people’s desires to make social plans for Christmas. Around 75% of Europeans say they’ve had to cut back on spending just to keep up with mortgage payments in the past 12 months, according to a survey among more than 20,000 people in 23 countries. Ireland and Hungary are feeling the squeeze especially hard, as a striking 90% of homebuyers there report having tightened their belts, says the 2025 Housing Trend Report. Romanians and Malteses are faring even worse, with 93% saying they’ve had to cut back, while Italy leads…

In Brussels, hyperbole is frequent, but to call this a make-or-break week for the bloc is no exaggeration. The European Union has reached a decision point on three crucial issues that could shape its global image and international standing. From Ukraine peace talks to issuing an unprecedented reparations loan that sparked Moscow’s ire and sealing the deal on Mercosur after 20 years in the making, all three are marred by uncertainty. At stake is the 27-member bloc’s credibility to shape its foreign policy and trade agenda, facing a more aggressive Trump administration looking to put America first and to shape…

Published on 15/12/2025 – 17:16 GMT+1 It will “be possible for the European Union to reach a deal on the Capital Markets Union within a year”, European Commissioner for Financial Services Maria Luís Albuquerque told Euronews’ flagship interview programme, The Europe Conversation. “I think it’s possible to have a discussion and an agreement within one year. We just need our co-legislators to share the same sense of urgency and level of ambition that we have”, the Commissioner said during an interview in Brussels. Albuquerque acknowledges that, although the package includes multiple files, the decisive factor in the legislative process is…