Category Archives: European Union

France and EU to incentivise US-based scientists to come to Europe

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Macron and von der Leyen expected to announce protections for researchers seeking to relocate amid Trump’s crackdown

France and the EU are to step up their efforts to attract US-based scientists hit by Donald Trump’s crackdown on academia, as they prepare announcements on incentives for researchers to settle in Europe.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, alongside the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, will make speeches on Monday morning at Sorbonne University in Paris, flanked by European university leaders and researchers, in which they are expected to announce potential incentives and protections for researchers seeking to relocate to Europe.

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Romanians vote in election that could propel ultranationalist Trump ally to power

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George Simion, 38, comfortably ahead in polls as first round of voting begins in presidential election

Romanians are voting in a presidential election rerun that could propel to power an ultranationalist who opposes military aid to Ukraine, has fiercely criticised the EU’s leadership and describes himself as a “natural ally” of Donald Trump.

George Simion, 38, is comfortably ahead in the opinion polls before the first-round vote in the EU and Nato member state, nearly six months after the original ballot was cancelled amid evidence of an alleged “massive” Russian influence campaign.

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UK sand eel fishing ban remains in place despite EU legal challenge

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Creatures make up the bulk of seabirds’ diet but are fished for commercial pig food

A ban on fishing for sand eels in UK waters will remain in place despite a legal challenge from the EU.

The small, silvery eels make up the bulk of the diet of seabirds, but they are fished for commercial pig food. A lack of sand eels means seabirds such as puffins can starve to death.

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Malta’s ‘golden passport’ scheme ruled to be illegal by EU’s top court

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Long-awaited ruling means cash-for-citizenship programme that allowed people to live and work in bloc must be scrapped

The European court of justice has ruled that Malta’s “golden passport” scheme is illegal, meaning its cash-for-citizenship programme must be scrapped.

In a long-awaited ruling on Tuesday, the EU’s top court concluded that Malta’s investor citizenship scheme was contrary to EU law. Judges said the scheme represented a “commercialisation of the grant of the nationality of a member state” and by extension EU citizenship, which was at odds with European law. Malta had jeopardised the mutual trust between EU member states necessary to create an area without internal borders, the court argued.

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UK offers EU strategic partnership to boost trade and security

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Officials draft declaration to help tackle ‘fluctuations’ in world economy

The UK is offering the EU a “new strategic partnership” aimed at bolstering trade and presenting a united European front when Donald Trump is threatening to upend decades of transatlantic alignment.

A draft declaration being drawn up by London and Brussels ahead of a UK-EU summit on 19 May points to a “common understanding” on a number of shared interests.

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Starmer claims voters being ‘conned’ by Tories and Reform UK as parties are planning a coalition – as it happened

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PM says supporters of both groups are being misled and a tie-up would be a ‘disaster’ for Britain. This live blog is closed

Downing Street has described the alleged comments by the band Kneecap in the ‘kill MP’ footage (see 12.10pm) as “completely unacceptable”.

At the morning lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson described the comments as “completely unacceptable”.

We do not think individuals expressing those views should be receiving government funding.

That’s up to the group, but clearly the PM rejects the views expressed … does not shy away from condemning them.

I don’t want to see strike action, I don’t think anybody wants to see strike action.

And certainly here we are in a healthcare environment with all the staff working really hard. The last thing they want to do is to go into dispute again.

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Pope’s funeral a diplomatic minefield as Trump sets fire to US alliances

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President’s international engagements have set stage for explosive confrontations and Pope Francis’s funeral comes at an especially fraught moment

A spectre is haunting Europe: the spectre of Donald Trump flying to the Vatican this weekend and publicly feuding with international leaders in front of St Peter’s Basilica in the midst of the sombre rituals and rites that will mark the funeral of Pope Francis.

