European Union

The routes have long been popular with holidaymakers visiting the Brittany area of France, offering a range of daytime and overnight services, and the company has confirmed it’s making changes to other lines as well

Brittany Ferries has announced its making big changes to its UK to France routes ahead of the autumn months as it blames the financial impact of Covid and the ongoing effects of Brexit.

The ferry operator will sell two of its ships, including one that operates the current Poole to Cherbourg route, which it has confirmed will be closed from November 1. Passengers will need to travel to Portsmouth where there’s a daily service to Cherbourg operating in its place.

It also confirmed in a statement that: “in the face of unfair competition on the Eastern Channel, caused by subsidies to run the loss-making Dieppe-Newhaven route, the company is looking to close the Portsmouth to Le Havre route from October 2026.”

Brittany Ferries confirmed the closure date as October 1, saying: “It has operated this route for as long as possible while legal challenges are still being considered by Brussels.”

It also clarified that it’ll be moving to a “more efficient schedule” from November 1 for its ships serving Guernsey, Poole and Cherbourg. Brittany Ferries Island will “serve a triangular route as follows: Portsmouth to Guernsey, Guernsey to Cherbourg, Cherbourg to Portsmouth”. While it’s fast craft the Brittany Ferries Voyager “will continue to serve Poole to Guernsey, but with the option to travel on to St Malo”.

The company confirmed there would be: “No job losses in the UK, but potentially a small number in Le Havre subject to a consultation process currently underway.”

Brittany Ferries began running the Poole to Cherbourg route back in 1986, and it runs on the 1992 ferry Barfleur, which the company has confirmed will now be sold. The Portsmouth to Le Havre route has been operated by Brittany Ferries since 2014. Sailings to Le Havre were run during the day, while the return journeys to Portsmouth ran overnight.

Christophe Mathieu, CEO Brittany Ferries, said in a statement: “Brittany Ferries has a track record in adapting its business to long- and short-term challenges. We overcame Covid when borders were shut, we continue to wrestle with the consequences of Brexit and we are taking steps to make a holiday in France or Spain as reasonable as possible.

“But we have to be realistic. We need adapt and that means a plan to secure a future that will continue to bring opportunities for all those who live and work in the regions we serve. We have informed our ports and will work with everyone affected on this plan for the future.”

The company’s statement went on to add that it’s still feeling the effects of its Covid loan, saying it has repaid half of it, but that “the long tail of the crisis continues”.

The ferry operator’s statement goes on to say: “Into this mix has been thrown the rising tax burden of ETS, the EU’s Emission Trading System. Brittany Ferries has invested in the cleanest, greenest fleet on the Channel, including five new vessels in five years, two of which were launched in 2025.

“Despite this, the company faces a bill of some €27 million in 2026, with no allowance for the industry-leading investment already made. That’s an EU financial burden even before the UK begins to introduce an equivalent scheme for ships operating in British waters.”

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When Klarna chose New York over Europe for its stock market listing, it highlighted a challenge Brussels has been trying to solve for years: Europe’s fastest-growing companies often look across the Atlantic for deeper pools of capital.

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As the EU seeks to build its own AI champions, strengthen its defence industry and keep more high-growth companies raising money at home, one question remains: why does a bloc with €37tn in household savings still struggle to finance its own fastest-growing businesses?

Now the European Union has stepped up efforts to reform its capital markets, aiming to make capital flow more freely across the bloc.

Policymakers are pursuing incremental reforms, including greater supervisory alignment, but a fully unified capital market is likely to take many years, as member states struggle to agree on key technical details, slowing the process.

The competitiveness challenge

The current speed of negotiations does not reflect the urgency being expressed by the EU’s political leadership: Europe needs more integrated capital markets to compete globally with major powers such as the US and China.

To do so, billions need to be invested in strategic sectors such as AI and defence, amid intense geopolitical uncertainty, including wars and trade tensions.

