An agreement on the 21st package of European Union sanctions against Russia remains mired in difficulty, with major political obstacles and the public threat of a Bulgarian veto shrinking the chances of securing unanimity. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Ambassadors met on Friday to discuss a revised text of the proposal tabled by…

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he approved a plan for Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU) to launch a 40-day operation aimed at pressuring Russia to end the war. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Zelenskyy’s announcement comes after his meeting with SBU chief Major General Yevhenii Khmara, who reported on Kyiv’s “plan for long-range…

European anti-fraud investigators have helped uncover a large-scale scheme that illegally exported 4,200 tonnes of textile waste from Italy to Turkey, exposing what authorities describe as a profitable operation designed to evade environmental laws and recycling costs. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The investigation, led by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) in cooperation…

Published on 26/06/2026 – 10:36 GMT+2 The European Commission proposed excluding military-age Ukrainian men from the EU’s temporary protection scheme while extending the program until March 2028, in a move intended to bolster Kyiv’s armed forces. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The measure followed pressure from several EU member states to tighten temporary…

The EU’s efforts to return irregular migrants to Afghanistan face a fundamental dilemma: how to solve the long-standing and intractable issue of the repatriation of Afghans while avoiding legitimising the Taliban, a regime the bloc has refused to formally recognise since it seized power in 2021. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT UN and…

Morning Brussels. Angela Skujins here ringing out the hopefully penultimate day of this heatwave in the Belgian capital, and the final day of the working week. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Here’s what’s driving your Friday: Discussion on the 21st package of sanctions fires up, Commissioner McGrath’s trip to Malta prompts questions, and…

Published on 26/06/2026 – 8:01 GMT+2•Updated 8:03 Euronews’ Maria Tadeo reports live from the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Poland, where European leaders are discussing Ukraine’s reconstruction, and interviews David Lammy, Deputy Prime Minister for the UK. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Euronews’ Mared Gwyn speaks to former senior Iranian nuclear negotiator Seyed Hossein…

Updated: 25/06/2026 – 15:22 GMT+2 The French navy boarded a tanker suspected of belonging to Russia’s so-called “ghost fleet” in the Mediterranean, the fifth such operation since September 2025, as Paris steps up efforts to enforce sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine. … More

Published on 25/06/2026 – 16:56 GMT+2 During a visit to Washington on Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met US President Donald Trump, offering warm words while gently pushing back on his latest criticism of the alliance. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Trump reiterated grievances with NATO over its failure to back the…

Published on 25/06/2026 – 15:41 GMT+2 The European Commission said on Thursday that Microsoft and Amazon’s cloud services should fall under a strict regulatory regime, at least on a preliminary basis, as Brussels tries to make the cloud market fair and contestable while promoting European providers. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The decision…