2 hours ago
1
Belgium to strengthen air security centre, consider anti-drone measures in response to airspace disruptions
Back to Belgium, the country’s defence minister Theo Francken said the National Air Security Centre in Beauvechain will be strengthened and made operational in the coming months in response to the latest drone incident that affected Brussels airport.
In comments after the national security council meeting, he also said there was a discussion on counter-drone measures, with more details to be worked out in the coming days.
He also said that the guidance to authorities is clear that if possible: any drones disrupting Belgian airspace should be shot down, VRT reported.
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
Italian journalist sacked after question drawing comparison between Russia and Israel
Angela Giuffrida
in Rome
An Italian journalist was sacked from his job for asking a question about Israel during a press conference in Brussels.
Addressing the European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho during the event on 13 October, Gabriele Nunziati, a journalist with the Rome-based news agency, Nova, said:
“You have been repeating several times that Russia should repay for the reconstruction of Ukraine. Do you believe Israel should repay for the reconstruction of Gaza, since they destroyed almost all the Strip and civilian infrastructure?”
Pinho replied: “It’s definitely an interesting question on which I would not have any comment at this stage.”
Two weeks later, Nunziati was fired after a couple of “tense calls” with his bosses, he told the Italian news outlet, Fanpage.
In a response to Fanpage, Nova didn’t deny sending the journalist a termination letter, arguing that his question was “completely out of place and technically incorrect” because Russia invaded a country while Israel “suffered armed aggression”.
Amid an outcry in Italy, the European Commission’s deputy chief spokesperson, Olof Gill, “categorically confirmed” on Thursday that it did not ask Nova to take action against the journalist.
“The European Commission attaches the utmost importance to freedom of the press,” he said during a media briefing when asked about the case.
“We demonstrate that commitment on a daily basis here in this press room, here at our midday press briefing. In relation to the case in question, the commission has not been in contact with the media concerned. Questions on this specific decision should be addressed to that media.”
The Italian journalists’ guild expressed its “dismay” over the case, saying “you cannot be fired for asking a question”.
Sandro Ruotolo, an MEP for the centre-left Democratic party, said: “Firing a journalist for asking a question, no matter how uncomfortable or controversial, is a very serious matter that should alarm anyone who cares about press freedom.”
Nicola Fratoianni, who leads the Green-Left Alliance, said Nunziati’s dismissal was a “disconcerting and serious matter for which we will hold parliament accountable”. Fratoianni urged Nova to reconsider its decision.
Outgoing Czech government set to formally resign today
We are also getting an important process update from the Czech Republic, as the outgoing prime minister Petr Fiala and his ministers are moving to formally resign from the government later today.
After this morning’s government meeting, Fiala said he would personally hand in his resignation to the country’s president, Petr Pavel, this afternoon.
The outgoing cabinet will remain in office until the next coalition government, led by controversial populist billionaire Andrej Babiš, gets appointed in the coming weeks.
Babiš is hoping to form the new administration by the end of November, as outstanding issues – including on his personal conflict of interests – are getting resolved.
He is expected to visit president Pavel at the Hrad next week – on 12 January – to discuss the next steps in the government formation process.
Belgium to strengthen air security centre, consider anti-drone measures in response to airspace disruptions
Back to Belgium, the country’s defence minister Theo Francken said the National Air Security Centre in Beauvechain will be strengthened and made operational in the coming months in response to the latest drone incident that affected Brussels airport.
In comments after the national security council meeting, he also said there was a discussion on counter-drone measures, with more details to be worked out in the coming days.
He also said that the guidance to authorities is clear that if possible: any drones disrupting Belgian airspace should be shot down, VRT reported.
European Commission takes concerns about Shein 'extremely seriously,' spokesperson says
EU’s digital spokesperson Thomas Regnier said the European Commission “takes note of the decision taken in France” regarding the Chinese online retailer Shein (10:42), noting that the EU had already expressed similar concerns before.
“We are in touch with Shein, but we will also be in touch today with the French authorities.
I can confirm now, as we speak, that in the next two hours, [executive vice-president] Virkkunen will meet with the digital minister of France Anne le Henanff.
