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EU proposes end to ‘five tabs, three apps and a prayer’ for cross-border train bookings

New rules would enable single-ticket bookings across multiple rail operators throughout Europe

Cross-border train journeys through several European countries are the stuff of many a holidaymaker’s dreams.

But the reality of trying to buy the tickets, navigating multiple websites without knowing who can help if a connection is missed, can prove less than relaxing. As one MEP puts it, it can often require “five tabs, three apps and a prayer”.

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© Photograph: volkerpreusser/Alamy

© Photograph: volkerpreusser/Alamy

© Photograph: volkerpreusser/Alamy

Teen bedroom art installation shines spotlight on Ukraine’s stolen children

Since the start of the current conflict, more than 20,500 Ukrainian children have been taken by Russia

It looks like a typical teenager’s bedroom: football shirts on the wall, crumpled clothes on the floor, exercise books open on the desk. But it is a work of political art, intended to evoke the empty rooms of more than 20,500 Ukrainian children unlawfully taken to Russia.

The work was on display on Monday at the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels, as delegates from 63 countries and international organisations gathered to discuss how to bring Ukraine’s children home. “It’s essentially a way for someone to step into Ukraine without having to actually travel there,” Isaac Yeung, a co-creator of the installation, said.

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© Photograph: Jennifer Rankin/The Guardian

© Photograph: Jennifer Rankin/The Guardian

© Photograph: Jennifer Rankin/The Guardian

  • ✇The Guardian World news
  • Future of UK lies in the EU after Brexit ‘failure’, say European Greens Jennifer Rankin in Brussels
    Exclusive: Co-chair Vula Tsetsi says it is time to trigger debate, as statement is agreed at annual leadership meeting in BrusselsThe European Green party has urged the UK to consider rejoining the EU and draw a line under the “political and economic failure” of Brexit.A text declaring that “the United Kingdom’s future lies in the European Union” was adopted by a large majority of European green parties at the movement’s annual leadership meeting on Friday, the day before Europe Day. Continue re
     

Future of UK lies in the EU after Brexit ‘failure’, say European Greens

Exclusive: Co-chair Vula Tsetsi says it is time to trigger debate, as statement is agreed at annual leadership meeting in Brussels

The European Green party has urged the UK to consider rejoining the EU and draw a line under the “political and economic failure” of Brexit.

A text declaring that “the United Kingdom’s future lies in the European Union” was adopted by a large majority of European green parties at the movement’s annual leadership meeting on Friday, the day before Europe Day.

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© Photograph: Ricardo Rocha/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy Live News.

© Photograph: Ricardo Rocha/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy Live News.

© Photograph: Ricardo Rocha/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy Live News.

EU forging closer ties with Armenia as it sends experts to help counter Russian interference

Bloc’s leaders to hold first summit with Armenia on Tuesday at it ramps up efforts to combat Kremlin’s influence

The EU is sending a team of experts specialised in combating Russian propaganda and interference to Armenia, as it increases its support to the former Soviet republic in a tense political period.

In a highly symbolic sequence of events, EU leaders will hold their first summit with Armenia on Tuesday, after a pan-European gathering of about 45 leaders at the European Political Community summit in Yerevan.

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© Photograph: Suzanne Plunkett/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Suzanne Plunkett/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Suzanne Plunkett/AFP/Getty Images

Meta found in breach of EU law for failing to keep children off platforms

Commission says tech company does not have effective measures to keep under-13s off Facebook and Instagram

The tech company Meta has been found to be in breach of EU law for failing to prevent children under 13 from using its Facebook and Instagram platforms.

Issuing the preliminary findings of a nearly two-year investigation, the European Commission said on Wednesday that Meta did not have effective measures in place to stop under-13s accessing its services.

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© Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters

© Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters

© Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters

EU leaders look to little-known mutual assistance pact amid Trump Nato jibes

Members to plan how to assist each other in event of attack as transatlantic alliance faces worst crisis in its history

Brussels officials will draw up a plan on how to use the EU’s little-known mutual assistance pact in the event of a foreign attack, as Donald Trump’s criticism of Nato intensifies.

EU leaders have agreed that the European Commission “will prepare a blueprint” on how the bloc will respond if the mutual assistance clause is triggered, according to Nikos Christodoulides, the president of Cyprus, who is hosting the talks.

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© Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP

© Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP

© Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP

EU formally approves €90bn Ukraine loan and 20th sanctions package against Russia

Ursula von der Leyen hails ‘good news’ after Hungary’s lifting of vetoes allows leaders to sign off on agreements

EU leaders have welcomed the end of diplomatic deadlock over a long-awaited €90bn (£78bn) loan for Ukraine, after the bloc completed the agreement along with a 20th sanctions package against Russia.

After weeks of delay, the EU signed off on the loan on Thursday, in time for a summit in Cyprus that began in the evening and will include talks over a dinner with the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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© Photograph: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters

© Photograph: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters

© Photograph: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters

Israel’s death penalty law could spell suspension from rights body role, says chief

Not using capital punishment ‘really a requirement’ for Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly, says president

Israel’s observer status at the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly could be suspended over the country’s new law mandating the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of some offences, the president of the body has said.

Petra Bayr, an Austrian Social Democrat and president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Pace), said not using the death penalty was “really a requirement” of having observer status at the pan-European human rights body, which has no connection to the EU.

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© Photograph: Ronald Wittek/EPA

© Photograph: Ronald Wittek/EPA

© Photograph: Ronald Wittek/EPA

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