Iran says it will not halt nuclear enrichment ahead of European talks
Iran is scheduled to meet Britain, France and Germany in Istanbul on Friday, July 25, to discuss its nuclear program, with Tehran accusing European powers of scuppering a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.
The meeting will be the first since Iran's 12-day war with Israel last month, during which the United States carried out strikes against Tehran's nuclear facilities.
For now, enrichment "is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier" on Monday, July 21. "But obviously we cannot give up enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists," he continued, calling it a source of "national pride".
US President Donald Trump responded to the comments on his platform Truth Social, saying Washington would carry out strikes again "if necessary".
The 2015 agreement, reached between Iran and UN Security Council permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany, imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
However, it unravelled in 2018 when the United States, during Trump's first term, unilaterally withdrew and reimposed sweeping sanctions.
'Iran holds the European parties responsible for negligence'
Though Europe pledged continued support, a mechanism intended to offset US sanctions never effectively materialized, forcing many Western firms to exit Iran and deepening its economic crisis.
"Iran holds the European parties responsible for negligence in implementing the agreement," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei ahead of Friday's talks in Istanbul on the deal's future.
Iran will also host a trilateral meeting Tuesday with Chinese and Russian representatives to discuss the nuclear issue and potential sanctions. The Chinese foreign ministry said Beijing would "continue to play a constructive role in pushing relevant sides to restart dialogue and negotiations, and reach a solution that takes in account the legitimate concerns of all parties".
In recent weeks, the three European powers have threatened to reimpose international sanctions on Tehran, accusing it of breaching its nuclear commitments.
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Euronews
a minute ago
- Euronews
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For the past three years, the European Union has invoked the mantra of "as long as it takes" to reaffirm, time and time again, its unyielding, all-encompassing support for Ukraine as it fights against Russia's brutal full-scale invasion. That pledge was not merely rhetorical. It translated into financial assistance, weapons and ammunition, energy security, roaming services, a free-trade deal and temporary protection for refugees. The bloc's proposed seven-year budget features a separate, tailor-made fund worth €100 billion to help the country's long-term reconstruction. But this week, that unbroken front cracked for the first time when the European Commission slammed, in no uncertain terms, a new law in Ukraine. 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"Seriously concerned over today's vote in the Rada. The dismantling of key safeguards protecting NABU's independence is a serious step back," Kos said on social media. The warning was stark, but futile. A few hours later, amid growing uproar from protesters across Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the bill into law. "The anti-corruption infrastructure will work, only without Russian influence – it needs to be cleared of that. And there should be more justice," Zelenskyy said in his evening address, referring to the recent raids into the NABU offices. "It is important that the Prosecutor General is determined to ensure that in Ukraine, the inevitability of punishment for those who go against the law is actually ensured. This is what Ukraine really needs." The following day, the extraordinary clash escalated when Ursula von der Leyen called Zelenskyy and demanded explanations about the contentious legislation. "President von der Leyen conveyed her strong concerns about the consequences of the amendments," a spokesperson said. "The respect for the rule of law and the fight against corruption are core elements of the European Union. As a candidate country, Ukraine is expected to uphold these standards fully. There cannot be a compromise." A few hours after the phone call, Zelenskyy promised to submit a new bill to "ensure the strength of the rule of law system", without giving further details. Separation of powers The hands-on interventions signal the high-risk gamble that Kyiv is taking. The fight against corruption has been central to Ukraine's ambition to join the bloc. It was among the first issues raised by reporters and analysts when Zelenskyy, in the first days of Russia's war, submitted the membership application and remained a prominent subject as the debate among capitals gained traction. Corruption has been a notoriously persistent problem in Ukraine since the collapse of the Soviet Union, when oligarchs and organised crime rushed to exploit the chaos of the political transition and pillaged the up-for-grabs sectors of the economy. Corruption has been detected in elections, the judiciary, the public administration, the education system and the business sector, creating an impression of widespread penetration. Transparency International has consistently ranked Ukraine among Europe's worst performers on corruption. Although the country's score has moderately grown over the last decade, it remains outside the top 100. Mindful of the formidable challenge, the Commission made strengthening the fight against corruption one of the seven prerequisites that Ukraine had to fulfil before formally starting accession negotiations. Leaders agreed to launch talks in December 2023, despite Kyiv having made only partial progress on anti-corruption, de-oligarchisation and the rights of minorities. Since then, Brussels has encouraged Ukraine to continue its efforts, which are essential to convince international donors and investors to bring capital into the nation. The latest edition of the enlargement report, released in October 2024, found that Ukraine had "further improved" the credibility of its anti-corruption framework and had "strengthened the independence and the institutional capacity" of NABU and SAPO, which were created in response to the 2014 revolution. NABU investigates top-level corruption, and its cases are overseen and prosecuted by SAPO. The cases are then tried by the High Anti-Corruption Court. "NABU and SAPO have maintained their operational effectiveness and remain important institutional pillars in the anti-corruption infrastructure," the Commission said. The report highlighted the fact that SAPO had become a "separate legal entity" from the prosecutor general's office and recommended that the head of SAPO be allowed to open investigations into members of the parliament "independently" from the prosecutor. These elements are rendered null by the new law, which places the prosecutor general at the top of both agencies as the ultimate arbiter. Conscious uncoupling? The apparent backsliding threatens to worsen the already precarious state of Ukraine's European integration. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has imposed an unassailable veto that prevents the country from opening the first cluster of accession negotiations, known as Fundamentals. That cluster also covers the fight against corruption. Orbán has focused his opposition on the fact that Ukraine is a country at war and, in his view, fails to respect the rights of its Hungarian minority. The prime minister has branded the results of a national consultation as a "strong mandate" to freeze the bid. In response to Orbán's actions, the Commission came forcefully to Kyiv's defence, arguing there were "no objective reasons" to block the first cluster. "Things are really clear: as we speak, Ukraine is delivering on reforms in the most difficult circumstances that one can imagine," a spokesperson said earlier this month. The row over the anti-corruption reform provides Orbán and other sceptics with a fresh argument to derail the accession process and, perhaps inevitably, fuels speculation about a potential decoupling of Ukraine's and Moldova's bids. The two Eastern countries applied for EU membership shortly after Russia launched the full-scale invasion and were declared candidates on the same day in June 2022. Since then, they have moved together as a "couple". 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Euronews
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Barroso: EU shouldn't be a ‘geopolitical teenager' faced with China
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Euronews
31 minutes ago
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Energy, water, and waste: How much do basic utilities cost in Europe?