So discussions are taking place. We take this very seriously.”
He separately said:
“A platform that is allowing on its service for graphic content or, the selling of weapons does not meet EU standards, EU values and EU legislation.”
Regnier also added that no other member states raised concerns about Shein so far, and said the bloc generally has “not intention to suspend any platform EU-wide.”
“This is the very last resort,” he said.
European Commission pays tribute to ex Guardian journalist David Gow
In a lovely touch, the European Commission’s midday briefing has just started with the EU’s tribute to David Gow, our former Germany correspondent and European business editor, who died earlier this week at the age of 80.
Opening the briefing, EU deputy chief spokesperson Olof Gill said:
“I will start by saying a few words about the passing of the journalist David Gow. Over his long career as a journalist, David notably served as the Scotsman’s first European correspondent and as the Guardian’s European business editor from 2004 to 2012.
We would like to extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones, as well as his former colleagues and of course, his current colleagues Jennifer [Rankin] and Lisa [O’Carroll], who continue to serve the Guardian here in our press room with such distinction.”
Dutch court throws out bid to ban arms to Israel over Gaza
A Dutch court threw out a case brought by pro-Palestinian activists seeking to force the Netherlands to halt trade and weapons exports to Israel over the war in Gaza, AFP reported.
A group of 10 NGOs had accused the Dutch state of doing too little to prevent what they described as “genocide” in Gaza with a “clearly unlawful” foreign policy towards Israel.
They urged judges to impose a blanket ban on weapons exports to Israel, a ban on exporting military dogs, and a ban on trading in occupied territories, AFP said.
The Appeals Court in The Hague dismissed all the grounds for appeal made by the organisations and ordered them to pay legal costs.
“While it is plausible that there is a risk of genocide and serious human rights violations, it is not, in principle, up to the court to prescribe to the State what measures must be taken to prevent this,” said the court in a statement.
Oleron attacker suspected of 'self-radicalisation,' but still not clear if attack was religiously motivated, French minister says
We are getting a bit more detail on n the main suspect in yesterday’s attack on Oleron island off France’s coast, which left five injured, including two critically.
The country’s interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, said the attacker is suspected of “self-radicalisation” and had “explicit religious references” at home, Reuters reported.
“Based on a number of factors that exist with this individual, and the fact that he actually shouted ’Allahu Akbar’ [’God is greatest’ in Arabic], there are religious references in his case that are quite clear and quite explicit”, Nuñez said.
However, Nuñez added that it wasn’t clear at this stage if Wednesday’s attack was religiously motivated.
The 35-year-old suspect is a French resident of Oleron, and was previously known to police for petty crimes including drink driving and drug-related offences, officials have said.
Contacted by Reuters, the national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office said it remained in an observation role at this stage. For now, the inquiry is being handled by the local prosecutor’s office in La Rochelle.
Poland starts 'largest defence training in history' with plans to train 400,000 volunteers in 2026
Poland will roll out a new military training programme this month as part of a broader plan to train around 400,000 people in 2026, the defence ministry said on Thursday.
Reuters said that, dubbed by defence minister Władyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz as “the largest defence training in Polish history”, the programme “At Readiness” will be voluntary and open to all citizens – from schoolchildren to working adults, companies, and seniors.
The programme will offer a basic security course, survival training, medical instruction, and cyber-hygiene classes.
“In November and December alone … we will train about 20,000 people in individual training, but the total number..., in terms of all forms of training, is about 100,000 people,” deputy defence minister Cezary Tomczyk told a conference.
First sessions are scheduled for 22 November, and citizens can sign up through Poland’s digital ID app, mObywatel.
Louvre heist a 'deafening wake-up call' on security, auditor says
Last month’s spectacular Louvre heist, in which robbers made off with some of France’s crown jewels, was a “deafening wake-up call” for museum security, the head of France’s highest audit institution.
Upgrades to security at the world-renowned museum have been moving at a “woefully inadequate pace,” added Pierre Moscovici at a press conference as he presented his body’s report on the Paris museum, as reported by AFP.
