EU

France and Germany announced the abandonment of their Future Combat Air System (FCAS) joint fighter jet programme due to unresolved disagreements between companies involved. This setback hinders European defence cooperation amid rising geopolitical tensions, although development of the Combat Cloud digital network will proceed.

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During the EU-Western Balkans summit, momentum for EU enlargement was underscored by Hungary’s decision to lift its veto on Ukraine’s accession negotiations. António Costa noted that upcoming talks will showcase renewed European unity, particularly ahead of the June summit, despite ongoing challenges in the accession process.

US Ambassador to the EU Andrew Pudzer has stated that President Trump remains deeply dissatisfied with European nations over their refusal to assist during the Iran conflict. The US expects European allies to permit access to military bases, prompting questions about transatlantic reliability and damaging relations further.

EU agriculture ministers will discuss on Tuesday how to resolve European farmers’ growing discontent as Brussels scrambles to address the issue ahead of elections this year. Europe’s farmers are in revolt. The fury has led to road blockages and tractor parades in the past few weeks, with farmers taking their protests to the street in France, Germany, Poland and Romania, after the Netherlands earlier.

For Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, 2024 has started with renewed bombardment by Russian missiles. But inhabitants, loathe to leave again, are adapting to life with such dangers. A key question is education, which has been almost exclusively online for the past two years. Many school buildings have been destroyed and all are considered unsafe. So the city, and its region, are taking education underground – quite literally. Gulliver Cragg reports.

The trial of suspects allegedly complicit in the planning of the 2018 Trèbes and Carcassonne terrorist attacks in the south of France opens on Monday in Paris. Three men were shot dead in a car park and a supermarket, and a receptionist was taken hostage until a gendarme, Arnaud Beltrame, volunteered to take the place of the captive at the cost of his life. FRANCE 24’s Claire Paccalin reports.

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