Latest European Union News

Tens of thousands of Spaniards protest housing crunch and high rents in Barcelona

Nov. 23, 2024 16:13 PM EST

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Tens of thousands of Spaniards marched in downtown Barcelona on Saturday to protest the skyrocketing cost of renting an apartment in the popular tourist destination. Protesters cut off traffic on main avenues in the city center, holding up homemade signs in...

Belarus grants asylum to fugitive Polish judge wanted on spying allegations

Nov. 23, 2024 11:51 AM EST

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus has granted asylum to a former Polish judge who faced espionage charges at home following his defection in May to the Kremlin-allied country. A decree published Friday by Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus’ autocratic president, described Tomasz Szmydt...

Bulgaria and Romania 'one step closer' to full membership in Schengen zone, Hungary says

Nov. 22, 2024 08:17 AM EST

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Bulgaria and Romania could become full members of Europe's Schengen travel zone starting at the beginning of 2025, Hungarian officials said on Friday. The two Balkan countries joined the European Union in 2007 but were not integrated into the borderless...

The biggest remaining unsanctioned Russian bank hit with U.S. sanctions, nearly three years into war

Nov. 21, 2024 11:03 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia's third largest bank, Gazprombank and its six foreign subsidiaries were hit with U.S. sanctions on Thursday — in a move intended to curtail Russia's ability to evade the thousands of sanctions imposed on the nation since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in...

US ahead in AI innovation, easily surpassing China in Stanford's new ranking

Nov. 21, 2024 11:00 AM EST

The U.S. leads the world in developing artificial intelligence technology, surpassing China in research and other important measures of AI innovation, according to a newly released Stanford University index. There's no surefire way to rank global AI leadership but Stanford...

Trump's against climate action. But some right-wing governments are all for it

Nov. 21, 2024 07:56 AM EST

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — They’re political soulmates except when it comes to climate. President-Elect Donald Trump praised Hungary’s right-wing populist leader Viktor Orbán as respected, smart and a “strong man” in his winning 2024 campaign. During Hungary’s rotation at...

Ford, facing economic headwinds and weak EV sales, to cut 4,000 jobs in Europe

Nov. 20, 2024 20:18 PM EST

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Ford Motor Co. says it will reduce its workforce by 4,000 in Europe and the U.K. by the end of 2027, citing headwinds from the economy and pressure from increased competition and weaker than expected sales of electric cars. Ford said Wednesday most of the...

US gathers allies to talk AI safety as Trump's vow to undo Biden's AI policy overshadows their work

Nov. 20, 2024 19:39 PM EST

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to repeal President Joe Biden's signature artificial intelligence policy when he returns to the White House for a second term. What that actually means for the future of AI technology remains to be seen. Among those who...

EU lawmakers seal a deal to rubber-stamp one of the bloc's most right-leaning executives

Nov. 20, 2024 19:04 PM EST

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union lawmakers on Wednesday ended a week of bickering to rubber-stamp a new team of policy commissioners that will head one of the most rightward-leaning executive branches ever chosen in the bloc for the next five years. The main centrist pro-European...

Police in Georgia break up protesters' camp in Tbilisi but they quickly return

Nov. 19, 2024 20:01 PM EST

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Police and demonstrators scuffled again Tuesday in Georgia's capital as officers moved before dawn to break up a camp protesting the results of last month’s parliamentary election and demanding a new vote. Thousands of people later returned and set up camp again. ...