Reuters added that the report found that only 39% of the museum’s rooms had cameras as of 2024, and a security audit begun in 2015, which found the museum was not sufficiently monitored or prepared for a crisis, only led to a tender for security works at the end of last year.
“It will take several years to complete the project, which, according to the museum, is not expected to be finished until 2032,” the report said.
Reuters noted it also highlighted excessive spending to buy artwork and post-pandemic relaunch projects, as well as missed revenues from inefficiencies and ticketing fraud, as contributing to the museum’s inability to fix its outdated infrastructure.
We will bring you more on this later.
France urges EU to take action against Chinese online retailer Shein
Lisa O’Carroll
Meanwhile, France has urged the EU to take action over Chinese online retailer Shein after it was found to be selling childlike sex dolls and banned weapons on its market place.
It comes after the French prime minister moved to suspend Shein’s operations in France for 48 hours while an investigation takes place amid huge protests over the opening of its first ever bricks and mortar shop in a department store in Paris on Wednesday.
In a letter to the EU’s tech commissioner Henna Virkkunen, French economy minister Roland Lescure and digital minister Anne le Henanff said they believed “serious breaches” of trading rules had been committed by Shein, which is already under the spotlight in Brussels over the sale of goods found to be sold on the platform that are non compliant with EU regulations.
“France alerts the European Commission and all member states to these serious breaches within its borders, and expects there are similar risks associated with this platform’s activities in other European Union countries,” the French ministers said.
On Wednesday foreign Mminister Jean-Noël Barrot told French radio station, RFI, that he thought Shein was “clearly” in breach of European rules.
“I believe that the European Commission must take action. It cannot wait any longer,” he said.
Belgian interior minister expects proposals on drones after security council meeting
Speaking before the security council meeting, the Belgian interior minister Bernard Quintin told reporters that he wanted to hear what the country’s security services made of the drone incidents.
“I know that the defence [ministry] will come up with some proposals to guarantee our security. We will see what concrete measures will emerge from that,” he told VRT.
China willing to explore trade, investment deals with EU, minister says
Lisa O’Carroll
Separately, China said on Thursday it is willing to explore the possibility of various trade and investment agreements with the EU.
Ministry spokesperson He Yadong told a press conference that the two sides share “extensive common interests and huge space for cooperation.”
The comment followed remarks by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Tuesday, who told his Estonian counterpart in Beijing that China was ready to negotiate and sign a free trade agreement with the bloc.
It comes amid urgent efforts by the EU to persuade China to ease up on restrictions on the supply of chips and rare earths, vital for car and other industries, something already achieved by Donald Trump.
Speaking in Kuwait yesterday, trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said the EU had established a “special channel” of communication with Chinese authorities to secure the flow of rare earth materials vital for EU industries,
He said he had discussed the issue directly with commerce minister Wang Wentao several times, stressing that poorly managed export procedures could have a “very negative impact on production and manufacturing in the EU”.
Belgium to discuss response to drones
Jakub Krupa
The Belgian government will hold an emergency meeting of the national security council this morning to discuss the recent drone sightings that disrupted the operations at Brussels airport and caused concern after flying over military bases in the country.
As our Brussels correspondent Jennifer Rankin says in our top story, the Belgian government has not said who it thinks is responsible for the drones, but a source told the Belga news agency that the security services had “little doubt” that a state actor was behind recent sightings, “very probably Russia”. The point was reported to have been made at a meeting to prepare Thursday’s national security council, reported Le Soir.
In a sign of just how seriously this is being treated, Belgian defence minister Theo Francken spoke with Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte last night, updating him on what the authorities know about the incident. “Allies are providing welcome support to address the challenge,” Nato spokesperson said in a statement after their conversation.
The Belgian prime minister, Bart de Wever, faces a really busy day ahead: after attending the security council meeting, he is also expected to meet King Philippe for a chat amid a prolonged crisis about the country’s budget. One to watch.
Separately, we will keep an eye on the European statements at the COP30 summit in Brazil, Rutte’s time in Romania, and the French public audit office’s report on Louvre museum, which – going by the first reports in the French media – will be scatching.
Lots for us to cover.
It’s Thursday, 6 November 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
