Category: Europe
Coverage of geopolitics, international relations, and current affairs from across Europe, including EU policies, NATO strategies, elections, and Europe’s influence on global politics.
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The UN Security Council held its 10,087th meeting on 12 January 2026, during which Russia, Ukraine and their partners exchanged sharply opposing accounts of the war and its implications for European and global security. Russia’s representative accused some Council members of acting as “mouthpieces for the party of war” and ignoring the causes of the…
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A major power outage in southwest Berlin is being investigated as a deliberate act of sabotage, raising concerns about the security of Germany’s critical infrastructure. Around 100,000 people in roughly 45,000 households lost electricity and heating during freezing January temperatures. Hospitals switched to emergency generators and public transport was disrupted. Authorities later confirmed the blackout…
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Thousands of Irish farmers have staged protests against the European Union’s trade agreement with the South American bloc Mercosur, a day after EU member states approved the deal despite opposition from Ireland and France. Tractors gathered in Athlone, central Ireland, with demonstrators displaying banners reading “Stop EU-Mercosur” and accusing the EU of betraying rural communities.…
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The UK has allocated £200 million ($270 million) from its defence budget to prepare for the possible deployment of British troops to Ukraine as part of a future multinational stabilisation force. The funding follows a declaration agreed this week by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at…
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France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot warned that Europe’s political order is “in danger”, citing pressure from both external rivals and internal democratic fatigue. Speaking at his annual address to French ambassadors, Barrot criticised claims in a recent US National Security Strategy that Europe faces “civilizational erasure”, calling such language unfounded and destabilising. He said Europe…
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EU member states have provisionally endorsed the EU–Mercosur trade agreement, the bloc’s largest-ever trade deal, despite sustained opposition from farmers and several governments. The agreement — 25 years in negotiation — would remove most tariffs across a market of around 700 million people, covering Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Key developments: • France, Poland, Hungary,…
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Russia says it has fired its Oreshnik hypersonic missile at targets in western Ukraine, in what Russia’s Defence Ministry described as retaliation for an alleged Ukrainian drone attempt against one of President Vladimir Putin’s residences — a claim Ukraine denies. Ukraine’s air force confirmed the launch originated from Russia’s Kapustin Yar test range, while Lviv…
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Russia has warned that any Western troops deployed to Ukraine would be treated as “legitimate combat targets”, following announcements by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron on plans for a post-ceasefire multinational force. Russia “warns that the deployment of Western military units, military facilities, depots and other infrastructure on Ukrainian territory…
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch presses Starmer over troop plans and rising international tensions
At the first Prime Minister’s Questions of 2026, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced sustained pressure from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch over the government’s handling of fast-moving international events. Badenoch criticised the absence of an immediate parliamentary statement following political agreements linked to possible UK troop involvement in Ukraine, alongside US military action in Venezuela…
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UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a declaration of intent in Paris setting out plans for a possible post-ceasefire security presence in Ukraine. The framework would allow British, French and partner forces to operate on Ukrainian territory following a peace deal, focused on securing Ukraine’s airspace…
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