Lacking strategic industrial and technological leadership means sacrificing geopolitical power and economic resilience, especially in a global landscape where dominance, or even survival, depends on control over resources and expertise.

This narrative has been championed by leading EU politicians, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, whose goal of making Europe more competitive on the global stage has become the North Star of her political mandate.

For this reason, von der Leyen tasked former European Central Bank President and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi with preparing a report on EU competitiveness, which identified capital markets reform as one of its central recommendations.

Presented in autumn 2024, the report says Europe needs €750bn-€800bn in investment each year, equivalent to up to 5% of GDP, to fulfil its competitiveness goals and remain globally competitive.

“It’s ‘Do this,’ or it’s a slow agony,” Draghi warned in one of his best-known remarks. Draghi describes this “agony” as a prolonged and cumulative erosion of Europe’s economic position, driven by structural weaknesses such as high energy costs and a fragmented single market, which together make the continent less conducive to investment and innovation.

The EU is focusing on two priorities to unlock the potential of its capital markets.

The first is convincing households to invest, mobilising a small percentage of the estimated €37tn in savings. The second is integrating national financial markets across the EU to reduce barriers within the single market, making it easier for businesses to raise funding and for investors to put their money to work.

For this to happen, households need better access to capital markets, along with a better understanding of how to invest and the potential benefits involved. For example, greater participation in financial markets can help individuals build their retirement savings.

At the same time, Brussels must advance the legislative framework — known as the Savings and Investments Union (SIU) — to enable these reforms to take place.

Why do businesses find it easier to seek funding in the US?

Capital markets are marketplaces where individuals, institutions and governments buy and sell long-term financial instruments, such as equities or debt.

They offer businesses a way to raise funds and support their growth. However, scaling up in Europe remains challenging. Cross-border operations can be costly, time-consuming and involve significant administrative burdens. This is because rules differ between member states, and even where they are the same, their implementation may differ.

These are among the reasons why firms in Europe obtain most of their financing through bank credit.

“What we need to develop is a more diversified funding source,” the head of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), Verena Ross, told Euronews in an exclusive interview with Euronews Business editor Angela Barnes.

Without enough diversification, businesses look for other markets where funding is more readily available, such as the US.

“The US capital market benefits from a more consolidated supervisory approach. There are fewer layers of bureaucracy and red tape because the US uses a single currency,” Rebecca Christie, senior fellow at Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, told Euronews.

Christie also said the US benefits from having a long-established federal system and from the dollar’s status as the world’s dominant reserve currency, both of which reduce barriers and increase its attractiveness.

“Anybody who needs financing has an incentive to go to US markets because that’s where the money is,” she said.

A less fragmented European capital market would have far-reaching implications, including making more capital available for strategic investments and strengthening the euro’s international role as a global currency — another major ambition of the current EU leadership amid the dollar’s declining role.

“We live in a global world and, particularly, capital markets are global by their nature. We also need to be attractive to overseas investors, whether they are American, Asian or from wherever they come, and make sure that Europe is a destination for that investment capital,” Ross told Euronews.

Why is a capital markets union so hard to achieve?

Despite broad agreement that capital markets need greater integration, there is still strong disagreement over how to make it happen.

The capital markets union legislation forms part of the Savings and Investments Union (SIU), a package of legislative proposals currently under negotiation.

One of the key pieces of legislation aimed at harmonising capital markets is the Market Integration and Supervision Package, known as MISP.

Despite the intensification of talks on MISP in recent months, member states have yet to reach a common position, particularly on how to harmonise capital markets supervision.

Last spring, the six largest European economies — Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands — made a proposal setting out how to centralise supervisory powers.

In particular, they propose transferring some supervisory powers to ESMA, but there is no consensus on whether to proceed, an EU diplomat told Euronews on condition of anonymity. Even among those who agree, there are differing views on how and over what timeframe this should be implemented.

“The problem with the integration of capital markets is not even a political one; it is more a national issue,” Aurore Lalucq, chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, who played an important role in the legislation, told Euronews.

