Author: Euronews

Taylor Swift might be spared of a cruel summer after all: the European Commission is planning to enlist the help of other music artists to mobilise young voters ahead of this year’s EU elections. ADVERTISEMENTRosalía, Måneskin, Angèle and Stromae are at the top of the wish-list of names that Brussels intends to contact in the upcoming days, Euronews has exclusively learned.Other music artists, as well as athletes and football players deemed to have sufficient popular appeal, will also be approached through their media representatives, said an EU official with knowledge of the process.The selection of Europe-born celebrities will attempt to have a geographical balance…

London Mayor Sadiq Khan calls on the UK government to “urgently build a closer relationship with the EU” after a new report reveals how much the UK economy is losing after leaving the EU. ADVERTISEMENTBritain’s departure from the European Union has cost its economy some £140 billion (€162.87 billion) so far, with an economic output of 6% less than if the UK had remained in the EU, according to a report by Cambridge Econometrics.The report was commissioned for City Hall by London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, a member of the opposition Labour Party which voted against Brexit in 2016.In a keynote address to London’s political…

The first hearing in a landmark lawsuit against Israel enters its second day on Friday at the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ). ADVERTISEMENTThe case, filed to the top UN court by South Africa last month, claims Israel’s siege of Gaza amounts to genocide and breaches the post-Holocaust 1948 Genocide Convention.The Convention gives party countries, which include both Israel and South Africa, the collective right to prevent and stop crimes of genocide. Such crimes are defined as acts “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”The high-stakes legal battle marks the…

The Greek government has announced fresh measures to keep prices in check as it accuses businesses of taking advantage of high inflation. ADVERTISEMENTGreece’s centre-right government has announced new measures to tackle the high prices of food, household and baby products, accusing multinational companies of imposing unjustifiably high prices on the country’s consumers.Some of the measures include price cuts on basic items such as fruit and vegetables, toothpaste, shampoo and home cleaning products.One of the government’s initiatives will be to impose a cap on the gross profit margin of companies producing baby milk powder.The 7% profit cap on baby formula will…

Brussels wants to launch a bespoke EU mission to protect commercial vessels in the Red Sea from attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. ADVERTISEMENTIn a document dated January 10 and seen by Euronews, the EU’s diplomatic service proposes sending “at least three” warships with “multi mission capabilities” to the region as early as next month.The document recommends the “fast-tracking implementation” of an operation mandated to act “from the Red Sea to the Gulf,” in order to protect maritime security in a region plagued by instability in recent weeks.Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, a raft of drone and rocket attacks in the…

Trade in the Red Sea has significantly reduced ever since the start of the Houthi conflict and could still be several months away from returning to normal levels. ADVERTISEMENTGlobal maritime trade has been facing a major setback from the increasing attacks on the Red Sea, halving the number of containers shipped in the area in December and leaving a serious impact on global trade in recent months. The Red Sea conflict, mainly driven by the Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi rebels protesting at Israel’s actions in Gaza, is continuing to heat up, with several more attacks on commercial ships from various countries.A number…

A cross-party coalition of 120 Members of the European Parliament demand Hungary be stripped of its voting rights over the country’s democratic backsliding and Viktor Orbán’s “unacceptable” use of veto power. ADVERTISEMENT”We believe that this action is necessary to protect the values of the European Union,” the lawmakers say in a letter sent on Friday to the Parliament’s president, Roberta Metsola.The text cites two main reasons to defend the unprecedented step: Hungary’s continued democratic backsliding, a recurring cause of concern in Brussels, and Orbán’s controversial role in the EU summit of December.The Hungarian premier infuriated his fellow leaders when he made…

European markets were brighter on Friday following fairly optimistic comments from ECB President Christine Lagarde on Thursday about potential interest rate cuts. ADVERTISEMENTEuropean shares ended the week on a lively note on Friday morning, following investors banking on renewed hopes that the European Central Bank (ECB) may cut interest rates sooner than anticipated.This came after comments made on Thursday to France 2 TV, in which Christine Lagarde said: “I think that rates, barring any further shocks or unexpected data, will not continue to go up. And if we win our fight against inflation, and if we are certain that inflation…

This week, EU Council President Charles Michel announced that he would resign to run for a seat in the European Parliament. ADVERTISEMENTWhen Ukrainians listen to European leaders talk about their support for the war effort, they have all the reason to be irritated by the lack of action – if “irritated” is the right word when you’re in a bloody war of attrition with Russia.A €50 billion EU aid package to help Ukraine pay its bills over the next few years is being held up by Hungary while a goal to provide the country with one million ammunition rounds by…

The UK household appliances maker has been in a decade-long fight with Brussels over what it describes as unfair energy label testing. ADVERTISEMENTDyson has lost its battle to win £151.5 million (€176 million) in compensation from the European Commission for damages it claimed it faced due to energy label testing which it claimed was unfair to its bagless vacuum cleaners.The British household appliances maker opposed the rules set by the EU in 2014, claiming the labels on vacuum cleaners were unsuitable for its technology. According to Dyson, these labels misled customers about the efficiency of certain vacuum cleaners and gave an…