… Airports lobby group, ACI Europe, have written to EC president Ursula Von Der Leyen, claiming wait times at border control had now reached up to five hours in peak traffic periods, and things could worsen as the busiest time of the year approached. …
… European Union European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the priority now was the “swift and full implementation by all parties” of the deal and that “freedom of navigation must be restored toll-free”. …
… The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had stayed out of the campaign, but welcomed the result once the votes were counted, saying: “The Swiss people have spoken. …
… GLOBAL EFFORTS In a letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, seen by Reuters, airline bosses from Air France-KLM, British Airways owner IAG, Lufthansa, and Ryanair opposed expanding the scheme. …
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has told Hungary’s new prime minister that billions of euros in EU funding are to be unlocked subject to his government pushing through a raft of “long-overdue reforms”. …
… European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this week that the EU executive was targeting addictive and harmful design practices by social media firms in its upcoming Digital Fairness Act. …
… European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen promised after meeting interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus in January that Europe would “do everything it can” to support Syria’s recovery. …
… After a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump said he agreed to give her until “our Country’s 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels”. …
Ryanair and Berlin Airport's leadership have warned of severe travel disruption this summer due to the EU's new Entry-Exit System (EES), which requires non-EU travellers to register biometric information at entry. Non-EU nationals are facing queue waits of up to two hours at some terminals, and Ryanair has urged governments to postpone the system until after the summer holiday period.
Ryanair and Berlin Airport's leadership have warned of severe travel disruption this summer due to the EU's new Entry-Exit System (EES), which requires non-EU travellers to register biometric information at entry. Non-EU nationals are facing queue waits of up to two hours at some terminals, and Ryanair has urged governments to postpone the system until after the summer holiday period.
US President Donald Trump announced that Iran and the United States have reached a tentative deal to end the US-Israel war on Iran, including Israeli attacks on Lebanon. World leaders including Qatar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait have welcomed the agreement, though Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich condemned it as "bad for Israel and for the entire free world."
Swiss voters rejected a proposal by the right-wing Swiss People's Party to limit the country's population to 10 million, with nearly 55% voting against the measure. The government, Swiss businesses, and all major parties opposed the initiative, which risked jeopardizing Switzerland's free movement agreement with the European Union.
The Trump administration has urged European nations to impose travel restrictions on people who have recently been in Central African countries affected by the Ebola outbreak, citing concerns about virus spread during the World Cup. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already barred noncitizens who have been in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the previous 21 days from entering the U.S.
Europe's largest airlines have warned the European Commission against extending its Emissions Trading System to cover international flights, saying the expansion would raise ticket prices. The system currently covers only flights within Europe, and the Commission is considering including emissions from flights departing the EU as part of a review due next month.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has told Hungary's new Prime Minister Péter Magyar that the EU will unlock €16.4 billion in funding subject to his government pushing through democratic and anti-corruption reforms. The funding had been frozen under former PM Viktor Orbán's administration, and Magyar campaigned on unlocking it as a key platform for his Tisza party in last month's elections.
A Russian drone struck a residential building in Galați, Romania on Friday, causing a fire and injuring two people — the first time Romanian citizens have been hurt in such an incident. Nato and EU allies condemned the attack; Romania scrambled fighter jets but had only four minutes from detection to impact.
An Italian parents' movement and families sued Meta and TikTok in Milan's business court, seeking to require stronger age-verification systems for users under 14, remove manipulative algorithms, and provide transparent information on harms of overuse. MOIGE says about 3.5 million Italian children aged 7 to 14 are illegally active on these platforms.
The European Council has terminated the partial suspension of a cooperation agreement with Syria, restoring fuller trade ties after nearly 14 years of war. The move follows al-Assad's removal in December 2024 and signals the EU's commitment to re-engage with Syria and support its economic recovery.
President Trump threatened "much higher" tariffs on the European Union by July 4 if the bloc does not reduce its levies on the US to zero, following a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Von der Leyen said the EU was making "good progress towards tariff reduction," and a previously struck trade deal faces implementation hurdles after Wednesday talks between EU lawmakers and governments ended without agreement.