Category: Europe

The defence aid package provided to Ukraine by Helsinki is worth 188 million euros Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Finnish counterpart, Alexander Stubb have signed a 10-year security agreement in Kyiv. In a statement on X, Zelensky called it a “robust document that proves Finland’s readiness to continue supporting Ukraine in the fight against […]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed into law a bill lowering the military mobilisation age by two years from 27 to 25. Kyiv and Moscow have both faced heavy losses on the battlefield after two years of war, but Russia has benefited from a sizeable advantage in manpower. The move will allow Ukraine to call […]

Russia’s attack on Ukraine has given northern European countries an impetus to beef up their militaries. Norway is to increase the number of conscripted soldiers from 9,000 to 13,500, the Norwegian government announced on Tuesday. “We must have enough people with the right skills at the right time,” Defence Minister Bjørn Arild Gram said. “We […]

France’s top diplomat said Monday that Paris expects China to send “clear messages” to its close partner Russia over its war in Ukraine, after meetings with his counterpart in Beijing. “We expect China to send very clear messages to Russia,” Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne told a press conference in Beijing alongside his local counterpart Wang […]

The Greek government is currently struggling with a housing shortage in the country. Stricter rules for the so-called Golden Visa programme are now intended to provide a solution. The programme allows non-EU citizens to obtain a residence permit for at least five years for investment. The amount of money that must be invested has now […]

Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure have killed two people, one in the country’s western Lviv region, the other in an attack in the northeast, officials said. The attack in Lviv destroyed a building and sparked a fire, Governor Maksym Kozytskyi wrote on Telegram on Sunday, adding that rescue operations were under way. In the […]

Turkey’s main opposition party is closing in on victory in the main cities of Istanbul and Ankara, in high-stakes local elections. Istanbul’s opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who won the city in 2019, said that he was “very happy” so far. A year after Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured a third term as president, he had made […]

Over 300 lawyers on Sunday urged the Supreme Court (SC) to take notice of allegations of interference in the judiciary by the intelligence apparatus under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, adding that any government-led commission “would be bereft of necessary independence and powers” to probe the claims. Article 184(3) of the Constitution sets out the […]

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has warned of the “real” threat of conflict in Europe, saying that for the first time since the end of World War II the continent has entered a “pre-war era”. “War is no longer a concept from the past. It is real, and it started over two years ago. The […]

BUCHAREST: After 13 years of waiting, Bulgaria and Romania are to partially join the Europe’s vast Schengen area of free movement today (Sunday), opening up travel by air and sea without border checks. But land border controls will remain in place due to Austria’s opposition to the eastern European countries becoming full members of the […]