Browsing: EU

The EU Commission proposed EUR145 million in new funding last week to support the country’s economy and energy security.

France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Poland are among those who had advocated an exit from the contentious agreement.

Energy giant BP has reported record annual profits. The news comes as the company is scaling back on its goals to reduce the amount of oil and gas it produces by 2030 as part of attempts to reduce carbon emissions. Camille Knight reports.

Both Russia and China now use formal diplomatic channels to spread disinformation, an EEAS report found.

Member states continue to be bitterly divided over the question of relocation of asylum-seekers, despite years of discussions.

Germany’s new defence minister, Boris Pistorius, made an unscheduled visit to Kyiv on Tuesday, two weeks after Berlin agreed to provide Leopard tanks to help Ukraine counter Russian forces, according to the Ukrainian government. Read our live blog to see how all the day’s events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).

Historians estimate that about 114,000 people lie in mass graves scattered across Spain massacred by supporters of Franco during or after the civil war.

Tens of thousands of nurses and ambulance workers joined Britain’s largest-ever health sector strike on Monday – the latest walkout to cause disruption at the National Health Service. Public support for striking staff remains high, but negotiations with the government over pay increases have reached a stalemate.

The code compels ship to disembark without delay as soon as the first rescue operation is complete, even if other migrants remain lost at sea.

As revellers flock to Venice to celebrate its iconic carnival, local authorities have a much more worrying concern. The Serenissima is one of the world’s most beautiful cities, but also one of the most fragile. The Italian city on the lagoon is increasingly threatened by rising sea levels, which are exacerbated by climate change, and is frequently hit by flooding. If nothing changes, Venice could disappear underwater by the end of the century. Our correspondents report on the protective measures the city has put in place.

A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked wide swaths of Turkey and Syria early Monday, toppling hundreds of buildings and killing more than 1,900 people. World leaders, from the EU to Israel to Russia, are sending aid and rescue support to the region. FRANCE 24’s correspondent in Brussels, Dave Keating, tells us more about the EU’s aid missions, already dispatched.

The EU and G7 countries have also expanded the existing price cap on Russian crude oil to include all refined products.

It would be Zelenskyy’s second trip abroad since Russia started its invasion on 24 February.

Russian forces are keeping Ukrainian troops tied down with fighting in the eastern Donbas region as Moscow assembles additional combat power there for an expected offensive in the coming weeks, Ukrainian officials said Monday. Follow FRANCE 24’s liveblog for all the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).

Thirteen European union member states have already offered to send emergency personnel to turkey with the EU also “ready to support those affected in Syria.”

Nurses and ambulances staff stepped up their demands for better pay Monday to combat the UK’s cost of living crisis with their biggest round of health service strikes. The stoppages — part of a wave of industrial action across the UK economy — will see nurses and paramedics take action on the same day for the first time. FRANCE 24’s correspondent in London Benedicte Paviot tells us more.

Britain faces its largest ever strike by health workers on Monday as tens of thousands of nurses and ambulance workers walk out in an escalating pay dispute which the health minister said would place further strain on the National Health Service (NHS).

In France, nearly 125,000 women have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM). The fight against this practice has led to the creation of psychological and surgical care over the last 40 years but the subject remains taboo. FRANCE 24 provides an overview of the situation on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, February 6.

A blow for Barca.

Former foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides took the lead in Cyprus’s presidential election on Sunday and will face off against leftist-backed candidate Andreas Mavroyiannis in a runoff on February 12.

European Union member states, the Group of Seven industrialised countries and Australia said Friday that they adopted a price cap on Russian oil. The move is the latest part of an international push to limit Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war chest for his assault on Ukraine by targeting his key exports. Follow our live blog for all the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said the situation on the front lines in the east of the country was getting tougher, with Russia throwing more and more troops into battle, hours after the two sides agreed to exchange dozens of prisoners of war. Earlier on Saturday, Ukrainian officials said a serious accident at a high-voltage substation had caused widespread power outages in and around the southern port city of Odesa, leaving half a million people without power. Follow our live blog to see how the day’s events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell travelled to Kyiv for an EU-Ukraine summit on Friday. #StateOfTheUnion

For months, European leaders have sought a united response to the US Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA. That plan, announced by the White House last year, favours American-made climate technology through subsidies and tax credits. But EU chiefs say the policy discriminates against Washington’s closest partner, Europe. The panelists in this debate agree that that the IRA poses a major challenge to the European economy, but disagree on the way forward. “We need a major subsidy programme to re-industrialise Europe,” says MEP Martin Schirdewan. But MEP Christophe Hansen counters: “Fighting subsidies with subsidies is the wrong way. It will play big EU countries off against small ones, and damage the internal market, which is turning 30 years old,” he says.

After lying dormant for half a century, the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma, in Spain’s Canary Islands, suddenly exploded in a river of fire on September 19, 2021. The eruption lasted for 85 days. No one was killed, but more than 1,000 homes were destroyed, as well as 70 kilometres of roads. Some 350 hectares of banana plantations were covered with lava. The eruption dealt a huge blow to the island’s economy. Almost a year and a half later, around 100 residents are still being housed in hotels and many continue to wait for the financial aid promised by the Spanish authorities. FRANCE 24’s C?line Schmitt and Armelle Exposito report.