“I think there will be progress in supervision, but there are a lot of details that will be tough to negotiate due to very different perspectives,” Lalucq added, referring to the fact that member states have very different capital market cultures.

Klarna’s decision to look across the Atlantic for deeper capital markets illustrates the challenge Europe faces. While there is broad agreement that the bloc needs to mobilise more private investment, national interests continue to slow progress towards a truly unified capital market.

Two more airports could ditch the need for Brits to register their biometric details when entering the Schengen area in the hope of avoiding ‘disaster’ this summer

The EU’s new travel rules have caused growing concerns for the peak travel season, prompting a number of destinations to look at options to waive them for holidaymakers.

The European Union’s (EU) Entry/Exit System (EES) was fully rolled out on 10 April 2026, requiring all Brits heading to the Schengen area to “create a digital record” and register their biometric details, including fingerprints and a photograph. While it’s been successful in many countries, it continues to cause significant travel disruption at European airports.

There have been reports of Brits being asked to submit their biometric information again, despite having already provided it on their first visit to the Schengen zone. Holidaymakers have also been stuck in gruelling queues lasting up to four hours as they attempt to navigate the digital border system, with missed flights and ruined holiday plans.

In an attempt to ease the travel chaos, particularly during peak travel times, Greece opted to waive the EU requirement for Brits to provide fingerprints and facial scans at airport border controls earlier this year. In an official statement, the Greek Embassy confirmed: “In the framework of the implementation of the Entry/Exit System, as of 10 April 2026, British passport holders are exempt from biometric registration at Greek border crossing points.”

Now, it appears that Rome Fiumicino Airport and Rome Ciampino Airport could join Greece in waiving the EU requirements in a bid to avoid “disaster” during the peak summer travel months.

Aeroporti di Roma Chief Executive Officer Marco Troncone told the Financial Times, “We are very worried for the summer”, and said his concerns were an “eight or nine” out of 10. He added: “The process proves to be incompatible with the peak volumes that we are going to face. So the only way is to open up the valve. There is no way that we can deliver 100% of the enrolment.”

While Rome is yet to make such a change, Greece remains the only country to have officially eased the EU requirements for British travellers. However, an EU official has indicated that European airports could relax EES requirements until September this year.

Uku Särekanno, Deputy Executive Director of Frontex, which helps to manage the external borders of the EU, said earlier this month: “We have until the end of the summer, the possibility during the tourism season to lift the biometric controls or the biometric registration temporarily.

“If there is a peak hour, you see that there are hundreds of people queuing, their queues are getting too long, then member states still have the possibility to lift biometric registration. The EU has considered, for the period of summer, to make sure that there is still some relief for the worst-case scenario.”

The new digital border system is required for the initial arrival at the airport border within the Schengen zone and has replaced the traditional manual passport-stamping process. Once the initial registration is complete, the EES remains valid for three years.

Countries in the Schengen area include: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Meanwhile, the EES system is not needed for travel to the Republic of Ireland and Cyprus, as neither falls within the Schengen area.

The Foreign Office confirmed the EES change for Greece on its travel advice page. It read: “Greek authorities have indicated that they will not collect biometric data (fingerprints and photos) for UK travellers as part of EES. Follow the advice of authorities on the ground. If you are resident in Greece, make sure to show your residence documentation at passport control to ensure you are not registered in EES.”

Some of the major mainland airports in Greece include: the International Airport of Athens, Thessaloniki International Airport, Kalamata International Airport and Aktion National Airport. Meanwhile, those on the islands include Corfu International Airport, Kefalonia International Airport and Zakynthos International Airport.

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The warning comes as the country has faced hazardous conditions this week

Spain’s Ministerio del Interior has issued a warning to anyone in the country, including visiting tourists, as hot weather bakes the country. This week, the European nation faced unprecedented, record-setting heat.

