Author: Euronews

France and Germany have proposed new powers for the European Commission to counter market distortions as the EU confronts mounting trade pressure from China. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In a letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday, accompanied by a policy paper on global economic imbalances, Paris and Berlin called for tools to restrict access to the EU market, diversify supplies and prepare for possible retaliation. Brussels describes its economic relationship with Beijing as unsustainable, with the EU’s trade deficit reaching an estimated €1 billion a day in 2025. It has given China until this month to offer concessions.…

Published on 04/10/2026 – 16:32 GMT+2 Brazilians began voting this Sunday in the first round of the presidential election, in which President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers’ Party (PT) is seeking re-election against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party and son of Jair Bolsonaro. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The election is attracting international attention, as it will determine whether this Latin American economic powerhouse remains under left-wing rule or joins the rightward shift sweeping South America, championed by US President Donald Trump. Soon to turn 81, veteran leftist Lula da Silva is running for a fourth and final…

Published on 03/10/2026 – 15:59 GMT+2•Updated 16:04 The International Energy Agency said Saturday that member countries had so far released 325 million barrels of oil and oil-derivative products from strategic reserves, from the 400 million barrels promised in March. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The update came a day after G7 leaders, in a statement issued by French President Emmanuel Macron’s office, agreed in coordination with the IEA to immediately release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil, following US pressure on Europe to tap its reserves and ease supply concerns caused by the US-Iran war. The G7 did not say whether…

Published on 02/10/2026 – 16:50 GMT+2 The outer planets of the solar system will be thrown into chaos roughly a billion years after the Sun dies, a new study has found, cutting their expected life span a billion-fold. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Previous estimates put the stability of the giant planets’ orbits at around a quintillion years, far longer than the current age of the universe. Researchers at California’s Institute of Technology (Caltech) were investigating how the sun’s slow death would impact the outer planets including Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. It was also previously believed by many scientists, including Isaac Newton,…

Published on 01/10/2026 – 16:50 GMT+2•Updated 16:52 The European Commission has concluded that Ukraine’s financial and military needs for this year are fully met, one month after Kyiv flagged a $27 billion (€23.92 billion) shortfall in its Ministry of Defence that caught Brussels off guard. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “Today, through coordinated joint efforts, we have identified the means to cover Ukraine’s budget and defence needs for 2026,” the Commission said in a vaguely worded statement shared by President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday. “We have also reconfirmed the steps needed to ensure their timely release.” With this, the executive closes…

Published on 30/09/2026 – 16:47 GMT+2 Qatar has condemned what it called the military escalation against Ethiopia’s federal forces, while the United Arab Emirates has voiced support for the Ethiopian government amid renewed fighting in the country’s north. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said the fighting threatened Ethiopia’s unity and sovereignty and the stability of the wider Horn of Africa. It called for an immediate end to the fighting, protection for civilians and respect for the Pretoria Peace Agreement between Tigray and Ethiopia. The Qatari statement did not name the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) or the new alliance of…

Azerbaijan is set to boost connectivity for European travellers, with four weekly direct flights between Brussels and Baku. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Speaking at the Euronews Travel & Tourism Summit 2026, Florian Sengstschmid, Chief Executive Officer of the Azerbaijan Tourism Board, said that Azerbaijan Airlines will be operating flights between Brussels and Baku from 8 May 2027. Sengstschmid added that the Azerbaijani capital has transformed over the past decade to become a regional hub, highlighting that Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport is ranked five stars on Skytrax’s regional rankings. The national carrier was also named the best regional airline in Central Asia…

Published on 28/09/2026 – 16:10 GMT+2 TotalEnergies, the French oil and gas major, is returning more cash to investors. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Presenting its strategy in New York on Monday, TotalEnergies said its board had approved buybacks worth $2.5 billion (€2.2bn) for the last quarter of 2026 and between $2 billion (€1.7bn) and $2.5 billion (€2.2bn) for the first quarter of 2027. That compares with $1.5 billion (€1.3bn) authorised for the third quarter of this year. The board also adopted a policy on Sunday to increase the dividend by more than 5% a year for financial years 2026 to 2030, and…

As the Cognac harvest draws to a close in southwestern France, winegrowers already know they face another difficult year. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Cognac makers are struggling. The 300-year-old amber brandy is only produced around the Charente River, but it has been caught in the trade wars between the EU and China, as well as by tensions with its top export market, the US. For months, producers have watched largely powerless as access to both markets has been squeezed. The industry has a historic connection to the EU. Jean Monnet, the French statesman regarded as one of the EU’s founding fathers, came…

US President Donald trump has reportedly rejected an Iranian plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that has been at the heart of tensions between Washington and Tehran since late February. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, reported on Friday that Trump had refused a proposal for a seven-day ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait, telling his aides that he expected to resume a bombing campaign against Iran after the US’ midterm elections in November. Trump later posted an image on Truth Social showing an image of the Strait of Hormuz rebranded as…