European Union | DD News

December 7, 2025 3:49 PM

US sets 2027 deadline for Europe-led NATO defense, officials say

The United States wants Europe to take over the majority of NATO's conventional defense capabilities, from intelligence to missiles, by 2027, Pentagon officials told diplomats in Washington this week, a tight deadline that struck some European officials as unrealistic. The message, recounted by five sources familiar with the discussion, including a U.S. official, was conveyed at a meeting in Washington this week of Pentagon staff overseeing NATO policy and several European delegations. The shi...

November 26, 2025 10:18 AM

India, EU hold key meetings in Brussels to review strategic partnership and foreign policy cooperation

India and the European Union held the 11th India-EU Foreign Policy and Security Consultations and the 6th Strategic Partnership Review Meeting in Brussels on November 18 and 19. The two sides reviewed the full range of their bilateral engagement and assessed progress under the “India–EU Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2025,” which concludes this year. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) noted strong momentum in the relationship, highlighted by the visit of the College of Commission...

November 21, 2025 9:20 AM

Zelenskiy ready for ‘honest’ work on US-backed plan as Europeans push back

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said after talks with a top U.S. Army official on Thursday he was ready for "honest" work with Washington on a plan to end the war in Ukraine, while European allies pushed back against punishing concessions to Russia. According to the U.S.-backed plan, seen by Reuters, Kyiv would be required to give up the entire Donbas region and significantly downsize its military, conditions long seen by Ukraine's allies as tantamount to capitulation. The plan says Ukraine woul...

November 5, 2025 4:00 PM

EU agrees weakened climate target in final-hour deal for COP30

EU climate ministers agreed a 2040 climate change target in the early hours of Wednesday after watering down the goal in last-minute negotiations, as they raced to clinch the deal before the U.N. COP30 summit in Brazil. After negotiating late into Tuesday night, climate ministers from European Union countries approved in a public vote a compromise to cut emissions 90% by 2040, from 1990 levels, but with flexibilities to weaken this aim. The weakened target would let countries buy foreign carbo...

October 16, 2025 5:36 PM

Myanmar elections unlikely to see credible outcome, EU human rights rep says

The European Union's Special Representative for Human Rights Kajsa Ollongren said on Thursday that the grouping had no plans to send observers to an election in military-ruled Myanmar, as it was unlikely to result in a credible outcome. Critics - including many Western nations - have described the election due to start in late December as a sham exercise aimed at legitimising the Myanmar junta's rule after it overthrew a civilian democratic government in 2021. Ollongren said the necessary cond...

October 8, 2025 7:56 PM

EU’s plan to phase out Russian energy clears first political hurdle

European Union countries' ambassadors on Wednesday agreed to move ahead with the bloc's plan to end Russian oil and gas imports by 2028, EU diplomats said, clearing the law's first political hurdle before governments vote on it later this month. The EU is negotiating legal proposals to phase out Russian oil and gas by January 2028, attempting to deprive the Kremlin of revenues to fund its war in Ukraine. In a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, EU ambassadors agreed to forward the proposed law t...

October 5, 2025 5:04 PM

Georgian PM says protesters aimed to topple the government, accuses EU of meddling

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on Sunday that protesters who sought to force entry to the presidential palace had been trying to topple the government and accused the European Union of meddling in Georgian politics. Georgian riot police used pepper spray and water cannons to drive demonstrators away from the presidential palace and detained five activists on Saturday, as the opposition staged a large demonstration on a day of local elections. Kobakhidze said that up to 7,000 pe...

October 3, 2025 10:21 PM

EU’s Von der Leyen urges European push on AI-driven cars

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Friday for a continent-wide push to develop self-driving cars, saying artificial intelligence could help revive the region's struggling automotive sector and improve road safety. Speaking at the Italian Tech Week in Turin, Italy's automotive hub, von der Leyen urged the European Union to adopt an "AI first" strategy across strategic industries, with a focus on mobility. "Self-driving cars are already a reality in the United States an...

September 29, 2025 2:45 PM

EU confirms it has reinstated sanctions against Iran

The European Union confirmed on Monday that it had reinstated sanctions against Iran, following a similar move against Iran by the United Nations. "Today, the EU reinstated sanctions against Iran in response to its continued non-compliance with the nuclear agreement. The door for diplomatic negotiations remains open," said the EU presidency in a statement. The EU said the sanctions included freezing the assets of the Iranian Central Bank and other Iranian banks, as well as travel bans on certa...

September 24, 2025 2:47 PM

Europe must step up after Trump’s shift on Ukraine, Berlin says

Europe must "grow up" and step up its support for Ukraine after comments by U.S. President Donald Trump backing Kyiv to take back all of its territory from Russia, Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Wednesday. Speaking to Germany's Deutschlandfunk radio, Wadephul said Trump had realised that his own efforts had failed to persuade Russia's Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. Trump's remarks on Truth Social marked an abrupt and major rhetorical shift for the U.S. leader who...