Author: Press Room
Published on 30/06/2026 – 12:27 GMT+2 The EU has allocated import quotas for steel to its trading partners on Tuesday in an attempt to fight growing overcapacity from foreign producers. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The measure comes amid rising tensions between the EU and china China, where most of the global steel surplus originates. Seeking to shield its market from global overcapacity, EU legislators agreed last April to increase existing tariff-free steel quotas to 18.3 million tonnes per year while doubling tariffs beyond those quotas to 50 percent The EU’s closest allies, such as the UK, Switzerland and Ukraine, are concerned that…
Published on 30/06/2026 – 12:53 GMT+2 The UK’s outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Tuesday that Britain would spend almost £300 billion (€348 billion) over the next four years to modernise its armed forces amid rising threats. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Starmer, expected to leave office next month after losing the support of Labour MPs, announced that the overall defence budget would increase by £15 billion (€17 billion) over the next four years to almost £300 billion, as he launched his long-awaited 10-year Defence Investment Plan. “Last year I made the decision in the national interest to reprioritise aid spending towards…
By Simon Ormiston Published on 30/06/2026 – 11:49 GMT+2 Morocco’s dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over the Netherlands at the World Cup sparked jubilant celebrations in the Dutch city of The Hague overnight, before clashes with police led to a series of arrests. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The last-32 tie in Monterrey finished 1-1 after extra time before Morocco prevailed in a tense shoot-out. After missed penalties by both teams, PSV Eindhoven forward Ismael Saibari calmly converted the decisive spot kick to send the Atlas Lions into the last 16, where they will face co-host Canada. The Hague, home to one of the Netherlands’…
Feliks the eagles journey resembles a Hollywood movie script, with kidnappers, smugglers and clandestine border crossings. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The year-old eastern imperial eagle from Serbia started flying in August and later set off on his first migratory flight toward the Middle East, only to be captured by poachers, sold illegally and retrieved in a daring cross-border mission. While Feliks returned home safely last week, his ordeal highlighted both the widespread practice of profit-driven, illegal animal trade and an unfaltering struggle by animal protection groups to counter it. “It’s getting worse year after year, season after season, day after day,” said…
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