How much do you pay for utility bills? Do you think it's more than in other European cities? According to Deutsche Bank's Mapping the World's Prices report, which covers 67 cities worldwide including 28 in Europe, basic utility costs in 2025 differ significantly across the continent. Monthly basic utilities include electricity, heating, cooling, water and garbage for an 85m2 apartment. Europe clearly dominates the global list, with almost all of the top 20 most expensive cities for basic utilities located in the continent. Only two non-European cities make the top 20. So, which cities have the highest and lowest bills? How does your city compare? And what about major cities outside Europe? Germany is the most expensive country Overall, monthly basic utility costs range from €24 in Cairo to €370 in Munich. In Europe, the cheapest city is Istanbul, where utilities cost just €68. Within the EU, Helsinki is the most affordable at €115. It's not just Munich at the top. Two other German cities also rank third and fourth. This makes Germany the most expensive country for basic utilities. On average, residents pay €339 in Frankfurt and €333 in Berlin. Edinburgh ranks second in basic utility costs Edinburgh ranks second among the most expensive European cities for utility bills. Residents pay €346 on average. Other UK cities are also costly. London ranks seventh and Birmingham eleventh overall. Basic utilities in London cost €295, and €270 in Birmingham. The top 10 most expensive cities also include €327 in Warsaw, €304 in Vienna, €286 in Prague, €275 in Amsterdam, and €271 in Oslo. Tel Aviv (12th, €245) and Hong Kong (19th, €211) are the only two non-European cities in the top 20. Where are the lowest utility bills? After Istanbul (€68) and Helsinki (€115), the lowest utility costs are found in Budapest and Lisbon (both €135), followed by Barcelona (€170) and Madrid (€180). Average basic utility bills are also under €200 in Athens (€197) and Copenhagen (€182). In Italy, utility costs are right around the €200 mark: €200 in Milan and €202 in Rome. In general, utility costs tend to be higher in Northern and Western Europe, while they are lower in Central, Eastern, and parts of Southern Europe. San Francisco is the most expensive US city on the list, with utility costs at €202. In New York, the average is €181, though several other cities fall in between. In Tokyo, utility costs average €151. In Toronto, they're €107, and in Beijing, just €52. How much have utility costs risen over the past five years? Over the past five years, from 2020 to 2025, monthly basic utility costs in euros have risen significantly in many European cities. Stockholm tops the list with a 176% increase, followed by another Nordic city, Oslo, at 133%. For cities where the currency is not the euro, looking at changes in national currencies may give a clearer picture, as part of the increase is due to exchange rate fluctuations. The increase also exceeds 90% in several cities: Warsaw (112%), Brussels (97%), Birmingham (96%), and Edinburgh (93%). Monthly basic utility costs have risen by around 50% in German cities, where residents already pay the highest bills in Europe. In Europe, Copenhagen (-7%) and Budapest (-6%) are the only two cities where utility costs declined during this period, in euro terms. Which cities spend the most on utilities as a share of salary? The portion of average net salaries spent on basic utilities varies widely across Europe. It ranges from just 3.2% in Geneva and 3.3% in Zurich to 18.8% in Athens, closely followed by Warsaw at 17.6%. Across all cities, Montreal (2.6%) has the lowest share of net salary spent on utilities, while Manila (25.9%) has the highest, with more than a quarter of income going to basic utilities. In Europe, this is around 9–10% in several countries. These shares are influenced not only by utility costs but also by income levels. In Europe, in 2025, Swiss cities have the highest average monthly net salaries: €7,307 in Geneva, closely followed by Zurich (€7,127). Istanbul has the lowest average salary at €855, while within the EU, Athens ranks lowest at €1,044. People in the Northern and Western European cities are well-paid. The net salaries are above €4,000 in Luxembourg, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Frankfurt according to the report. Euronews Business articles on electricity and gas prices across Europe comprehensively explain why energy prices differ so much. Differences in energy sources, pricing strategies, subsidies, and support measures all influence how utility prices are formed. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has also had a significant impact on energy prices across Europe.