The US leader’s first international trip of his second term comes at one of the most politically fractious and fraught moments in recent memory, as his “America first” project sets fire to US alliances and trade relationships around the world. Between international tariffs, the wars in Ukraine and in Gaza, the Trump team’s open antipathy toward Europe and its hard line on immigration from Central and South America, the papal funeral could prove to be a minefield of international diplomacy.

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UK politics: Reform UK on course to win in two mayoral contests – as it happened

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Polling predicts victory for party in Greater Lincolnshire and Hull/East Yorkshire with the Greens possibly taking West of England

There are six mayoral elections next week. Two of them are for single-authority mayors (Doncaster and North Tyneside), but the others are for combined-authority mayors (or regional mayors – like metro mayors, but not just covering city regions). Today YouGov has released polling covering all four of these contests and it suggests Reform UK is on course to win two of them easily. And the Green party is narrowly ahead in a third, the poll suggests.

Here are the polling figures.

In theory the Tories should be winning in Lincolnshire as they hold most of the parliamentary seats in the area and have dominated local politics forever. But it’s also the most Reform-friendly part of the country. It contains Richard Tice’s constituency and numerous seats in which they came second. Plus their candidate is a former Tory MP – Andrea Jenkyns, famous for her Boris Johnson obsession and making a middle finger gesture at a crowd outside Downing Street. She is, by all accounts, quite a few sandwiches short of a picnic but, nevertheless, is strong favourite to win. Large chunks of local Conservative parties, including several councillors, have already defected.

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Public affairs firms in Europe enable pollution by lobbying for big oil, says analysis

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Exclusive: EU Transparency Register shows law firms also among lobbyists working for fossil fuel companies

A handful of “small but dirty” public affairs and law firms in Europe are enabling pollution by lobbying extensively for big oil, an analysis has found, with most major companies in the industry working for at least one fossil fuel client.

Several of the top spenders on activities to influence EU policymaking are on the payroll of oil and gas companies, according to an analysis of the EU Transparency Register by the Good Lobby nonprofit, but fossil fuel clients represent just 1% of the industry’s revenue.

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Labour MPs urge Starmer to back youth mobility scheme amid EU trade reset

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More than 60 MPs sign letter calling for time-limited visas for 18- to 30-year-olds to travel freely

Keir Starmer is under pressure from more than 60 Labour MPs to allow thousands of young Europeans to live and work in the UK, a move seen as key to unlocking a more ambitious trade reset with Brussels.

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said discussions on a potential scheme were ongoing, in the clearest hint yet that the government is preparing to do a deal.

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Keir Starmer’s realignment with Europe will be a low-key one

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The aim in No 10 is to Make Brussels Boring Again and never say the words ‘single market’ or ‘freedom of movement’

Talk of veterinary agreements, “Canada-plus” and rules of origin are likely to give even the most hardened Westminster veteran terrifying flashbacks. There was once a time when a word from Tory Eurosceptic Bill Cash on dynamic alignment could splash national newspapers.

Now the more common reaction to those terms is a barely stifled yawn. And that is exactly how No 10 would like it to stay.

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Spain unveils €11bn plan to reach long-delayed Nato defence spending target

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Spanish PM says ‘industrial and technological plan’ will ensure country commits to spending 2% of GDP on defence

Spain has announced a €10.5bn investment plan to ensure it will reach its long-delayed Nato commitment of spending 2% of its GDP on defence this year, saying it has become obvious “only Europe will know how to protect Europe” from now on.

The country – which lags well behind other western nations by dedicating about 1.3% of its GDP to defence spending – is one of the Nato members that has been pressured by the Trump administration to increase its spending, and had previously committed to hitting the 2% threshold by 2029.

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NHS cancer patients denied life-saving drugs due to Brexit costs, report finds

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Exclusive: Britons found to have ‘lost out’ while rest of Europe benefits from golden age of research and treatments

British cancer patients are being denied life-saving drugs and trials of revolutionary treatments are being derailed by the red tape and extra costs brought on by Brexit, a damning report warns.

