Category Archives: Europe

Europe greenwashing with north Africa’s renewable energy, report says

Posted on by

Greenpeace argues European-backed projects hamper countries’ ability to decarbonise their own economies

European countries are extracting renewable energy from Morocco and Egypt to “greenwash” their own economies, while leaving north Africans reliant on dirty imported fuels and paying the environmental costs, a Greenpeace report says.

Both Morocco and Egypt are aiming to leverage their strategic locations south of the Mediterranean, and their solar and wind power potential, to position themselves as pivotal to Europe’s quest to diversify its energy supply.

Continue reading...

All eyes on far-right AfD in German election rocked by violence and US interference

Posted on by

Extremists tipped for second place after shifting debate to immigration and crime and winning endorsements from Musk and Vance

In the tumultuous German election campaign, which has been rocked by jaw-dropping US interference, a spate of violent attacks and rare fears for the country’s political stability, all eyes have been locked on the party most likely to finish second.

When the dust settles after Sunday’s vote and conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz is – barring further surprises – elected chancellor, the 2025 race will be remembered as the moment the far-right Alternative für Deutschland, consistently polling in second place, went from sideshow to centre stage.

Continue reading...

Workshop producing fake Picassos and Rembrandts found in Rome

Posted on by

Prosecutors seize 71 canvases and say evidence suggests an art restorer was behind frauds

A clandestine workshop has been discovered in Rome where fakes of paintings by some of the world’s most famous artists, including Pablo Picasso and Rembrandt, were produced before being sold online.

The discovery was made in a house in a district in the north of the city by a team from Rome’s public prosecutors’ office and the forgeries unit of Italy’s art squad, which they said has gathered “important evidence” to suggest an art restorer was at the centre of the racket.

Continue reading...

EU overhaul of farming strategy ignores vital green proposals, campaigners warn

Posted on by

The report promises better pay and protections for farmers, but environmentalists say it will not help restore nature or assure food security

European farmers will face fewer rules and less foreign competition, a new vision for agriculture promises, as environmental campaigners warn that key green proposals have been ignored.

The EU’s new farming strategy will overhaul the sector with targeted financial support, stricter import standards and a shift from “conditions to incentives” in the green strings attached to its vast subsidy scheme, according to the report published on Wednesday.

Continue reading...

Trump calls Zelenskyy a dictator amid fears of irreconcilable rift

Posted on by

Remark follows Ukrainian leader’s claim US president living in a Russian ‘disinformation bubble’

The US and Ukraine appeared to be heading towards an irreconcilable rift after Donald Trump escalated his attacks on Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling the Ukrainian president “a dictator” and warning that he “better move fast” or he “won’t have a country left”.

The US leader’s comments on Wednesday, which were rife with falsehoods, came after Zelenskyy said Trump was “trapped” in a Russian “disinformation bubble,” following Trump’s claims that Ukraine was to blame for Russia’s 2022 invasion, remarks that echoed the Kremlin’s narrative.

Continue reading...

Reagan-era Republicans aghast as Trump turns Russia policy on its head

Posted on by

Officials who served in 1980s say Trump is opposing friends and supporting enemies: ‘It makes me sick what’s going on’

Republicans who served under President Ronald Reagan during the cold war have condemned Donald Trump’s move to soften relations with Russia and undermine the 75-year-old transatlantic alliance.

European leaders were left reeling last week when the US vice-president, JD Vance, told the Munich Security Conference that the greatest danger facing Europe was “the threat from within” and the “retreat from fundamental values”.

Continue reading...

Record orders at BAE Systems as European defence spending rises

Posted on by

Weapons maker’s full-year pre-tax profits top £3bn and it expects sales of more than £30bn next year

Britain’s biggest weapons manufacturer, BAE Systems, has reported record orders as the European defence industry gears up for increased spending sparked by the Ukraine war.

The company, a member of the FTSE 100, said it expected sales next year to top £30bn, as it reported annual profits before interest and tax of more than £3bn for the first time in 2024.

Continue reading...

EU accused of leaving ‘devastating’ copyright loophole in AI Act

Posted on by

Architect of copyright law says EU is ‘supporting big tech instead of protecting European creative ideas’

An architect of EU copyright law has said legislation is needed to protect writers, musicians and creatives left exposed by an “irresponsible” legal gap in the bloc’s Artificial Intelligence Act.

The intervention came as 15 cultural organisations wrote to the European Commission this week warning that draft rules to implement the AI Act were “taking several steps backwards” on copyright, while one writer spoke of a “devastating” loophole.

Continue reading...

Trump blames Ukraine over war with Russia, saying it could have made a deal

Posted on by

President hits back at Ukraine’s complaint that it has been left out of US-Russia talks, saying it had years to make a deal ‘without the loss of much land’

President Donald Trump has criticised Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he was “disappointed” that the Ukrainian leader complained about being left out of talks between the US and Russia over ending the Ukraine war.

Trump also seemed to blame Kyiv for Moscow’s invasion – even as he said he was more confident of a deal to end the war after US-Russia talks – claiming Ukraine could have “made a deal” to avert war.

Continue reading...

Life expectancy growth stalls across Europe as England sees sharpest decline, say researchers

Posted on by

Poor diet, obesity and inactivity blamed on decline with Norway the only country seeing a rise

Life expectancy improvement is stalling across Europe with England experiencing the biggest slowdown. Experts are blaming this on an alarming mix of poor diet, mass inactivity and soaring obesity.

The average annual growth in life expectancy across the continent fell from 0.23 years between 1990 and 2011 to 0.15 years between 2011 and 2019, according to research published in the Lancet Public Health journal. Of the 20 countries studied, every one apart from Norway saw life expectancy growth fall.

