European Union

Slovak customs are currently overwhelmed by the increase in trains carrying goods crossing the Ukrainian border as Russia’s blockade on ports has forced Ukraine to deliver goods via train instead. Trains with goods were stuck at the borders due to...

Voluntary basic military service is such a tempting option that Poland will be able to double the size of its army, said Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak. Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Polish government began talking about its plans...

Over 54,000 foreigners applied for Portuguese nationality in 2021, and the Foreigners Service issued 46,855 positive opinions, mostly to citizens from Israel and Brazil, the annual Internal Security Report (RASI) has found. The 2021 report was approved this week by the...

The government on Thursday announced plans for a new official secrets bill and reforms to the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) after the agency acknowledged using Pegasus spyware to infiltrate mobile phones belonging to pro-Catalan independence politicians and activists. The new...

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Thursday (26 May) discussed ways to help ease the international food crisis, with the Kremlin saying this could be done only if the West lifts sanctions.

The Public Health Agency confirmed another monkeypox case on Wednesday after a person living in Västra Götaland, in Southern Sweden, tested positive for the virus. This comes after the country’s first case was reported on 19 May. “The current outbreak shows what...

The Baltic Sea has faced grave environmental consequences following the war in Ukraine. The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission – also known as the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) – currently chaired by Germany, suspended its meetings a week after the Russian...

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the request from Kyiv to join the European Union has reverberated through the blocs’ capitals. The question of whether to grant the country ‘candidate status’, the first major step on the long, winding road to EU...

Every household will get an energy bill discount of £400 in the autumn as part of a series of government handouts to be financed in part by a new 25% levy on oil and gas firms, the government announced on...

A “quick solution” must be found to lift Turkey’s veto on the NATO membership of Finland and Sweden, President Emmanuel Macron told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan has repeatedly voiced his opposition to Finland and Sweden joining the Atlantic...

Belarusian opposition members Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Veronika Tsepkalo, and Maria Kalesnikava are “the bravest women in Europe,” said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock as the three women were awarded the Charlemagne Prize on Thursday. The three women were awarded the prize “in...

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is scheduled to discuss further cooperation and a new gas contract with Russian President Vladimir Putin at 11 am Sunday, said Vučić who hopes “the conversation will be good and fair.” When touring a bypass being...

The gas connection between Bulgaria and Greece will start operating on 1 July, with Bulgaria poised to receive one billion cubic metres of gas from Azerbaijan – enough to meet the country’s needs during summer, with prices expected to be...

Czechs who need to travel frequently due to the upcoming EU Council presidency in June will likely face flight problems as only one company currently operates two direct flights from Prague to Brussels Zaventem airport. Brussels Airlines currently flies twice...

Italian energy group Eni and Algerian oil company Sonatrach signed a Memorandum of Understanding to accelerate the development of gas fields and green hydrogen in Algeria to increase gas exports to Italy. The agreement was signed on Thursday (26 May)...

Poland’s Parliament on Thursday (26 May) voted in favour of a bill that will replace a contested disciplinary chamber for judges with a new body, clearing the way for the country to get billions in COVID-19 recovery funds from Brussels....

Several EU leaders have voiced ideas for a ceasefire and peace agreement in Ukraine, but Kyiv dismissed them out of hand, comparing them to the attempts to appease Hitler in 1938.

Advancing Russian forces came closer to surrounding Ukrainian troops in the east, briefly seizing positions on the last highway out of a crucial pair of Ukrainian-held cities before being beaten back, a Ukrainian official said on Thursday (26 May).

Russia is advancing a new law allowing it to take control of the local businesses of western companies that decide to leave in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, raising the stakes for multinationals trying to exit.

The Green Deal must remain a key priority of the agricultural sector in spite of the war in Ukraine, according to Czech agriculture minister Zdeněk Nekula, who is preparing to take over the reins as chair of the EU Agrifish Council in July.