12 h. ago Von der Leyen says EU ‘cannot tolerate’ disruption of airspace, calling balloons over Lithuania a ‘provocation’ – Europe live

She also added they back plans to step up EU investment in military equipment and they are ready to cover the financing needs of UkraineEU’s von der Leyen also gets asked about the balloons disrupting the Lithuanian airspace.She says she wants to “express my full solidarity” with Lithuania, and calls it “a provocation, a hybrid threat,” which “we cannot tolerate.”We’re in for the long haul. We are ready to cover the financing needs of Ukraine, so that we are standing by Ukraine for as long as it takes. Continue reading...

Society

14 h. ago Zelenskyy says Ukraine ready for peace talks anywhere besides Russia and Belarus – Europe live

The Ukrainian president also stressed that they still need European financial support to continue fighting As mentioned earlier, we are expecting a press conference on the sidelines of the Nordic Council meeting today in the next twenty minutes or so, with regional leaders – including Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway – joined there by the EU’s Ursula von der Leyen.I will keep an eye on this for you and bring you all the latest lines here. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Top Hungarian EU official ‘not aware’ of alleged spying attempt in Brussels

European Commission spokesperson says Olivér Várhelyi denies knowledge of his country targeting staffHungary’s EU commissioner has denied any knowledge of alleged attempted spying by his government during his time as the country’s top diplomat in Brussels, according to a commission spokesperson.Olivér Várhelyi sat down with European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, on Sunday to discuss the allegations reported by a consortium of investigative journalists last week. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago STEPHEN GLOVER: Swingeing steel tariffs and now spiteful travel restrictions. Starmer's 'reset' with Brussels is all one

Was there ever a more tragic tale of unrequited love than the relationship between Sir Keir Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission?

Politics

2 w. ago EU chief von der Leyen easily survives two more no confidence votes

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has comfortably survived two more no confidence votes

Politics

2 w. ago EU chief says Russia is waging a 'gray zone campaign' and Europe must meet the challenge

The European Union's top official warns that Russia is conducting a "targeted gray zone campaign" against Europe

Politics

2 w. ago EU chief warns Europe in 'hybrid warfare' with Russia: 'We must respond'

President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has warned the recent incursions over Europe are 'part of a pattern of growing threats' - calling it 'hybrid warfare' with Russia

Events

3 w. ago Government ‘in discussions’ with EU over steel tariff hike – Starmer

The European Commission is effectively planning to match the levy Donald Trump imposed on the EU.

Politics

3 w. ago EU leaders consider using seized Russian assets to fund a loan to Ukraine

European Union leaders are weighing a scheme to provide long-term financial and military support to Ukraine using hundreds of billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets

Politics

3 w. ago The European Union was designed for peace – it is never going to be a war machine | Anand Menon

Reacting to the Russian military threat would require the bloc to be agile and decisive. It is many great things, but it is not thatIn her 2025 state of the union speech last month, Ursula von der Leyen didn’t mince her words. Europe, the president of the European Commission declared, is engaged in a “fight for a continent that is whole and at peace”. Her analysis of the problem was pretty accurate. What is increasingly clear, however, is that the European Union is not the whole solution. The EU is good at many things. Being an effective defence organisation is not one of them.Don’t get me wrong: European integration has, over the decades, performed an important security function. By binding former enemies together, it helped them overcome centuries-old rivalries. By incorporating new members, it calmed potential tensions (not least among those countries formerly within the Soviet bloc).Anand Menon is director of UK in a Changing Europe and professor of European politics and foreign...

Events

4 w. ago Putin ‘in his heart of hearts’ knows he cannot win in Ukraine, US special envoy says – Europe live

Keith Kellogg tells Warsaw Security Forum that war in Ukraine is ‘unwinnable’ for PutinIf you are keen to understand the dynamics between the US and Belarus a bit better (10:08), here’s a brilliant story from our own Pjotr Sauer, who recently visited Minsk.Since Trump took office, Lukashenko, an authoritarian strongman who has ruled Belarus since 1994, has been edging out of the diplomatic freeze, cautiously probing for space beyond Moscow, which sees Belarus as both its closest ally and a vital buffer.Sensing a political opening with the new Trump administration, Lukashenko has regularly met US officials and even held a call with the US president, who has floated the idea of a direct meeting. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Europe must give strong and united response to Russian drone incursions, says von der Leyen – Europe live

European Commission president gave a press conference with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, ahead of an EU security college meetingClosing the panel, US envoy Kellogg spelled out the US position on Ukraine, as he said:“The biggest thing we want to do is stop the largest land war in Europe since the second world war. And this is a war of industrial strength with over hundreds - not one thousand or two thousand, we’re talking hundreds, plural, of thousands – of killed in action there. Continue reading...

Events

4 w. ago German identity doesn’t rely on cars – Brussels should face down the mighty automakers

Mercedes-Benz and other big manufacturers want to overturn the EU’s 2035 ban on petrol cars. This would be as disastrous for jobs as for the climateThere is something rather old-fashioned about the way Germany views its car industry. When the prime minister of Bavaria, Markus Söder, calls the car the destiny of Germany and the heart of its economy, and says that “without the car, collapse is imminent”, the vehicle he seems to be describing is one with a combustion engine, running on fossil fuels or their derivatives. This nostalgic attachment to the heavy-duty, polluting industries of the 20th century is now colliding with the urgent realities of the climate crisis.Earlier this month, heads of European automotive companies gathered in the Berlaymont building, the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels, for a meeting with its president, Ursula von der Leyen. German car manufacturers came with two demands: to reverse the EU ban on the manufacture of new cars with CO2-emit...

Politics

4 w. ago German identity doesn’t rely on cars – Brussels should face down the mighty automakers | Tania Roettger

Mercedes-Benz and other big manufacturers want to overturn the EU’s 2035 ban on petrol cars. This would be as disastrous for jobs as for the climateThere is something rather old-fashioned about the way Germany views its car industry. When the prime minister of Bavaria, Markus Söder, calls the car the destiny of Germany and the heart of its economy, and says that “without the car, collapse is imminent”, the vehicle he seems to be describing is one with a combustion engine, running on fossil fuels or their derivatives. This nostalgic attachment to the heavy-duty, polluting industries of the 20th century is now colliding with the urgent realities of the climate crisis.Earlier this month, heads of European automotive companies gathered in the Berlaymont building, the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels, for a meeting with its president, Ursula von der Leyen. German car manufacturers came with two demands: to reverse the EU ban on the manufacture of new cars with CO2-emit...

Politics