Continue reading...

Heat pump sales in Europe fall 23% to pre-Ukraine war levels

Posted on by

Growth in 2022 and 2023 was driven by soaring gas prices caused by Russia’s invasion, but 2024 saw sales slump

Heat pump sales fell 23% in Europe last year, industry data shows, reverting to the level they were at before the war in Ukraine and slowing the shift away from gas-burning boilers.

Demand for clean heating devices fell by about half in Belgium and Germany, and by 39% in France, according to data for 13 countries that cover 85% of the European heat pump market.

Continue reading...

Pope Francis has double pneumonia on top of earlier respiratory tract infection

Posted on by

Pontiff, 88, already in hospital when latest diagnosis made, as Vatican confirms medical situation is ‘complex’

Pope Francis has been diagnosed with double pneumonia after further tests showed a continuing “complex” medical situation, the Vatican said in a statement on Tuesday.

The pontiff, 88, underwent a chest X-ray, which “demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia that required further pharmacological therapy”.

Continue reading...

Ukraine and Europe made to sit outside as US and Russia sharpen their carving knives

Posted on by

In this back-to-the-future world, Russia is fully restored to the top table, while the US envoys outdo each other to praise Trump

Ukraine was laid out on the glossy conference table in Riyadh on Tuesday, not to be dissected on this occasion, but rather for an initial inspection by the Americans and Russians, who have reserved the carving knives for future use.

No Ukrainians were present for these opening discussions on the country’s fate, or for the lunch of whole lamb and “symphony of scallops”, nor was anyone there representing the rest of the European continent. Whether they will be given a seat at the table before lines are drawn is far from clear. For now, they must wonder if they are among the “irritants” in US-Russia relations referred to by the US state department.

Continue reading...

Ukraine officials say US is ‘appeasing’ Russia with talks in Riyadh

Posted on by

Absurd for Moscow to talk about peace while it is killing Ukrainians, official says, after drone strikes across country

Ukraine reacted with gloom and dismay on Tuesday to the meeting between the US and Russia in Saudi Arabia, with officials in Kyiv saying the Trump administration was “appeasing” Moscow.

They said negotiations between the two delegations got under way in Riyadh just hours after Russia attacked Ukraine with dozens of drones. At least two people were killed and 26 injured in strikes across the country.

Continue reading...

Thousands of tourists flock to see Etna eruption, blocking rescue services

Posted on by

Tourists blocking streets and indulging in ‘dangerous’ behaviour, say Sicilian officials

Thousands of tourists have flocked to Mount Etna to watch spectacular eruptions on the volcano, but some people are blocking streets and preventing rescue services from reaching those in need of assistance, the local authorities have said.

Sicily’s head of regional civil protection, Salvo Cocina, described the tourism of recent days at Etna as “wild” and “extremely dangerous”, warning that day-trippers drawn by the exceptional views had parked their cars along narrow streets, impeding rescue vehicles.

Continue reading...

Placebo frontman Brian Molko charged with calling Meloni ‘fascist’ and ‘racist’

Posted on by

The singer is being charged with defamation of the far-right Italian prime minister leader while performing at a festival in Turin in 2023

Placebo frontman Brian Molko is being charged with defamation after appearing to call the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, a “piece of shit, fascist, racist” in Italian while performing at a festival in Turin in 2023.

In August 2023, Meloni sued Molko over the comments. Prosecutors subsequently opened an investigation into the claims and have charged Molko with “contempt of the institutions”.

Continue reading...

Sadiq Khan says ‘Brexit was a mistake’ and closer EU ties could counter Trump tariffs

Posted on by

London mayor to tell meeting that mobility scheme would benefit young people and economy

Sadiq Khan will tell EU diplomats “Brexit was a mistake” and renew his backing for a youth mobility scheme as he argues strengthened ties with the bloc would help offset Donald Trump’s threatened tariff regime.

At a meeting on Tuesday, the mayor of London will tell delegates that Britain’s withdrawal from the trading bloc “continues to have a negative impact”, and he will promise to make the case for “being bold” in efforts to seek closer alignment.

Continue reading...

US ‘backstop’ vital to deter future Russian attacks on Ukraine, says Starmer

Posted on by

British prime minister says force would need protections such as air cover that only US can provide

Keir Starmer has urged Donald Trump to provide a US “backstop” to a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine, saying it is the only way to deter Russia from attacking the country again.

The UK prime minister’s appeal to Trump came after an emergency summit in Paris that heard widespread calls by European leaders for a large boost in defence spending.

Continue reading...

‘Allo ‘Allo! Europe’s leaders get together dans Paris for emergency sommet | John Crace

Posted on by

Emmanuel Macron, Kier Starmer and others discuss Trump, Russia and Ukraine at hastily arranged conference

Emmanuel Macron: Bienvenu á Paris.

Keir Starmer: Bonjour, Monsieur le President. Thank you for organising this “once-in-a-generation” summit at such short notice.

Continue reading...

Europe tries to shore up fragile unity as it realises it cannot rely on US

Posted on by

Leaders attend Paris summit for urgent talks on Ukraine after week that showed how far values have diverged

They came smiling, but the task was immense. After dozens of summits at which a hesitant and discordant EU had failed to agree on anything like a cohesive plan for the end of the war in Ukraine, this one had, suddenly and vitally, to be different.

The leaders of France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain and – speaking for the Nordic and Baltic states – Denmark, plus Britain’s prime minister and the heads of Nato and the European Commission and Council, arrived in Paris reeling from a historic week.

Continue reading...