Category Archives: Europe

‘This must stop’, says EU foreign affairs chief after Russian bombing of Ukrainian energy infrastructure – as it happened

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Josep Borrell, high representative for foreign affairs, says ‘all responsible will be held to account’ after attacks on energy infrastructure

After Russian strikes targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Ukraine’s grid is getting urgent assistance from Poland, Romania and Slovakia, national grid operator Ukrenergo said, Reuters reported.

Russia regards itself to be in a state of war due to the West’s intervention on Ukraine’s side, the TASS news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying, Reuters reported.

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Over 1m Ukrainians without power after major Russian assault on energy system

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Kyiv says the country’s largest dam and hydroelectric plant were hit as Moscow unleashed 88 missiles and 63 drones

More than a million Ukrainians have been left without power after Russia launched one of its largest missile and drone attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure to date.

The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 88 missiles and 63 Iranian-made Shahed drones. Of them, 37 and 55 respectively were shot down, but others hit the country’s largest dam and caused blackouts in several regions, and killing at least five people.

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Jersey to debate allowing assisted dying for terminally ill

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Proposals deter ‘death tourism’ by requiring applicants to have lived on the island for at least 12 months

Jersey could legalise assisted dying for people who are terminally ill or have an incurable condition with unbearable suffering under proposals to be debated in the island’s parliament.

The proposals, published on Friday, may lead to Jersey becoming the first jurisdiction in the British Isles to allow assisted dying.

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EU agrees to begin membership negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina

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Leaders of the bloc caution that the country will have to undertake more reforms before the next step can begin

EU leaders have agreed to open negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina on joining the bloc, while also stressing the Balkan country would have to undertake more reforms before the talks could begin.

“Congratulations! Your place is in our European family. Today’s decision is a key step forward on your EU path,” European Council president, Charles Michel, wrote on X as leaders met at a Brussels summit.

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EU agrees in principle to give profits from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine

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Ukraine could receive the first €1bn of interest on the sequestered assets by early July

EU leaders have agreed in principle to commandeer a large majority of the profits generated from frozen Russian assets and give them to Ukraine.

The proposal could generate €3bn (£2.6bn) this year and the first billion could be released to Ukraine by July, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said late on Thursday at the end of the first day of an EU leaders’ summit in Brussels.

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EU and US pile on pressure for Gaza ceasefire

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EU leaders call for ‘immediate humanitarian pause’ while US expected to bring UN resolution calling for truce without delay

EU leaders have overcome their differences to call for an “immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza, hours before the US is expected to bring a resolution to a vote at the UN calling for a truce and a hostage deal without delay in the face of a looming famine.

The EU declaration, at a Brussels summit late on Thursday, marked the first time European leaders had agreed a declaration on the Middle East since October. The US draft resolution to be put to a vote in the UN security council on Friday morning also reflects greater urgency in Washington’s position. It is the first time the Biden administration has put forward language calling for an “immediate ceasefire”, although it continues to link a truce with a hostage deal.

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Simon Harris confirms he will run for Irish PM as party rushes to back him

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Nearly half of Fine Gael parliamentary party endorses 37-year-old as string of potential rivals rule themselves out

The contest to become Ireland’s next prime minister is turning into a one-horse race after the higher education minister, Simon Harris, secured the backing of nearly half his parliamentary party before he had even confirmed he was running.

Within hours of nominations opening on Thursday to succeed Leo Varadkar, whose unexpected resignation as Fine Gael leader and taoiseach shocked the country, Harris had been endorsed by 24 of the party’s 54 TDs (MPs), senators and MEPs.

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Europe live: European leaders gather for two-day summit as concerns grow over aid for Ukraine

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EU is preparing for elections in June and summit agenda includes Ukraine, the Middle East and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU accession candidacy

The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, has just revealed he is not looking for a new job in the EU.

Asked by the Guardian if he was looking for a new job in Brussels he expressed surprise and laughed. “No, definitely not”.

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Populist parties’ divisions jeopardise chances of setting European agenda

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Survey shows supporters of nationalist parties hold widely differing views on EU membership, migration and support for Ukraine

Populist and nationalist parties fighting the European elections in June are deeply divided on almost all key issues, according to a survey, in a finding that questions their chances of defining the bloc’s agenda even in the event of a predicted far-right surge.

However, the report, by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), also said pro-EU parties risked mobilising the Eurosceptic vote if they continued to ape hard-right policies rather than coming up with persuasive alternatives.

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Dutch project tells wartime stories of intrepid ‘England voyagers’

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Hundreds of Engelandvaarders took various routes from occupied Netherlands to Britain to fight in second world war

They travelled over land and water, braving the North Sea, trekking across the Pyrenees or fleeing north through Sweden to reach Britain and join the fight against the Nazis.

Now a project at the Dutch national archives, opening on Thursday, is for the first time publishing the stories of 2,150 “England voyagers”. These brave Dutch men and women escaped the occupied Netherlands during the second world war and found their way to London to volunteer.