The country was caught in a severe and hazardous heatwave caused by hot air travelling north from the Sahara Desert. These extreme temperatures broke long-standing weather records and led to widespread red alerts, especially in the northern and central parts of the country. Temperatures soared past 45C in some areas of northern Spain at the beginning of the week.

The northern region of Cantabria broke its previous heat record, hitting an incredible 43.7C in Tama. Bilbao Airport recorded temperatures over 40C on three different days (Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday). This is a historic first for the region: reaching this level three times in one year.

On Thursday, June 25, temperatures began to drop, and there was some rain and thunderstorms in parts of the northern and central plains, including Madrid. However, high temperatures are still sticking around.

Places like Andalusia and cities such as Seville and Córdoba are experiencing usual summer highs. Temperatures are rising back up to 37C to 38C as the weekend comes to a close.

The Ministerio del Interior translates as the Ministry of the Interior (also known as the Home Office or the Ministry of Internal Affairs). This government cabinet department handles domestic policy, public safety, law enforcement, immigration, and civil protection.

Taking to X on Sunday, June 28, the ministry urged people to avoid doing three things for safety reasons. It said: “In the forest, every gesture counts.

“Don’t throw away cigarette butts or matches. Don’t make fire outside of authorised areas. Don’t abandon flammable waste.” It added: “With heat and wind, the risk increases. A small oversight can turn into a big fire.”

Has Spain experienced wildfires this week?

This week, Spain has been hit hard by a serious wave of wildfires after experiencing its first big summer heatwave. The temperatures soared above 45C in the south and reached up to 43C in the north.

These extreme heat levels, along with dry weather and lightning strikes, have led to several devastating fires. One major wildfire erupted between Tamarite de Litera and Alcampell, consuming more than 4,000 hectares of land. It is thought that a harvesting machine started the fire, which resulted in the evacuation of around 240 people from three nearby villages.

Is Spain prone to wildfires?

Spain faces a significant risk of severe wildfires during hot weather, ranking it among the most fire-prone countries in Europe. The mix of intense summer heatwaves, extended periods of drought, and powerful winds results in “tinderbox” conditions that enable fires to start and spread rapidly.

Data from the Ministry for Ecological Transition in Spain reveals that human activity is responsible for the majority of wildfires. More than half of the annual fires in Spain are deliberately set, and a significant portion is due to accidents or negligence, such as mismanaged agricultural burning, cigarette butts that are carelessly thrown away, or barbecues.

Many Brits heading to the EU are dreading their journey through the airport due to the new European Entry/Exit System (EES), but many don’t realise there’s an app available to cut waiting times at certain destinations

Peak holiday season is upon us, and the launch of the European Entry/Exit System (EES) is reportedly causing queues at destinations such as Spain, Greece, and France.

Local media in Spain has warned that Brits could face six-hour queues, and there have been reports of passengers missing flights, with airports blaming “additional processing requirements”. All non-EU visitors to the European Union, including Brits, are now required to have biometric information such as facial images and fingerprints taken on arrival, and must also use the machines on departure to help the EU flag overstays.

One of the reasons why Brits often face longer queues at the airport is that, while EU passport holders have their own lanes, Brits have to queue alongside other non-EU nationalities. But for those going to Portugal or Sweden this summer, there is a way to speed up the process.

An official (but not very well-known) app could potentially get you through the airport quicker. At the moment, the Travel to Europe app is only available for visitors to two EU countries, but it could be rolled out to other destinations in the future, according to its developers.

Brits heading to these countries can download the app on the App Store or Google Play – making sure you download the right app and not a third-party one.

Create a new journey by selecting the country you’re arriving in or departing from, this can be done up to 72 hours before your travels begin. You can then add a border crossing point and your estimated time of arrival.

Travellers can then scan the personal details page and chip of their passport, take a selfie to confirm their identity, and answer a few questions about their plans. Normally, these steps would be done at the EES kiosks, so by doing them on the app at home, you can save time at the airport.