Soaring numbers are being diagnosed with the disease amid a growing and ageing population, improved diagnosis initiatives and wider public awareness – making global collaborations to find new medicines essential.

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‘Children with cancer cannot wait’: the human cost of clinical trial delays after Brexit

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Exclusive: Price of importing drugs for a Paris and Birmingham study has almost quadrupled to £175,000

British clinical trials of revolutionary cancer treatments are being derailed by red tape and extra costs caused by Brexit, according to a report obtained by the Guardian.

These two examples illustrate how the UK’s departure from the EU is harming UK cancer research, leaving patients in limbo and unable to access pioneering treatments.

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Orbán’s stance on Ukraine pushes Hungary to brink in EU relations

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Member states are considering removing the country’s voting rights after its attempts to stymie support for Kyiv

The posters are going up all over Hungary. “Let’s not allow them to decide for us,” runs the slogan alongside three classic villains of Hungarian government propaganda.

They are: Ukraine’s wartime leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy; the European Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen; and Manfred Weber, the German politician who leads the centre-right European People’s party in the European parliament, which counts Hungary’s most potent opposition politician among its ranks.

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Meloni says Trump to visit Rome after Washington talks over tariffs

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Trump praises Italian PM and accepts invitation that could present chance for him to meet other European leaders

Giorgia Meloni said Donald Trump had accepted her invitation for an official trip to Rome, as the pair met in Washington in an attempt by the Italian prime minister to bridge the gap between the EU and US amid trade tariff tensions.

Meloni said Trump’s trip could happen “in the near future” and could present an opportunity for him to meet other European leaders.

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ECB cuts rates for third time this year as Europe braces for Trump tariffs

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Quarter-point cut in main rate to 2.25% aimed at tackling slowdown in eurozone growth and impact of US border taxes

The cost of borrowing has fallen across the 20-member euro area for the third time this year after the European Central Bank cut its main interest rate to 2.25% in response to slowing growth and Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The Frankfurt-based bank cut its benchmark deposit rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Thursday, in line with economist expectations, to tackle a slowdown in the bloc and the impact from the border taxes imposed earlier this month on all EU imports into the US.

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Irregular migrant crossings into Europe fall 30% in first quarter of 2025

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Human rights groups say drop is partly due to EU policies that turn blind eye to rights abuses in countries such as Libya and Tunisia

Irregular crossings at Europe’s borders have fallen by 30% in the first quarter of the year compared with the same period last year, in a decrease that rights groups partly attributed to EU policies that have emphasised deterrence while seemingly turning a blind eye to the risk of rights abuses.

The decline was seen across all the major migratory routes into Europe, the EU’s border agency Frontex said in a statement, amounting to nearly 33,600 fewer arrivals in the first three months of the year.

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EU mulls plan to let importers break Russian gas contracts without penalties

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European Commission may reportedly let companies declare force majeure as part of strategy to rid bloc of Russian fossil fuels by 2027

The European Commission is considering plans that would allow European companies to break long-term Russian gas contracts without paying penalties to Moscow, it has been reported.

Citing three officials with knowledge of the plan, the Financial Times reported that the commission was studying the possibility of allowing companies to declare force majeure, which would absolve importers of their obligations to pay penalty fees for ending contracts.

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EU will struggle to fill gap left by USAID as European countries cut their budgets

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NGOs warn of ‘some difficult years’ ahead as increasing humanitarian needs meet shrinking finances

The dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has captured headlines, but “very regrettable” reductions in European aid budgets are also contributing to a void in support for some of the poorest people in the world’s most fragile states, according to MEPs and NGOs.

Isabella Lövin, a deputy chair of the European parliament’s development committee, said USAID cuts would have “very dramatic consequences around the world”. But she also criticised recent decisions by EU member states to reduce their aid budgets as “very regrettable” and “wrong”. It would be impossible for the EU to fill the gap, she added.

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