Author: Euronews

The highly divisive prospect of using so-called Eurobonds to finance efforts to ramp up the EU’s defence capacities will be floated as the bloc’s 27 leaders meet in Brussels on Thursday. ADVERTISEMENTIt’s seen as a first attempt to test EU member states’ appetite for jointly issuing debt to bolster the bloc’s defence industry as war rages on its eastern flank.Although divisive, French President Emmanuel Macron and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas have both backed the idea in the past. In February’s summit, Kallas suggested that the bonds should amount to a total of €100 billion.But the taboo of issuing common…

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EU leaders have unanimously called for “an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza, after Hungary subscribed to the statement for the first time since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. ADVERTISEMENTThe breakthrough on Thursday follows five months of deep divisions between the 27 leaders, whose failure to coalesce around a call for a ceasefire has put EU unity under stress.The conclusions – the result of intensive talks on Thursday evening as EU advisors hammered out a statement palatable to all 27 leaders – deplore the “catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and its disproportionate effect on civilians”…

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