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Micheál Martin says UK asylum seekers fearful of being removed to Rwanda are seeking sanctuary in IrelandThe UK government’s Rwanda policy has been described as a “kneejerk reaction” to migration by Ireland’s deputy prime minister, who said an influx of asylum seekers could arrive in Ireland as a result.Micheál Martin, Ireland’s Tánaiste, reportedly said asylum seekers fearful of being removed from the UK to...

Open letter calls for green policies that empower farmers, after months of protests jeopardise future of flagship biodiversity dealThe EU’s nature restoration law will only work if it is enacted in partnership with farmers, a group of leading scientists has said, after months of protests have pushed the proposals to the brink of collapse.In an open letter, leading biodiversity researchers from across the world...

European parliament term ends with warnings about dangers of disinformation and authoritarian forcesThe starting gun has been fired on the next European parliamentary elections with more than 600 MEPs departing Strasbourg urged to use their “strength and patience” to fight the far right and disinformation and return a vote across the bloc for democracy.There were flowers, tears and cheers on Thursday as Roberta Metsola,...

App feature could be suspended unless child safety concerns addressed, in first use of sweeping new digital powersThe EU has said it will ban a new service launched by TikTok in Europe that it believes could be “as addictive as cigarettes” unless the company offers “compelling” fresh evidence that children are safeguarded.If the ban goes ahead, it would be the first time the EU...

Labour also turns down European Commission’s proposal, which would have allowed young Britons to live, study and work in EURishi Sunak has rejected an EU offer to strike a post-Brexit deal to allow young Britons to live, study or work in the bloc for up to four years.The prime minister declined the European Commission’s surprise proposal of a youth mobility scheme for people aged...

Prime minister Petteri Orpo says eastern Finland ‘suffering because of Russian behaviour’Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine’s president, visited the Donetsk region today.Two people have been detained in Poland on suspicion of attacking Leonid Volkov, an aide to the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda told reporters today, Reuters reported. Continue reading...

New post-Brexit border checks ‘set to zero’ to avoid what Defra calls risk of serious disruptionThe UK government has reportedly told port health authorities it will not “turn on” health and safety checks for EU imports as new post-Brexit border controls begin this month.A presentation prepared by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) highlighted the risk of “significant disruption” if the...

Commission to seek approval from leaders to start talks with UK on visa-free exchanges for 18- to 30-year-oldsThe European Commission has proposed opening negotiations with the UK to allow mobility enjoyed before Brexit to millions of 18- to 30-year-olds in a major concession.It said it would now seek approval from individual EU leaders to start the talks, which could partly eliminate one of the...

European leaders to focus on future of European economy as Donald Tusk says if words were bullets, Europe would have the world’s strongest powerCharles Michel, the European Council president, opened today’s session.He welcomed Enrico Letta, who prepared a report on the future of Europe’s single market for the leaders’ consideration. Continue reading...

Health, jobs, defence, security and climate crisis all seen as more important than immigration with June elections approachingIrregular migration is not the top priority for European voters despite the prominence of the issue in the media and political campaigning by rightwing parties over the last year, a new survey commissioned by the European parliament shows.The Eurobarometer poll which tracks public opinions every quarter puts...

Party hopes to attend meetings of EU foreign affairs council should it win UK electionDavid Lammy: Labour’s foreign policy will be realistic about us as a nation, not nostalgic about what we used to beLabour wants to draw closer to Europe on key foreign and security issues by frequently attending meetings of the monthly EU foreign affairs council.The move, which is likely to trigger...

Markus Pieper resigns from €17k-a-month role hours before he was due to start amid claims of favouritismEurope live – latest updatesA row threatening to overshadow Ursula von der Leyen’s campaign for a second term as European Commission president has ended after a German colleague in her Christian Democratic Union party quit his new role as her special envoy for small businesses.Markus Pieper resigned from...

Annalena Baerbock, the German foreign minister, says ‘every life counts equally, whether in Ukraine, in Gaza, or in Sudan’The UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, has warned of a further escalation in violence in Sudan.“The Sudanese people have been subjected to untold suffering during the conflict which has been marked by indiscriminate attacks in densely populated areas, ethnically-motivated attacks, and a high...

UK hospitality industry hit by crisis as thousands of young Italians are forced out by latest round of rules and cost-of-living crisisEmanuela Reccia has lived in London for almost a decade. She was a teenager when she left her home city of Naples to become a waitress in the UK, bringing her expertise and love of Italian cuisine to the capital.But the 27-year-old, like...

Rules due to come in this month will impose new handling fees – and experts say small suppliers are already being driven awayMinisters’ decision to impose Brexit import checks on 30 April will lead to shortages of some foods, flowers and herbs, industry leaders have warned.In the week after the government was accused of blindsiding the British food industry by giving 27 days’ notice...

Kyiv running short of missile defence systems while US military aid dries up Ukraine’s air defences are being overwhelmed by concentrated waves of Russian bombing aimed at its power stations, acknowledged a senior presidential adviser after the destruction of an entire plant on Thursday.Mykhailo Podolyak said Moscow was adopting new tactics of attacking power stations with up to “10 or 12 missiles at a...

Child safety group says Meta ‘putting profits before protecting children’, as messaging app lowers age limit from 16Campaigners have reacted with anger to the social media company Meta lowering age restrictions for WhatsApp users to 13 in the UK and EU.The change to the messaging app, which reduces the age limit from 16 to 13, was announced in February and came into force in...

Proponents of legislation for bloc say it will take away far-right arguments but critics claim the oppositeThe European parliament is to vote on Wednesday on sweeping new laws to overhaul its migration policy amid renewed criticism that it is feeding the agenda of the extreme right rather than protecting vulnerable people.Ylva Johansson, the home affairs commissioner who was the driving force behind the legislation,...

Péter Magyar building centrist movement that has visibly shaken ruling party he dramatically broke withA political newcomer who is causing headaches for Hungary’s government has said his experience as a regime insider can help him succeed where other opposition figures have failed, citing his “crazy” rise in the polls and “vision” as signs that change is possible.Fourteen years after the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor...

Fees of up to £145 on EU animal and plant products through Dover and Folkestone begin on 30 AprilBusiness live – latest updatesTrade groups have warned that consumers could see a rise in food prices after the UK government announced the introduction of post-Brexit charges on imports of EU food and plant products later this month.The government has published details of fees – known...

Sevington site was never designed to handle volume of imports envisaged by post-Brexit changes due in April, port’s health chief warnsAn inland facility set up to carry out checks on nearly all EU meat and dairy imports coming through Dover will be unable to cope when post-Brexit rules come in next month, the port’s health authority has warned.The Dover Port Health Authority (DPHA) said...

Parliamentary elections thought vulnerable to fake news will test social media firms and bloc’s new DSA lawsSocial media firms including TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram will be required to put an army of factcheckers and moderators in place with a collective knowledge of 24 EU languages amid fears that the European parliamentary elections will be a prime target for disinformation campaigns run by Russia...

Brussels vote cancelled after it became clear law would not pass final stage with majority voteThe EU’s nature restoration laws appear on the verge of collapse after eight member states, including Hungary and Italy, withdrew support for the legislation.The laws, which have been two years in the making and are designed to reverse decades of damage to wildlife on land and in waterways, were...

No risk of dam breach, Ukraine’s state hydropower company says, after Russian on dam in ZaporizhzhiaRussia regards itself to be in a state of war due to the West’s intervention on Ukraine’s side, the TASS news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying, Reuters reported.The EU is set to impose a tariff of up to 50% on Russia grain imports amid fears that...