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European Union

European Union
European Union
The latest breaking news and stories on the European Union (EU), an economic and political union of 27 member states mainly located in Europe, which accounts for around a sixth of global economic output. Also covering the EU’s relationship with the UK (post Brexit), China and the US, plus commentary and updates on EU legislation, the euro and trade.
Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said European companies have suffered “significant operational and financial damage” while trying to navigate Beijing’s export controls on rare earths. Photo: EPA-EFE
China-EU relations

Brussels must resist ‘passive’ role in US-China trade war, EU chamber urges

European companies keep becoming ‘collateral damage’ in others’ disputes, laments president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China.

Spain

Wife of Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez charged with corruption

China-EU relations

EU launches operations of critical minerals procurement platform

China trade

Hungary’s PM-elect Magyar sends warm overture to China, vows fair play for firms

Peter Magyar pledges reforms to restore transparency and fiscal stability as Hungary shifts from Viktor Orban’s investment model.

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Peter Magyar speaks to the media in Budapest on Monday. Photo: AP
France

France open to engaging on slavery reparations, says Ghana

The African nation says discussions with President Macron last week included economic inequities, structural racism and looted artefacts.

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China’s C919 passenger plane

Exclusive | China’s C919 faces ‘final exam’ as EU pilots stay in Shanghai ‘permanently’: sources

Flight tests a ‘final exam’ to be followed by analysis, paperwork and technical verification, but ‘political considerations’ also in play.

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Electric & new energy vehicles

Chinese cars squeeze out Asian rivals in Europe as exports top 1 million

Surging EV shipments boost China’s market share at the expense of Japan and South Korea, while EU exports to China slump.

People view a BYD car during the Brussels Motor Show in Brussels, Belgium, on January 10, 2026. Photo: Xinhua
Hungary

Viktor Orban concedes defeat as Hungarian voters end his 16-year rule

Record turnout hands opposition Tisza Party a decisive victory in Hungary.

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Ireland

Ireland police remove farmers, blockades protesting against fuel price rises

The protests have led to blockades at Ireland’s only oil refinery and prevented tanker trucks from delivering fuel to petrol stations.

Israel-Gaza war

Sumud aid flotilla departs Spain for Gaza to break Israeli blockade

The Israeli military halted 40 boats assembled by the same organisation in October last year, arresting more than 450 activists including Greta Thunberg.

Global Sumud Flotilla Steering Committee members attend a press conference as the humanitarian flotilla prepares to depart for Gaza, from Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday. Photo: Reuters
Africa

Benin election favours continuity amid al-Qaeda attacks, poverty

Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni has overseen a decade of growth in the West African nation despite jihadist attacks and extreme poverty.

Romuald Wadagni, Benin’s finance minister and the ruling party candidate for the presidential election, waves to supporters during a campaign rally ahead of the presidential election, in Cotonou, Benin, on April Friday. Photo: Reuters
War and conflict

Israeli spy firm Black Cube involved in Cyprus corruption probe

Black Cube came to prominence in 2017 for its operations aimed at discrediting women who accused Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault.

Donald Trump

Trump’s tariff threat on European cars escalates global trade tensions

The US president said he will impose a 20 per cent tariff on all EU car imports, which could broaden a trade war already sparked with China.

China-EU relations

China sidelined: EU shelves rare debate as Middle East crisis takes priority

Delay risks entrenching a policy vacuum as member states diverge and Brussels struggles to evolve its approach.

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The meeting led by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen would have been the first dedicated China debate held under the EU’s new “security college” format. Photo: Reuters
Hungary

Vance visits Hungary to boost Orban re-election bid

Orban, a Eurosceptic nationalist in power since 2010, is facing the toughest re-election bid of his career, with polls indicating his party will lose.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (right) welcomes US Vice-President J.D. Vance in front of his office in Budapest, Hungary on Tuesday. Photo: EPA
Nato

Opinion | In denying Trump airspace, Europe has drawn a line for Nato

Growing European defiance to US demands raises a critical question: is Nato a club of equals or a mechanism for enforcing one nation’s agenda?

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Hungary

Orban appears to blame Ukraine after explosives found on gas pipeline to Hungary

Discovery on Serbian border comes as the Hungarian leader faces a tight election and ‘false flag’ accusations from opposition.

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China-Africa relations

Opinion | China’s growing North Africa presence a structural challenge for Europe

Cooperate or hedge? Growing Chinese energy, infrastructure and industrial investments require a sustained, coordinated European response.

Engineers walk next to solar panels at the Benban Solar Park, one of the world’s largest solar power plant in the world, in Aswan, Egypt, on October 19, 2022. Photo: AP
US, Israel war on Iran

‘Ease the burden’: 5 EU nations urge tax on energy firms’ profits

As fuel prices spike, finance ministers from Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Austria ‘stand united’ and call for action.

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Asean

Cultural capitals: Southeast Asia seeks soft power to outlast the buzz

The region’s creators are going global, but the structures to sustain them are still catching up.

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US, Israel war on Iran

As I see it | The twilight of US hegemony and Israeli expansionism

The war in Iran is speeding the world towards a multipolar system.

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Protesters gather in Washington on March 28 to join a massive “No Kings” demonstration against Donald Trump amid opposition to the US president’s decision to go to war against Iran. Photo: Reuters
China-EU relations

China, Europe and why Beijing took a swing at Iran over the Strait of Hormuz

Beijing takes a stand at the United Nations at the closure of shipping lanes.

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About a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies usually pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Photo: Getty Images/TNS
Emmanuel Macron

Video | Macron and Takaichi do the ‘Kamehameha’

The two leaders struck a ‘Kamehameha’ pose from the popular Dragon Ball anime series.

Taiwan

Opinion | What the Iran war reveals about Nato’s appetite for conflict over Taiwan

Resistance to a war started without European consent makes clear the alliance’s limits. The US can’t count on Nato support for a war in Asia.

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Pakistan

What Pakistan gains by playing peacemaker in Iran war

If Islamabad can successfully carry off the talks, it stands a chance of bringing in much-needed investments and weapon sales, analysts say.

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Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (left) and Army Chief Asim Munir (right) meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on September 26, 2025. Photo: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Office/AFP
China-EU relations

Europe urged to ‘learn to fight for itself’ in case US-China truce collapses

European Council on Foreign Relations calls for Brussels to be prepared and ‘not wait until the next crisis hits’.

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With a trade truce in place between China and the United States, Beijing has hit pause on more rare earth restrictions. Photo: Chinatopix via AP
China-EU relations

Europe’s crisis tourism: how the Iran war swallowed the EU’s geopolitical agenda

From trade with China to the Middle East conflict and resulting energy shock, Brussels’ agenda has been repeatedly knocked off course.

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Crime

France convicts Chinese captain of oil tanker linked to Russian shadow fleet

Chen Zhangjie, who is currently at sea, was jailed for a year in absentia. The Borocay was thought to be transporting Russian oil to India.

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