Author: Press Room
Published on 21/05/2026 – 9:03 GMT+2•Updated 9:49 Friedrich Merz recently chose the bold strategy of scolding Germany’s workforce for taking too many sick days, dismissing part-time jobs as a lazy “lifestyle choice”, and even telling Germans to look to Greece to learn how to work hard. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT A staggering historical plot twist from a leader whose country spent years lecturing Europe on efficiency, isn’t it? But a year ago, Merz promised a conservative pro-market renewal, but his centre-right and centre-left coalition is paralysed by internal fighting. Germany’s economic recovery has completely stalled, with growth projections for 2026 halved to…
Published on 21/05/2026 – 9:51 GMT+2•Updated 10:31 A day after Lithuania’s capital of Vilnius was ground to a halt due to a drone incursion, which comes off the back of at least half a dozen similar incidents in three weeks throughout the region, Lithuania’s defence minister Robertas Kaunas has reiterated that Europe must be prepared for the high probability that more will come. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “This is the new reality of what the Baltic states face,” he said in exclusive comments to the Europe Today news programme. “We need to adapt because the possibility of repeated similar scenarios is very…
By Nina Borowski with AFP Published on 21/05/2026 – 10:00 GMT+2•Updated 12:09 In France, the investigation into sexual violence at an after-school care centre in Paris is gathering pace. On Wednesday evening, 16 people who worked at the Saint Dominique state nursery school in the capital’s 7th arrondissement had their police custody extended. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The suspects, aged between 18 and 68, are being questioned for offences ranging from rape to behaviour described as excessive or violent. In total, the Paris public prosecutor’s office is investigating possible violence in 84 nursery schools, around twenty elementary schools and around ten crèches. Since the beginning…
Published on 21/05/2026 – 10:17 GMT+2 The EU’s digital chief has told Euronews that the much-debated concept of “technological sovereignty” means building capacity in critical sectors and reducing risky dependencies, not retreating from the world. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “Technological sovereignty doesn’t mean that we are planning to work somehow in isolation in the future,” said Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy. “It’s very important that we have a certain capacity in a critical field. And then we are also working, of course, with like-minded partners to make sure that we don’t have risky dependencies…
A French appeals court convicted Air France and Airbus of involuntary manslaughter on Thursday over the 2009 crash of a Rio-Paris flight that killed 228 people, the worst disaster in France’s aviation history. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The Paris Court of Appeal ruling was a dramatic reversal of a lower court decision. The appeal court said that the French flag carrier and Europe’s leading aerospace manufacturer were “solely and entirely responsible for the crash of flight AF447”, ordering each to pay €225,000, the maximum fine for corporate manslaughter. While the penalties are symbolic, the ruling is seen as significant reputational damage for…
Portuguese police arrested the mother of two young French boys on Thursday who were found abandoned by a main road in the south of the country, alone and crying. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The boys, aged four and five, were rescued on Tuesday by a passing motorist near the resort town of Comporta, where they had been left with backpacks containing food and water but no identity documents, according to Portuguese media. A manhunt was launched for the boys’ mother and on Thursday, Portuguese police said they had arrested her in the central town of Fatima, along with a 55-year-old man, on…
European carmakers will be required to buy chips from at least two suppliers in certain cases and to incorporate supply chain resilience into their procurement decisions, according to a draft law the European Commission is expected to present next month. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT After a series of supply chain shocks, the EU is set to impose mandatory measures on the likes of Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault to prevent excessive dependence on a single chip supplier, most notably from China, according to two EU officials. The move is being planned as part of a revamp of the bloc’s semiconductor legislation, known as…
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s groundbreaking plan to grant Ukraine “associate membership” in the European Union has received mixed reviews in Brussels, with questions raised about its legality, feasibility and political implications. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In a letter to his fellow leaders, seen by Euronews, Merz proposes a tailor-made status that would give Ukraine access to decision-making bodies without voting rights or portfolio and to certain EU-funded programmes on a “step-by-step” basis. He also envisions Kyiv able to request assistance from other member states in the event of armed aggression through Article 42.7 of the EU treaties. This, he argues, would create…
The tanker deal is not just a competition won; it is a decision that shifts the balance. Behind the purchase of the new Airbus A330 MRTT lies a shift in the centre of gravity of Italy’s air defence, which is now looking increasingly to Europe within the NATO framework, leaving behind the US option linked to the Boeing KC-46. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In this context, Italy has formalised the acquisition of six Airbus A330 MRTT tanker aircraft, in a deal with a total value of around 1.39 billion euro, including long-term logistic support. The news emerges from publication on the European…
A raft of viral social media posts claims that Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, has announced the complete withdrawal of troops from Europe. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The posts on X have racked up more than a million views altogether, and all feature the same clip of Rubio giving an interview to Fox News. The captions say that the US spends 100,000 troops and $60 billion defending Europe every year, and that this, combined with Europe’s supposed lack of help to the US in the Strait of Hormuz crisis, justifies their complete withdrawal. They also say that NATO’s dissolution is…