The European Investment Bank is open to financing defence industries but is still reluctant to go beyond dual-use technology, a top EIB official told Euractiv, warning also that the idea of using eurobonds to finance military industry must be carefully weighed as they may not attract investors.

Ukraine expects to start construction work on four new nuclear power reactors this summer or autumn, Energy Minister German Galushchenko told Reuters on Thursday (25 January), as the country seeks to compensate for lost energy capacity due to the war with Russia.

As nationwide farmers' protests continue, the German government wants to have the market power of supermarkets and the food industry scrutinised, blaming their price-setting power for the poor economic situation of many farms.

Chinese officials have asked their Iranian counterparts to help rein in attacks on ships in the Red Sea by the Iran-backed Houthis, or risk harming business relations with Beijing, four Iranian sources and a diplomat familiar with the matter said.

Poland’s ruling parties have presented separate bills to liberalise the country’s abortion laws, proposing to make abortion legal up to the 12th week of pregnancy, but some MPs remain sceptical.

French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Sweden from 30 to 31 January at the invitation of Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf to discuss European defence issues, as Hungary remains reluctant to vote on Sweden’s NATO bid and EU states hold differing views on defence policy.

French farmers have called for the blockade of Paris on Friday afternoon, a week after they began protesting across the country, as new Prime Minister Gabriel Attal is due to announce concrete measures.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen questioned the collaboration with the German AfD over allegations that some members were involved in discussions about deporting German citizens with migration backgrounds, prompting her French competitor Eric Zemmour to rush to the German far-right’s defence. 

The European Space Agency gave the green light to two missions on Thursday (25 January), one to detect ripples in spacetime called gravitational waves and another to probe the secrets of Earth's closest neighbouring planet Venus.

Italian police said on Thursday (25 January) they had dismantled a tax fraud network worth €1.7 billion involving Italian and Chinese suspects using over 100 shell companies in the country's north.