Europe focus

Roundup

EUROPEAN UNION

Iran conflict will see influx of refugees

The European Union Agency for Asylum warned Tuesday that conflict in Iran could trigger a refugee influx of "unprecedented magnitude", overwhelming EU borders and asylum systems. In a report prepared before recent United States and Israeli strikes, it said displacement of just 10 percent of Iran's roughly 90 million people "would rival the largest refugee flows of recent decades". Since strikes began last Saturday, the crisis has intensified with further attacks on Tehran and Lebanon. Iranian displacement remains limited, but the agency warned continued fighting could lead to a "significant" escalation.

Funding offered for cross-border abortion

The European Union has said one of its social funds will be used to ensure all women in the bloc can access a safe and legal abortion. The announcement came after a group called My Voice, My Choice said some EU member nations make it very difficult for women to access abortions but that all women should have a right to such a service. The funding means women who live in member nations where abortion is unavailable will be able to get funding to seek one in another EU country.

FRANCE

'Forward deterrence' framework unveiled

France's President Emmanuel Macron on Monday unveiled a "forward deterrence" doctrine, pledging to expand France's nuclear arsenal and, for the first time, allow temporary basing of nuclear-capable Rafale jets on allied European soil. In a speech at the Ile Longue submarine base in northwestern France, he outlined a formal nuclear-security partnership with eight European allies, separate from but complementary to NATO. Planned before the recent escalation of conflict in the Middle East, the policy seeks to reassure Europe amid tensions with the US.

SPAIN

PM stands defiant to US trade threats

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has doubled down on his refusal to cooperate with the United States' attack on Iran, despite threats from the White House to cut off all trade. Sanchez called on the US, Israel, and Iran to hold back in the conflict, saying, "You can't respond to one illegality with another because that's how humanity's great disasters begin. Even the objectives of those who launched the first attack are unclear. But we must be prepared, as the proponents say, for the possibility that this will be a long war."

UNITED KINGDOM

Social media ban trial begins for under-16s

The UK government has launched a three-month consultation, enlisting hundreds of teenagers to trial overnight curfews and daily screen-time limits as it considers an under-16 social-media ban, plus curbs on gaming services and AI chatbots. The review will assess new child-protection powers beyond the two-and-a-half-year-old Online Safety Act, including setting a possible minimum age for social media use and banning addictive design features. A government statement said protections must go further and that responses to the consultation will shape decisions on how to safeguard children online.

GREECE

Protesters demand justice over tragedy

People took to the streets in Athens, Greece on Saturday to mark the third anniversary of the country's deadliest rail disaster. With chants and banners demanding justice for the 57 people who lost their lives, the protesters also brought train and ferry services to a standstill. Several people are facing charges in a criminal trial that is set to begin next month over the tragedy, in which a passenger train collided with a freight train in the town of Tempe in central Greece. Many Greeks see the disaster as a symptom of long-term underinvestment in national infrastructure.