Families travelling together can also add other passengers before submitting their journey. Once registered, you’ll get confirmation that your journey has been accepted. Then you simply need to follow the signs at the airport to make your way through security. The app developers are careful to point out that using the app doesn’t guarantee border entry, and that anyone passing through the airport can still be flagged for additional checks.

But for the majority of holidaymakers, this could cut down on the time they spend queuing and waiting to enjoy the Portuguese sunshine.

Reviews of the app have been mixed so far. One user said: “Pointless to have an app that supports only one country – I understand it is optional for Member States to incorporate the app into their systems, but it doesn’t mean this couldn’t have been arranged better.” But there were success stories, with one user saying: “I went to Stockholm…. long queues for UK passports. I had already used the app, and used the pre-registered lane. Two people in front of me. The whole process took about three minutes. Very impressed!!”

Around 2.4 million British tourists visit Portugal every year, making up the majority of the country’s tourism, although this is a fraction of the 19 million British visitors Spain saw in 2025. Overall, foreign tourists contribute €5.2 billion a year to the country’s economy (about £4.5 billion), with Brits as the biggest spenders followed by Germans.

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Here’s who doesn’t need to scan their fingerprints to enter the Schengen area

Under new regulations, those travelling on a UK passport are permitted to visit the Schengen area for no more than 90 days within any 180-day period.

On top of this, upon entering the zone, which includes Spain, most British travellers will be required to scan their passport, have their photo taken, and provide four fingerprint scans under the new Entry/Exit System (EES). Once registered for travel via the EES, your digital record remains valid for three years or until your passport expires, whichever occurs first within that three-year window.

The Schengen area comprises the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

That said, not every traveller departing from the UK will be required to scan their fingerprints upon arrival in the Schengen zone.

The Government has confirmed that all children under 12 will not be fingerprinted. However, under the new EU regulations, all travellers, including babies, will be photographed and have digital records created.

British holidaymakers may be exempt from the EES if they are travelling on a non-UK passport. For instance, those holding an Irish passport will not be required to use the EES scheme.

According to recent estimates, more than a third of a million UK residents hold both UK and Irish passports – a figure that has risen sharply in the wake of Brexit.

President says his country will readmit genuine nationals but insists Europe must first verify deportees’ identities.

Mogadishu, Somalia – The European Union has imposed visa restrictions on Somali citizens, escalating a dispute with Mogadishu over the return of Somalis living in Europe illegally.

The bloc’s member states approved the measures on Thursday, acting on a report that Somalia was not doing enough to take back nationals who had been refused the right to stay.

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud pushed back, saying his government would readmit its citizens, but said that many returnees were not Somali nationals.

“We haven’t rejected our people; they own this country. And we cannot reject them,” the president said at an Independence Day event on Thursday, adding that Somalia had “questions about how those people would be returned.”

People across the Horn of Africa share a similar appearance, he said, and some present themselves as Somali to claim asylum in Europe. He pointed to past cases in which individuals sent back as Somalis turned out not to be, including some who “don’t know the Somali language.”

“If they are Somali, then we’ll take them. If they aren’t, we’ll help you find out where they are from, and you can send them there,” Mohamud said.

The pressures driving people to leave are rooted in decades of upheaval.

Somalia is still rebuilding after the collapse of its central government in 1991 and the long civil war that followed.

Recovery efforts have been stifled by the ongoing armed rebellion of al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-linked armed group that has waged deadly attacks since 2006.

Those conditions have pushed many young Somalis to attempt the dangerous journey to Europe, often through Libya, where migrants have faced detention, extortion and violence.

The prime minister regularly handled such cases, Mohamud said, adding that Somali embassies had been instructed to help citizens return.

Magnus Brunner, the bloc’s migration commissioner, said countries of origin had to meet their commitments “otherwise, there can be consequences.”

A European Commission assessment concluded that Somalia’s cooperation on readmission was insufficient.

