European Union

Foreign Minister Ann Linde signed Sweden’s NATO application after her government decided to apply for membership following a parliamentary debate during which almost all parties appeared to be on board. In a historical moment, Linde signed her country’s application to...

A record number of Finns favour nuclear power, a fresh survey commissioned by Finnish Energy has found, citing fighting climate change as the main reason. According to the survey conducted in April and published on Monday (16 May), about 60% said...

Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin has called on the UK government not to act unilaterally as it published a bill which would put in place a statute of limitations on certain crimes committed during the Troubles. Under the bill, which was...

Sweden and Finland can count on military protection from the Netherlands and other European countries during their NATO application process, Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren has said,  NL Times reported. Sweden and Finland have decided to formally apply for NATO membership, but both...

The ‘climate’ foundation, which received €20 million from Nord Stream 2 AG, and was used by the German state home to the Russian pipeline, to potentially circumvent US sanctions, is to be dismantled. The launch of the Nord Stream 2...

Following Sweden and Finland’s bid to join NATO, abstaining Austria’s neutrality is once again a topic of discussion with opposition parties and experts criticising the government’s reluctance to reevaluate its position. “Austria was neutral, is neutral and remains neutral,” Austrian...

European Commission plans to overhaul of the EU's waste shipment regulation could hit the recycling industry by creating a captive market in Europe with artificially low prices that will depress investments in recycling, the industry has warned. 

The oil embargo exemption Slovakia is asking for will not benefit citizens but the owner of the only Slovak oil refinery, Slovnaft, a subsidiary of Hungarian MOL, analysts point out. There is a “fundamental difference” between the Slovak exemption and...

A Memorandum of Understanding for the gasification of Albania was signed this week between three companies in the presence of Prime Minister Edi Rama and former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, signalling the start of a new potential natural...

Parliament on Tuesday approved a bill drafted by the defence ministry laying out plans to engage citizens in national security strategy. The strategy will have three components: civil resilience, the will to resist, and practical skills in both armed and...

French left-wing parties still disagree on positioning themselves on NATO, despite having recently formed an alliance (NUPES) ahead of the June legislative elections. After the Finnish parliament on Tuesday (17 May) overwhelmingly approved the country’s application to join NATO, French...

For those who have followed the interminable Brexit process, there was a wearisome inevitability about Foreign Secretary Liz Truss’s announcement on Tuesday that the UK government intends to table domestic law to allow to override bits of the protocol. This...

More than 250 Ukrainian fighters surrendered to Russian forces at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol after weeks of desperate resistance, bringing an end to the most devastating siege of Russia's war in Ukraine and allowing President Vladimir Putin to claim a rare victory in his faltering campaign.

Gunfire rocked oil-rich Libya's capital for several hours Tuesday (17 May) as a rival prime minister attempted to oust interim premier Abdulhamid Dbeibah, threatening another escalation in the war-torn country.

Ukraine can continue to count on arms supplies from EU states as it inflicts "record" losses on Russia's invading force, the EU's foreign affairs chief has said.

A manufacturer of one of the four COVID-19 vaccines currently under rolling review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) received notice from the European Commission that the advance purchase agreement of over 24 million doses might be terminated.

The EU warning comes after the UK government escalated the conflict over the Northern Ireland protocol — a set of post-Brexit trade rules — by saying it will unilaterally pass a law to change the EU-UK trade treaty.

If Russia were to attack Finland or Sweden before they became Nato members, they could invoke a joint defence clause in the EU treaty "obliging" other EU countries to help, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said Tuesday. "They can count on the full support of the EU", he said. Finnish MPs Tuesday voted 188 against eight to join Nato, amid plans to hand in their application with Sweden Wednesday.

The EU should not be freezing money for Hungary due to Budapest's abuse of rule of law because it needs those funds to diversify away from Russian oil, Polish president Andrzej Duda has said. "It will be hard for the Hungarians to diversify if European recovery funds remain blocked," Duda said in Warsaw alongside Hungarian president Katalin Novák, after Hungary blocked an EU oil embargo on Russia citing economic costs.

Four defendants in a larger case by Italian prosecutors face 20 years in prison for having helped rescue hundreds of people from drowning in the Mediterranean Sea.