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EU leaders urged to put economies ‘on war footing’ at Ukraine negotiations

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Prime ministers to examine plans to confiscate billions of euros in interest from frozen Russian assets and send the money to Kyiv

EU leaders are to meet in Brussels to discuss ways to radically increase military and financial support for Ukraine amid calls for member states to put their economies “on a war footing”.

Fuelled by what one diplomat said was a new “sense of urgency and immediacy” over the war in Ukraine, rhetoric on Moscow has notably hardened in the past few days.

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Photos of Macron boxing raise eyebrows in France after he comes out swinging against Putin

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President sparks social media buzz as users ask whether he is getting ready to take on Vladimir Putin after images posted to Instagram

The release of official photos showing Emmanuel Macron hitting a punching bag have been met with a mixture of praise and consternation in France.

The photos of the French president, posted on Instagram on Tuesday by his official photographer, Soazig de la Moissonnière, are coloured in moody black and white, and show the president with teeth gritted and biceps bulging as he works out.

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Portugal’s new prime minister promises to bring stability after narrow win

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Luís Montenegro must now try to form government but has vowed not to do any deal with far-right Chega party

Portugal’s new prime minister, Luís Montenegro, has promised stable government after the country’s president invited him to try to form a minority administration that could face a rough ride in a hung parliament.

Montenegro, 51, was named prime minister early on Thursday after a long-awaited count of overseas votes confirmed a narrow victory in 10 March elections for his centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD).

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Two bar workers in Russia detained under new anti-LGBTQ law

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Pair are accused of roles in ‘extremist organisation’ and could face up to 10 years in prison

A Russian court has ordered two bar workers to be placed in custody, accusing them of roles in an “extremist organisation”, under new legislation criminalising the LGBTQ community.

It is the first criminal case of its kind since Russia banned the so-called “international LGBT movement” in November.

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Leo Varadkar steps down as Irish prime minister in shock move

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Varadkar announces decision to resign as taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael party for ‘personal and political’ reasons

Leo Varadkar has announced he is standing down as Ireland’s prime minister and also giving up his role as leader of the Fine Gael party in the ruling coalition, in a surprise move described by pundits as a “political earthquake” for the country.

Citing “personal and political” reasons, Varadkar, 45, announced his decision at a press conference in Dublin on Wednesday, saying in an at-times emotional speech that he no longer felt he was the “best person” to lead Ireland.

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Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow using ‘fear’ to rule occupied Ukraine, says UN human rights report – as it happened

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Russia tortured and arbitrarily detained people in occupied country, creating ‘climate of fear’ and suppressing Ukrainian identity, UN report says

Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell’s proposals to use revenues from frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine amount to banditism and theft, reports Reuters.

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said he will propose the EU use 90% of revenue from Russian assets frozen in Europe to buy arms for Ukraine via the European Peace Facility fund.

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EU to crack down on unpaid internships ‘exploiting despair of young people’

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Proposal seeks to retain talent in Europe and end labour shortage – but criticised for not going far enough

The EU is planning to clamp down on unpaid internships and “bogus” traineeships offered by unscrupulous employers with a new directive.

The move, which was criticised by some groups for not going far enough, is to be tabled on Thursday and is likely to be the last major legislative proposal before the mandate of the European parliament ends with the June elections.

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Dutch airline KLM misled customers with vague green claims, court rules

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Operator also found by Amsterdam court to have painted ‘overly rosy picture’ of sustainable aviation fuel

The Dutch airline KLM has misled customers with vague environmental claims and painted “an overly rosy picture” of its sustainable aviation fuel, a court has found.

In a greenwashing case brought by the campaign group Fossielvrij, the district court of Amsterdam ruled on Wednesday that KLM had broken the law with misleading advertising in 15 of the 19 environmental statements it assessed. They include claims that the airline is moving towards a “more sustainable” future and statements on its website about the benefits of offsetting a flight.

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Piero della Francesca’s Augustinian altarpiece reassembled after 450 years

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Eight known components of artwork were housed in five different museums in Europe and the US before being reunited in Milan

Eight surviving panels of Piero della Francesca’s Augustinian altarpiece have been reassembled after 450 years, possibly solving one of its enduring mysteries.

The celebrated polyptych was created by the early Italian Renaissance master specifically for the church of the Augustinians at Borgo San Sepolcro (now Sansepolcro) in his home town near Arezzo and comprised 30 panels, the majority of which have gone missing.

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Far-right Austrian nationalist banned from Germany after neo-Nazi meeting

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Martin Sellner, leader of ethno-nationalist Identitarian Movement, had addressed controversial event in Potsdam in November

A far-right Austrian nationalist has been banned from entering Germany after addressing a meeting about mass deportations that provoked mass protests across the country.

Days after he was deported from Switzerland, Martin Sellner, a leader of Austria’s ethno-nationalist Identitarian Movement, posted a video of himself on X reading out a letter to his lawyer that he said was from authorities in the city of Potsdam.

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