Browsing: EU

A right to die with dignity, or a slippery slope to legalised murder? Debates over assisted dying have been going on in Europe for a long time, but they seem to have intensified, with France, Belgium, Portugal and Ireland all recently re-considering their legislation, or at least launching consultations on the subject.

Turkey’s parliament on Thursday ratified Finland’s application to join NATO, lifting the last hurdle in the way of the Nordic country’s long-delayed accession into the Western military alliance.

Pope Francis has seen a marked improvement in his health after receiving an infusion of antibiotics for an infectious bronchitis, the Vatican said in an upbeat statement on Thursday.

A Moscow court ruled that a US journalist for the Wall Street Journal newspaper should be detained for nearly two months on suspicion of spying for Washington, the most serious move against a foreign journalist since Russia invaded Ukraine.

King Charles III has cancelled his state visit to France due to ongoing industrial unrest, but the fact that he had chosen the country for his first such trip is a sign that UK-France relations are getting back on track, after years on bickering over Brexit. Just like his mother before him, King Charles III is able to converse in French. Our international affairs editor and royal watcher Philip Turle looks back at which French presidents the late Queen Elizabeth II got on best with, as well as those she didn’t hit it off with.

The EU gender pay gap stood at 13% in 2021.

Ursula von der Leyen delivered on Thursday a highly critical speech on China and urged the EU to avoid falling for “divide-and-conquer tactics.”

Pope Francis has a respiratory infection and will need to spend “a few days” in hospital for treatment, the Vatican said in a statement on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government has been accused of trampling on same-sex couples’ parental rights.

A woman in northern France is to be put on trial on charges of insulting President Emmanuel Macron after describing him as ‘filth’ in a Facebook post, a prosecutor said on Wednesday. The woman risks a fine of 12,000 euros but not prison if convicted at the trial due to be held in June.

The law is good, they say. But EU consumers might also have to change their behaviour and take a closer look at what they consume.

France’s highest constitutional authority will rule on President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial pension reform on April 14, it said Wednesday, a verdict decisive for the future of the changes.

France increased the minimum age for using an electric scooter from 12 to 14 on Wednesday ahead of a weekend vote in Paris on whether to ban rental of the devices. The government unveiled a new regulatory plan for e-scooters on Wednesday increasing the age limit as well as hiking fines for riding on them with another person from 35 euros to 135 ($150).

Henrik Hololei has served as the Director-General for Mobility and Transport since 2015.

Three issues remain outstanding: port concessions, district heating networks and the so-called “integrated urban plans.”

King Charles travels to Germany on Wednesday in his first state visit abroad since becoming British monarch. Charles, who succeeded his mother Queen Elizabeth as the British monarch in September, had been due to travel first to France, but cancelled that part of the tour due to violent social unrest over President Emmanuel Macron’s new pension law.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi arrived for a visit to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine late on Wednesday morning, where he warned of “increasing” military activity around the plant. He added that the UN nuclear watchdog was working on a plan of “realistic measures” to ensure Zaporizhzhia’s security. Follow our live blog for the latest updates on the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).

‘If it was up to me, I would leave Barcelona tomorrow.’

King Charles travels to Germany on Wednesday in his first state visit abroad since becoming British monarch, as part of efforts to turn the page on years of rocky relations between Britain and the European Union after its exit from the bloc.

Scotland’s parliament on Tuesday confirmed Humza Yousaf will replace Nicola Sturgeon as first minister, the devolved nation’s youngest and the first Muslim leader of a government in western Europe.

Gas savings have become a powerful tool to fend off the worst effects of the energy crisis.

Member states are split on whether nuclear-made hydrogen should count towards the European Union’s renewable energy goals.

Five young people, including two minors, were killed in Madrid in 2022 in score-settling between groups of rival gangs, known locally as “bandas latinas” (“Latino gangs”). The capital has four main gangs that have a total of around 800 members, according to police. Modelled on the South American cartels, they are made up of young Spaniards who are often from immigrant families and poor neighbourhoods. Nearly 40 percent of them are minors. Our correspondents report.

The EU has provided training and equipment to Libyan coast guards and given tens of million of euros to assist migrants stuck in the country.

French authorities on Tuesday searched offices of several large banks, including Societe Generale, BNP Paribas and HSBC on the suspicion of money laundering and fiscal fraud, a spokesperson of the PNF financial prosecution office told Reuters.