Author: Press Room

Norway has begun to bid a final farewell to King Harald V, a modern and unifying figure in a funeral that is being attended by European royals and foreign dignitaries. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The funeral procession is the culmination of 13 days of national mourning since the 89-year-old monarch’s death on 28 August. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Britain’s Prince William, Spain’s royal couple, the presidents of Finland, Germany and the Czech Republic as well as the French and Thai prime ministers are among those in Oslo who will pay their respects. The casket is being carried on an artillery carriage along…

Every year, Europeans throw out millions of tonnes of electronic waste, much of it repairable. The EU’s Right to Repair Directive, passed this summer, applies across all 27 member states and pushes manufacturers to make repairs easier than replacement. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Under the new rules, choosing repair during a product’s legal guarantee extends that protection by at least 12 months. Once the warranty expires, manufacturers must still repair certain goods on request, including washing machines, dishwashers, fridges, TVs, phones, tablets, vacuum cleaners, tumble dryers, servers, welding equipment, and e-bike and e-scooter batteries. Companies can no longer refuse repairs simply because…

Published on 09/09/2026 – 11:22 GMT+2 British foreign minister Ed Miliband condemned as “regrettable and damaging” Israel’s decision to order the closure of the UK’s consulate in Jerusalem as retaliation for London-led Western sanctions over settler violence. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “We anticipated this might happen because we saw other countries, the Dutch, for example, who had announced sanctions, who had seen these reprisals from Israel. I think they’re regrettable and damaging,” Miliband told BBC Radio on Wednesday. Israel ordered the closure on Tuesday after 12 countries including the UK and France announced they would sanction trade with Israeli settlements in the…

Published on 09/09/2026 – 11:02 GMT+2 According to reports in the Ukrainian press, once again no progress has been made in Ukraine’s EU accession process, after Hungarian diplomats declined to support the opening of new clusters at negotiations on Tuesday. Cluster 2 contains rules related to the EU’s internal market, while cluster 3 concerns competition regulations. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Hungary did not exercise the same veto over Moldova, whose accession is being handled jointly with Ukraine, paving the way for cluster 3 to be opened on that front. However, the other member states do not want to change their earlier decision…

Greek traffic police service in the Attica region have launched a new round of intensive checks on electric scooters, after two serious accidents on Tinos and Glyka Nera, in which a 14-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy were badly injured. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The checks focus mainly on the use of electric scooters by minors, as well as on general compliance with the Highway Code, while businesses that sell, supply or rent out these vehicles are also coming under scrutiny. Particular emphasis is being placed on the centre of the capital Athens, where the use of electric scooters is especially widespread.…

I am travelling to Latvia for a work trip centred on three d’s: drones, defence and debesmanna. Squeezing in time to the Rīga Conference and other sites relevant to the country’s upcoming EU council presidency — next year — is a must, too. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Meanwhile, my colleagues in Brussels are holding down the fort, where one topic is stealing the spotlight. “Migration is very much back on the agenda,” one senior EU diplomat said to a crowd of journalists chewing on hors d’oeuvres Monday night at a rentrée party. What is clear is the migration horse certainly has bolted,…

Published on 09/09/2026 – 8:00 GMT+2•Updated 8:24 Mared Gwyn explains why Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas is asking Brussels for help after 80.000 migrants illegally crossed into the city last month. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Interviews with Arancha González Laya, former Foreign Affairs Minister of Spain, on the Ceuta crisis; and Maciej Jakubowski, Director of Poland’s Educational Research Institute, on the newly released PISA results. Sasha Vakulina breaks down a new report claiming the UAE explicitly warned Benjamin Netanyahu of the Hamas 7 October attack days in advance. According to the report, the Israeli Prime Minister failed to inform the country’s security…

The European Union and Russia are geopolitical adversaries, with Russia under sweeping EU sanctions and its ties with the bloc severely curtailed. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Yet inside one of the largest international scientific collaborations in history — and the world’s largest nuclear fusion experiment — the two remain linked by a partnership forged decades ago and built to endure for generations. While Brussels steps up pressure on Moscow over its war in Ukraine and hybrid attacks, Russian engineers and their European counterparts continue to work together on an international project called the “International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor” (ITER), an experimental nuclear fusion…

Béla Anda believes Merz has shown “some emotions, but in the wrong way”, making it difficult for him to connect with citizens. To avoid repeating the lack of connection with voters, the former government spokesman recommends simply “letting Merz be Merz”. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Anda insists that Merz should maintain his position and avoid being “strong on one topic and then totally change”, a pattern he believes has been repeated over the past year and a half. Merz should “keep together” the governing coalition and advises against moving closer to the far-right AfD, arguing that a majority of CDU members prefer…

Published on 09/09/2026 – 5:02 GMT+2 The US forces have destroyed five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday in response to the latest attacks on its warships, US Central Command said. Following the American strikes, Iran launched missiles at US targets in Jordan, according to Iranian state-run media. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT US said the military struck the tankers on Tuesday after the Revolutionary Guards targeted a Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days. Stating that the US warship “successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks and that no American personnel were harmed.” The statement added that the crews of…