Author: Press Room

On July 1, a flat €3 customs duty on low-value e-commerce imports came into effect. Until now, goods imported into the EU worth under €150 were exempt from customs duties. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT This temporary measure means small parcels entering the bloc, largely through online shopping platforms, will face a fixed customs charge. It addresses what the European Council describes as “unfair competition” for European retailers, as well as concerns over unsafe products, fraud and the environmental impact of vast volumes of cheap imports. The Council also clarifies that this customs duty is separate from the proposed “handling fee” (expected to…

Hello, this is Mared Gwyn with another packed newsletter to start your Tuesday. Here in Brussels, it’s the last day of Cyprus’ rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, with the baton to be handed to Ireland tomorrow (more on that in tomorrow morning’s edition). ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT EU Commissioners head to Turkey: But first, three members of Ursula von der Leyen’s top team of Commissioners – enlargement chief Marta Kos, migration chief Magnus Brunner and foreign policy boss Kaja Kallas – are in Turkey today for talks with top government officials on advancing bilateral EU-Turkey relations. A Commission spokesperson…

Although increasingly limited, China’s dependencies on the EU in strategic technologies have not disappeared. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In today’s increasingly tense geopolitical environment, closing this gap has become an urgent priority for Beijing. The country’s 15th Five-Year Plan, unveiled last March, places technological self-reliance at the heart of its industrial strategy through 2030. In semiconductors, aerospace technologies, pharmaceuticals, automotive chips, robotics and quantum computing, European companies still supply products that remain essential to China. As trade tensions with Beijing intensify, could these dependencies give Europe leverage? Most experts are sceptical. China’s monopoly over rare earths — essential for Europe’s green technologies…

Previously, e-commerce giants were able to ship millions of ultra-cheap, tax-free individual packages directly from Chinese factories to European consumers, avoiding customs duties entirely. To end this structural advantage and protect local European retailers, the EU has eliminated this exemption, introducing a flat-rate customs duty of €3 that applies to each product category within a parcel rather than once per parcel. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT If a shopper buys a shirt, a pair of sunglasses and a bag in a single order, they will now face a €9 customs charge on a low-cost bundle that previously entered the continent completely free of…

Published on 29/06/2026 – 12:18 GMT+2•Updated 13:59 A delegation from the Venice Commission will visit Hungary on Thursday to discuss a constitutional reform put forward by the government, Euronews has learned from the body’s spokesperson. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The Venice Commission is the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional law. Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok requested the Commission’s assessment after the government of Prime Minister Péter Magyar initiated his removal through a constitutional amendment. The Commission is examining the draft legislation under a fast-track procedure. The spokesperson did not disclose whom the experts will meet during their visit. Both the president…

Updated: 29/06/2026 – 19:48 GMT+2 Carlo Buontempo, Copernicus Climate Change service director, says heatwaves have become “more intense, lasting longer and starting earlier in the season” in Europe as the continent “is warming faster than the global average”. … More

Once considered an unnecessary luxury across much of Europe, air conditioning has become one of the continent’s most politically charged household appliances after nearly two weeks of extreme and deadly temperatures. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT For decades, Europe distinguished itself from hotter parts of the world by relying on thick masonry buildings, shutters, tree-lined streets and mild summers. Air conditioning remained relatively uncommon, particularly in northern and western Europe but climate change could alter that reality. Summers that once brought occasional discomfort now routinely produce prolonged periods above 35°C, with urban neighbourhoods experiencing 41°C temperatures due to the “heat island” effect. A…

Published on 29/06/2026 – 19:13 GMT+2 A light aircraft crashed in the municipality of Tomblaine, near Nancy, on Sunday 28 June 2026. Just minutes after taking off at around 11 am, a Pilatus PC-6 plunged almost vertically before coming down near a cycle path in a residential area close to the airport. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT 11 dead All eleven people on board were killed. According to the prefect of Meurthe-et-Moselle, Yves Séguy, the aircraft “was carrying out parachute jump exercises when it suffered a malfunction that clearly caused the crash.” It then “fell almost vertically, on the very edge of a…

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews. Having access to a reliable supply of affordable, nutritious food may be something many Euronews readers take for granted. But with war and extreme weather linked to climate change disrupting food production, supply chains and harvests, food is becoming more expensive and, with future shocks and a growing global population, could become less abundant. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The meat we produce and eat in the continent is especially vulnerable, as it relies heavily on a supply chain dependent…

Amid record-breaking temperatures, the European Commission has declined to take a stance on the increasingly contentious debate over air conditioning, saying it is not the role of the EU executive to dictate consumers’ choices. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT About 20% of European households have AC units installed, compared to 90% or more in the United States, Japan and South Korea. The glaring lack of cooling systems has become a political lightning rod after a brutal heatwave killed at least 1,300 Europeans and prompted a desperate search for makeshift solutions to make daily life tolerable. “We know most residential buildings and apartments in…