Portugal's National Emergency and Civil Protection Agency (ANEPC) is to send 60 more people to help fight the forest fire raging in the Autonomous Region of Madeira for a week, the organisation's official source confirmed on Wednesday.

The 500,000 signatures needed to call for a referendum to repeal the Calderoli law on differentiated autonomy, which, despite giving more power to the regions, has been criticised for potentially increasing regional inequalities, have been collected, the Italian Justice Ministry has announced.

To ensure peace and prosperity, the EU needs a so-called "common fiscal capacity", Fabio Panetta, the president of the Bank of Italy and a former member of the European Central Bank's executive board, told Italy's highest-level annual Catholic summit in the city of Rimini on Wednesday.

Sweden, Norway and Denmark want to step up regional cooperation to combat gang violence, the countries' justice ministers announced at a meeting in Copenhagen on Wednesday, as a surge in the involvement of minors in Swedish gang activity has the Nordic leaders concerned.

Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), which opinion polls make favourite to win the country's general election on 29 September, presented its campaign manifesto on Wednesday (21 August).

The Ukraine war is a dominant issue for voters in two state elections scheduled for 1 September in the East German states of Thuringia and Saxony, despite having little sway in foreign policy, lead candidates of multiple parties said on Wednesday (21 August).

Britain's decision to issue dozens of new oil and gas exploration licences is being challenged in court by a marine conservation organisation, which argues ministers unlawfully failed to consider the impact on marine life.

The FBI earlier this month searched the homes of two Americans with ties to Russian state media, including a former United Nations weapons inspector and an adviser to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's 2016 campaign.

Amid a deeply divided National Assembly, France's new government leaders will face tough negotiations on the 2025 budget, with European Commission financial penalties looming if the country's public finances do not improve.

Internet personality Andrew Tate's home near Bucharest was raided by law enforcement on Wednesday (21 August), a Reuters witness said, as Romanian police launched four searches in an investigation into crimes including human trafficking and sex with a minor.

US vice-president and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has pledged to fight "price gouging" on grocery shelves, and the EU wants fairer pay for farmers as experts call for more transparency in the food chain.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is a powerhouse in the EU, wielding influence over financial supervision, foreign exchange reserves, and economic forecasts. The ECB’s main goal is to keep inflation at 2% by adjusting interest rates. Its massive quantitative easing program from 2015 to 2022 aimed to tackle low inflation with trillions of euros.