Under the new rules, member states can no longer issue multiple-entry visas to Somalis, and the fee waiver for holders of diplomatic passports has been removed. The standard processing time for visa applications has also been extended from 15 to 45 days.

The suspension has no fixed end date and is intended as leverage to push Mogadishu towards closer cooperation.

Somalia now joins a short list of countries hit with such measures.

The EU imposed similar restrictions on The Gambia in 2021 and Ethiopia in 2024, lifting the Ethiopian curbs in May after deciding cooperation had improved.

The visa restrictions add to a run of setbacks for Somali travellers.

The United States imposed a sweeping travel ban in 2025, after President Donald Trump returned to office, covering citizens of a dozen countries, including Somalia.

The policy drew attention this month when Omar Abdulkadir Artan, named Africa’s referee of the year in 2025, was denied entry to the US and couldn’t officiate at the World Cup, despite holding a valid visa.

The standoff comes as the EU tightens its wider approach to migration, pursuing return centres beyond its borders and faster deportations for people refused the right to stay.

Millions of Brits are planning to go to Spain this summer

As the summer peak draws near, Brits travelling to Spain are facing a frustrating double blow.

Not only are there long border queues caused by the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES), but data has uncovered a huge a dramatic surge in flight delays. New research from AirAdvisor shows that Spanish routes are currently the worst affected for UK travellers, with two popular holiday destinations experiencing a sharp decline in reliability compared to last year. Overall delay rates have more than doubled at Palma in Mallorca, leaping from 3.66% to 7.60%.

Meanwhile, at Alicante Elche airport, delays have nearly tripled, rocketing from 4.39% to 11.73%. This means approximately one in nine departures is running at least an hour late, according to the Majorca Daily Bulletin.

For passengers stuck in the Alicante backlog, the average wait for an already-delayed flight stands at a punishing 124 minutes. This frequently pushes arrival times beyond the crucial three-hour threshold, automatically entitling passengers to claim UK261 compensation.

The travel disruption comes amid a sharp rise in short-haul cancellations across 18 European airports, predominantly affecting budget routes under pressure from climbing oil prices. However, airlines attempting to use market volatility as an excuse to avoid compensation payouts have just been firmly shut down.

The European Commission has made clear that fluctuations in fuel prices are a standard commercial risk, rather than an “extraordinary circumstance.” Should an airline cancel or delay a flight purely because operating costs have become too high, they remain fully liable for passenger compensation.

The clock is running down on the most consequential deadline the crypto sector has faced in Europe.

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From the start of July, the transitional window under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) closes for good, and companies that have not secured authorisation must either stop serving European customers or wind down altogether.

MiCA is the EU’s first comprehensive law for the crypto industry, bringing exchanges, brokers and digital wallet providers under the kind of formal oversight that has long applied to banks and other financial firms.

It replaces a fragmented mix of national rules with a single rulebook spanning all 27 member states: a company licensed in one EU country earns a “passport” to operate across the bloc, but in return it must meet standards on how much capital it holds, how it is run, how it safeguards customers’ funds and how it prevents money laundering.

“What emerges is a genuine single market replacing the old patchwork of 27 national regimes,” Yamal Kalaf, co-founder of MiCAR Whitepapers Europe, which advises crypto businesses on MiCA authorisation, told Euronews.

Since the core rules took effect at the end of 2024, existing operators have been allowed to keep operating under older national registrations, but that concession was temporary.

Crypto firms need European licences but many are behind

The scale of the looming shake-out is striking.

According to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), which confirmed in April that there would be no extension, only around 210 firms had obtained full authorisation by May, out of more than 1,200 that previously held national crypto registrations across the EU.

That points to a conversion rate of well under a fifth, leaving the vast majority of the old market without a licence as the cut-off arrives in a few days.

Speaking to Euronews, Roshan Dharia, CEO of distressed-investment firm Echo Base, explained that “the low conversion rate suggests that a meaningful portion of the market has concluded that obtaining and maintaining a MiCA licence is not economically viable within its current operating model.”

