Author: Press Room
The European Commission has effectively stopped making decisions over files related to Hungary, two sources familiar with the matter told Euronews. The reason for putting sensitive decisions on hold is simple: the Commission does not want to be seen as interfering in the Hungarian election campaign and does not want to give ammunition to Orbán’s anti-EU rhetoric during the hot phase of campaigning. “With the Hungarian dossiers, the front lines are frozen, and nothing is happening. The Commission is waiting for April to happen and is watching opinion polls in Hungary very closely,” an EU diplomat told Euronews, speaking on…
Published on 12/01/2026 – 18:05 GMT+1 The far-right group Patriots for Europe will table a new vote of no-confidence against Ursula von der Leyen’s Commission as soon as this week, several sources from the group told Euronews. The text is under preparation and could be finalised at the group’s bureau meeting on Tuesday in Brussels, according to party sources. Patriots will table the motion in retaliation for the signature of the Mercosur trade deal approved by member states last week and expected to be sealed at a formal ceremony on January 17. Jordan Bardella, who chairs the group and leads…
Published on 12/01/2026 – 18:49 GMT+1 The simplification of rules in the upcoming EU budget in the field of research may put undermine the bloc’s ability to control how allocated funds are spent, the European Court of Auditors said in a report published on Monday. The court, which is responsible for auditing how EU funds are collected and spent, has conducted an assessment of the next EU budget for competitiveness and research, which as written totals €409 billion – about one-fifth of the overall €2 trillion EU budget for 2028-2034. The auditors’ report stresses that the field of research is…
All the Iranian diplomats and representatives will be banned from the European Parliament’s premises as a response to Iran’s crackdown on protesters, the Parliament’s president, Roberta Metsola, announced on Monday. “This House will not aid in legitimising this regime that has sustained itself through torture, repression, and murder”, Metsola wrote on X. The ban will apply to all the Parliament’s premises in Brussels, Strasbourg, and Luxembourg, and will remain in place until revoked by another president’s decision. In the meantime, the European Union is prepared to push for fresh sanctions on the country after the repression of the protesters. Earlier…
The European Commission has publicly raised the prospect of engaging in direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, while cautioning that Moscow’s relentless bombing campaign makes such a move impossible at this stage. “We’re working very, very hard for peace in Ukraine,” Paula Pinho, the chief spokesperson of the European Commission, said on Monday afternoon. “Peace in Ukraine depends on one single person. That person is, as you know very well, President Putin. So obviously, at some point, there will have to be talks also with President Putin. In the meantime, a lot of…
Tens of thousands of households in southwest Berlin were left without electricity, heating and, in some cases, mobile communications after a suspected arson attack on 3 January damaged high-voltage cables on a bridge over the Teltow Canal. It took four days to authorities to start reconnecting houses to electricity, making it the longest blackout in the German capital since World War II. A far-left group calling itself the “Vulkangruppe” claimed responsibility for the attack in a letter published online, a claim German prosecutors are now investigating as suspected arson and sabotage. As repairs dragged on in freezing winter conditions, frustration…
By Aida Sanchez Alonso & Méabh Mc Mahon Published on 12/01/2026 – 10:04 GMT+1 •Updated 10:30 “Do not intervene” in Iran, former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has urged, arguing that the current unrest represents “a movement of the Iranian population against the mullahs’ regime.” Speaking on Euronews’ flagship morning show, Europe Today, de Villepin said there is a shifting position within the leadership in Tehran and that the right balance must be found to avoid “make things worse”. According to de Villepin, the big risk is to “create a situation of chaos that would be even worse than the situation today,…
Published on 12/01/2026 – 11:30 GMT+1 US President Donald Trump returned to office vowing to be a peace president worthy of a Nobel Prize. And despite the critics, his actions show he really does want peace. A piece of Venezuela. Perhaps a piece of Cuba. And now he is officially coming for the whole of Greenland. Trump claims the Arctic is crawling with Chinese ships. He mocked Denmark for defending the island with just “one more dog sled”. The reality? Greenland already hosts a massive US space base, and Denmark was recently running massive NATO exercises in the icy environment.…
Published on 12/01/2026 – 11:06 GMT+1 •Updated 11:07 When US President Donald Trump expressed interest in getting Greenland “one way or another”, the proposal was widely dismissed. But it highlighted the growing strategic importance of the Arctic territory. Greenland has large deposits of rare earth minerals. These are essential for Europe’s shift to green energy and digital technology, as they are used in products like wind turbines, electric cars, smartphones, and defence systems. The EU relies on imports for nearly all its rare-earth supply, with China dominating global production. As competition for critical raw materials intensifies and supply chains grow…
Published on 12/01/2026 – 10:39 GMT+1 The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, is set to push for fresh sanctions on Iran after a crackdown that has reportedly claimed hundreds of lives since protests began nearly two weeks ago. “I am prepared to propose additional sanctions in response to the regime’s brutal repression of protesters,” Kallas told the German daily Welt and POLITICO, adding that these would complement the wide range of sanctions already in place against Iran. Kallas’s initiative comes as Iran’s death toll continues to rise following demonstrations that erupted on 28 December over the collapse of…