At the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada, six member countries—Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan—released a coordinated statement affirming support for Ukraine after U.S. President Trump controversially left early, blocking a joint communiqué on Russia and Ukraine.

Spain’s government released a report concluding that the massive blackout on 28 April that plunged parts of Spain and Portugal into darkness was due to a combination of technical miscalculations and planning failures, not a cyberattack. Voltage surges triggered a cascade of shutdowns across southern Spain.

During his first visit to Cyprus in over two decades, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides signed a declaration to significantly deepen defence, maritime, and cybersecurity collaboration.

The G7 dominated the early European news this week with the EU wanting more pressure put on Russia – something Trump is reluctant to do. The EU also signed a defence deal with Australia and unveiled a plan to phase out Russian gas contracts by 2027.


Ukraine is calling for more help after the heaviest day of airstrikes since Russia’s war in Ukraine began, whilst there has been backlash to plans to raise the GDP defence target to 5%, with Spain calling it unreasonable.

Much of Europe’s focus has been on the latest from Iran-Israel, with many European nations worried they could be dragged into the war after the United States signalled it could soon be joining Israel.

Sweden’s Saab CEO Micael Johansson urges EU states to consolidate defence expenditures into a common fund—aiming for €100 billion—to finance flagship military projects

Protests against mass tourism are occurring across Spain, Italy, and Portugal, highlighting issues like rising housing costs and local displacement in cities such as Barcelona, Venice, and Lisbon.