National regulators have warned that firms operating beyond the deadline without the new licence face enforcement action. France’s markets watchdog has also cautioned that continuing without authorisation could expose companies to criminal prosecution.

ESMA has told unlicensed providers to prepare orderly wind-downs, including transferring customer assets to authorised platforms or self-custody wallets, and to notify clients in advance so they can move funds safely.

“What we will see after 1 July is a smaller, more institutional market with real passporting. That is not a market in retreat. That is a market growing up,” Miguel Zapatero, Head Counsel at Crossmint, told Euronews.

Crossmint is a crypto infrastructure provider whose licensed rails let developers build wallets, custody and payment products.

A market reshaped around licensed rails

Plenty of familiar names have already cleared the bar.

Coinbase has been authorised in Ireland and Kraken in Ireland and Luxembourg. At the same time, the banking app Revolut secured its licence from Cyprus’s regulator late last year, allowing it to offer crypto services across the EU.

For these firms, the new rules promise a reward as unlicensed rivals retreat, the survivors stand to absorb their departing customers.

“MiCA is a genuine regulatory identity shift, not a registration exercise,” Gal Arad Cohen, partner at law firm S. Horowitz & Co, told Euronews.

The most prominent casualty so far may be Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange.

According to Reuters, which cited two people familiar with the matter, Binance is set to lose permission to serve EU clients because its licence application to Greece’s market regulator, the Hellenic Capital Market Commission, is poised to be rejected.

Without approval in any member state, the exchange would be unable to operate across the bloc from July onwards.

Speaking to Euronews, Patrick Mollard, CEO at Fipto, a blockchain-based payments company for businesses, referred to the Binance case by stating that “scale earns you no shortcut to a licence, and that is precisely the point.”

Binance has pushed back, saying it has worked constructively with regulators for 18 months and believes its application met MiCA’s requirements. The company added that it understood the Greek authority had completed its review and found the filing compliant.

The company has promised a further update before 30 June.

The episode has also reputedly taken on a political dimension.

French crypto publication The Big Whale reported, citing unnamed sources, that ECB President Christine Lagarde had opposed Binance’s bid for a Greek MiCA licence.

Euronews could not independently verify the report, and neither the ECB nor the Greek government has publicly commented on the allegations.

The Big Whale also reported that Binance is exploring a potential MiCA application in France after the setback in Greece, a claim that neither Binance nor French regulators have publicly confirmed.

Binance did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Euronews.

A shake-out for smaller crypto firms

Beyond the biggest names, the deadline is expected to push smaller crypto apps and brokers towards licensed custody providers. Rather than building their own MiCA-compliant systems, many are likely to rely on authorised firms to hold customer assets.

“We will see consolidation and transfer of clients as the deadline will not be met by all currently operating entries,” Floortje Nagelkerke, partner at law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, explained to Euronews.

The result, analysts suggest, will be a smaller, more concentrated European market, with fewer players, higher barriers to entry and a clear advantage for those holding a licence, but stronger consumer protections.

“People who hold crypto in the EU after 1 July will, on balance, hold it on safer rails,” Miguel Zapatero, Head Counsel at Crossmint, concluded.

New study showed UK passengers ‘unaware’ of problem as concerns raised at people deserting hotspots

Spanish media are reporting six-hour queues could hit this summer at airports. The Majorca Daily Bulletin said the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said the European Union’s new digital border system is going to come under major strain.

The Entry/Exit System (EES) has been fully operational across the Schengen Area since April 10. Two months in, it is producing long lines, missed flights, and growing alarm across the travel industry. Airports Council International Europe said that waits of up to three and a half hours have already been recorded during peak periods. The six-hour figure is IATA’s projection for the busiest summer months.

Budget airlines from the UK Ryanair, easyJet, and Jet2 have all warned of missed departures, disrupted schedules, and rising operational costs. Ryanair passengers who need to use its airport check-in or bag-drop services will be required to finish the process 20 minutes earlier.

