Author: Press Room

Good morning from Brussels. I’m Mared Gwyn. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT EU foreign ministers are expected to mull bolstering the EU’s Aspides naval mission when they gather in Brussels later today, a diplomatic source told Euronews, as US President Donald Trump ramps up pressure on allies to support the forced re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has called for an international naval coalition that would escort commercial ships through the Strait, a critical maritime artery that has been under a de facto blockade since the start of the Iran war, sparking a global energy supply shock, spiralling prices and economic volatility.…

Kaja Kallas, the EU’s chief diplomat, said on Monday that she would propose changing the mandate of the bloc’s naval mission, as pressure on Europe grows to help secure access to the Strait of Hormuz and prevent major disruptions to global oil supplies. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “We will discuss with the member states whether it is possible to really change the mandate of this mission,” Kallas told reporters ahead of a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in Brussels. “It is in our interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open,” she added. Ministers are gathering in Brussels today to discuss…

France held the first round of its 2026 municipal elections on Sunday, with nearly 48.7 million voters called to the polls across around 35,000 villages, towns and city boroughs. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The vote was also marked by a high abstention rate. Analysts point to several possible reasons, including growing distrust in politics and broader democratic fatigue among voters. Around two-thirds of French villages, towns and smaller municipalities are expected to elect their mayor in the first round, often often due to there only being one candidate listed, or limited competition. The picture is far more uncertain in France’s largest cities,…

Published on 16/03/2026 – 9:18 GMT+1 On today’s show: ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Euronews’ EU Editor Maria Tadeo reports on the latest developments and reactions to the US-Israeli war on Iran, with the impact of the conflict to Europe’s energy system expected to be front and centre in today’s meeting of EU foreign ministers. A live connection with Associated Press’ Philip Crowther, who joins Europe Today from the Strait of Hormuz with the latest updates. Interviews with Oana Țoiu, Romania’s Foreign Minister, and Lana Nusseibeh, United Arab Emirates Minister of State. Our Stefan Grobe looks into the news indicating that Manfred Weber,…

Military strikes and rising tensions have made it harder to ship goods through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage that handles about one-fifth of the world’s oil and large amounts of liquefied natural gas. Tanker traffic has dropped sharply due to security concerns, insurance costs are up, and some big energy facilities in the Gulf have stopped production. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT As a result, global energy markets reacted sharply: oil prices have jumped, and natural gas prices, particularly in Europe, are rising as traders fear prolonged supply disruptions. A severe energy crisis is pending. The European Union imports most of…

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Kyiv is ready for the next round of trilateral peace talks to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but that it was up to Washington and Moscow to decide where and when to meet. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Zelenskyy said that Washington had proposed to meet in the US next week, but that Russia did not want to meet there. “We are waiting for a response from the Americans. Either they will change the country where we meet, or the Russians must confirm (a meeting in) the US,” Zelenskyy said in a media briefing on…

Published on 15/03/2026 – 14:14 GMT+1•Updated 14:45 Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has called on Europe to reach a deal with Russia to end the war in Ukraine, in an interview published in the Belgian newspaper L’Echo. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT De Wever argued that a negotiated settlement is also necessary to restore access to cheap energy. The European Union remains divided on the issue. French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán have called for direct talks with Moscow, while Poland and the three Baltic states are firmly opposed. “In private, European leaders…

Nearly six years after a municipal election overshadowed by the Covid-19 pandemic, French voters are returning to the polls on Sunday for the first round of local elections. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In total, 48.7 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots across some 35,000 municipalities, from small rural villages to major cities. Polling stations opened at 8:00 am in mainland France and Corsica. The first results cannot be published before 8:00 pm local time, when polling stations close in the largest cities. Elsewhere, the polls will close gradually between 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Voter turnout under scrutiny Voter participation…

At least four people were killed and 15 more were wounded in a combined Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s Kyiv region overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Three of the wounded were in critical condition, of whom two were undergoing surgery, regional administration head Mykola Kalashnyk reported. The attack hit four districts, damaging residential buildings, educational institutions, enterprises and critical infrastructure, Kalashnyk said in a social media post, adding that he had “information about 30 damaged sites”. Zelenskyy said the main target for the overnight strikes was “the energy infrastructure of the Kyiv region.”…

Will Viktor Orbán lift his veto on the €90 billion loan for Ukraine before or after Hungarians cast their ballots in the hotly contested elections of 12 April? ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT This is the burning question that officials and diplomats in Brussels are privately debating as the dispute over the Druzhba pipeline takes centre stage on the campaign trail, where opposition leader Péter Magyar has emerged as his most serious challenger to Orbán’s nearly 16 years of uninterrupted power. “Orbán understands that he’s all the time testing the limits of how much the other member states are willing to put up…