Author: Press Room

The European Parliament will call for an increase of nearly €200 billion in the next common EU budget, setting the stage for heated political talks over resources. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT MEPs are calling for an overall increase of around 10% and want to keep the repayment of Next Generation EU — the joint debt issued in 2020 to address the economic impact of COVID-19 — outside of the budget. The Commission pitched €2 trillion in July last as a starting point for talks. The parliament’s position is expected to clash with EU governments, which are reluctant to increase their contributions to…

Published on 28/04/2026 – 19:28 GMT+2•Updated 19:32 Hungary’s incoming prime minister Péter Magyar offered on Tuesday to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “open a new chapter in bilateral relations” and address a long-running feud over the rights of Ukraine’s ethnic Hungarians. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Relations between the two neighbours hit rock bottom before Hungary’s 12 April election that saw Magyar beat long-time nationalist premier Viktor Orbán. Orbán, who was ousted after 16 years in power, had repeatedly used the central European country’s veto power to stall financial assistance to Ukraine and block the country’s EU membership. “I am initiating a…

Ukrainian interceptor systems shot down more than 33,000 Russian drones in March, a record monthly figure since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine’s defence minister said. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Meanwhile, Ukraine’s domestically-developed long-range attack drones struck a Russian oil refinery and terminal on the Black Sea for the third time in less than two weeks, prompting the evacuation of local people as a precautionary measure. Ukraine has developed cutting-edge and battle-tested drone technology that has proved essential in holding back Russia’s bigger army and has drawn military interest from around the world. Interceptor drones as part of a comprehensive…

Prominent journalist Andrzej Poczobut has been released from jail in Belarus in a swap with Poland that also saw a total of 10 prisoners released as the leader of Belarus seeks improved relations with the West, officials in both countries said on Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Poczobut, a correspondent for the influential Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and a leading figure among Belarus’ Polish minority, was serving eight years in a penal colony for “harming Belarus’ national security” in a case condemned as politically motivated. His arrest in 2021 drew widespread criticism from Europe and he was later awarded the European Union’s…

A diplomatic scandal between Ukraine and Israel over the shipment of alleged stolen Ukrainian grain being sold by Russia escalated on Tuesday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised what he called is an illegitimate business. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “In any normal country, purchasing stolen goods is an act that entails legal liability,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X the day after a heated public exchange between the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Israel. “Another vessel carrying such grain has arrived at a port in Israel and is preparing to unload. This is not – and cannot be – legitimate business,”…

The European Union looks to enforce stricter limits on greenhouse gas emissions from ships during high-level talks in London this week, risking a fresh clash with the United States, which last October blocked a global tax on carbon emissions. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO) had hoped governments would back its “net-zero framework” for shipping, which would impose charges per metric ton of carbon dioxide emitted above certain limits. However, the proposal was rejected during talks at the UN maritime body last autumn, with 57 countries voting in favour of a one-year delay, including the United States, Saudi…

Published on 28/04/2026 – 13:57 GMT+2 The European Union has warned Israel that it is ready to impose sanctions on those aiding and abetting the trade of Ukrainian grain stolen by Russia in the occupied territories, after a new ship loaded with the cereal arrived in the port of Haifa. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “The EU has taken note of the reports that a Russian shadow fleet vessel carrying stolen Ukrainian grain has been allowed to unload at Haifa port in Israel, despite previous contacts of Ukraine with Israeli authorities on the subject,” a European Commission spokesperson told Euronews. “We condemn all…

A gunman opened fire at a social security office and a courthouse in central Athens on Tuesday, wounding several people, Greek authorities said. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT A police operation remained under way to locate the gunman, who Greek media reported was an 89-year-old man. Police said a suspect armed with a shotgun initially opened fire at the National Social Security Fund (EFKA) office in the centre of the Greek capital, wounding an employee. Police officers who arrived at the scene treated the man, but the gunman fled the scene. The same man was suspected of later opening fire on the ground…

Last week, US President Donald Trump shared an image of eight Iranian women he claimed had been sentenced to execution, asking Iranian leaders to release them. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The next day, he followed up on his Truth Social platform, alleging that the women had been pardoned, with four released immediately and four sentenced to prison for one month. Iran’s judiciary-linked Mizan News Agency responded to Trump’s first post, calling it fabricated. None of the women pictured in the image received a death sentence, according to the agency. It claimed that several of the women had been released, whilst the others…

Young entrepreneurs — aged 20 to 29 — make up 8% of the EU’s workforce, with more than two million people. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The highest rates, according to the latest numbers from Eurostat, are found in Slovakia (12%), Malta (10.5%) and Romania (10%). The Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands, Latvia, Cyprus, Belgium, Poland, Finland, Croatia, Denmark and Lithuania all showed rates between 8% and 10%. At the same time, Ireland (5%), Bulgaria (5%) and Spain (6%) reported the lowest proportion of young entrepreneurs. A baby-entrepreneur boom? On top of those two million people, there’s an additional 69,000 teenage entrepreneurs, meaning…