The airline announced it will close the services an hour before the scheduled departure of a flight – compared with 40 minutes currently – to give passengers more time to get through security and passport checks. This will reduce the “very small number of passengers” who miss their flight while stuck in queues, the carrier added.

Ryanair’s website says passengers who fail to check in on time “may be denied boarding without refund”. The new policy will be in place from November 10. Passengers will still able to check in online until two hours before departure.

Jet2 check-in desks open exactly 3 hours before scheduled departure and will not open any earlier, even with the new EES (EU Entry/Exit System) checks. It is advised not to arrive at the airport earlier than this, as early arrivals may be asked to wait to prevent congestion

The airline said: “There may be longer wait times than usual when you arrive in destination and before your flight back to the UK. We’re really sorry for any inconvenience this may cause but unfortunately this is outside of our control.”

The UK boss of budget airline Wizz Air has warned British holidaymakers to arrive at European airports three hours before their flight home departs due to lengthy queues caused by new border checks.

Wizz Air’s UK managing director Yvonne Moynihan said: “When you land in the destination airport, there might be queues, so you should bring a portable charger or water,” she said.

Because EES information has to be verified when people leave, she also highlighted the risk of queues before flights back to the UK. “Because there is another passport check…that’s where we see that people have, again, experienced longer waiting times than anticipated,” she said.

She said usual advice is to get to the airport two hours ahead of your flight – “but in these circumstances, we are advising three hours”.

easyJet said: “Airports across Europe may experience longer waiting times at passport control due to the new European Entry/Exit System (EES). This could mean you need to have your biometrics taken at border checks, including the scanning of facial images and fingerprints.”

Research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) warned up to 41 million visitor arrivals and $45.4 billion in spending could be lost if delays of three hours or more become routine. The findings come from a May 2026 survey of 2,512 travelers in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia. About one-third said regular three-to-four-hour waits would make them much less likely to visit the Schengen Area, or stop them from visiting altogether. British travellers are the most sensitive, with 39% saying that they would be much less likely to travel. The figure is 33% for Americans and Canadians and 27% for Australians.

Awareness is another problem. More than half of those surveyed (55%) had heard little or nothing about EES, and 49% do not know what the border will require of them. In one incident, more than 100 passengers reportedly missed a flight from Milan to Manchester after getting stuck in passport queues. Ryanair, easyJet, and Jet2 have all warned of missed departures, disrupted schedules, and rising operational costs.

His Majesty’s Passport Office issued an update

Millions of Brits planning a summer break are being told to observe a vital passport “3-week rule” following a new alert from His Majesty’s Passport Office.

The government body says that holidaymakers should allow a minimum of three weeks for their passport application to be handled and has cautioned that certain cases may take longer if further checks are needed. The reminder arrives as families gear up to travel abroad during the busy holiday period, when demand for passport renewals typically surges.

In a message to travellers, His Majesty’s Passport Office said: “Sun, sea & stress-free travel. Apply early – UK passports usually arrive within 3 weeks (longer if checks needed).”

Official guidance confirms that standard passport applications lodged in the UK are normally processed within three weeks from when the Passport Office receives the necessary documents. Nevertheless, officials emphasise that not every application can be completed within that window.

Government guidance states: “You’ll usually get your passport within 3 weeks. It may take longer than 3 weeks if we need more information, or we need to interview you. We’ll tell you this within 3 weeks.”

The Passport Office is also cautioning Brits against booking holidays before their new passport has been delivered. Its guidance states: “Do not book travel until you have a valid passport – your new passport will not have the same number as your old one.”

The guidance is especially important for travellers whose passport is set to run out before a planned journey.

Following Britain’s exit from the European Union, numerous European countries now insist that British passports must have been issued in the last 10 years and retain at least three months’ validity on the date of leaving the nation you’re visiting.

Travel industry specialists regularly caution that holidaymakers risk being refused boarding if their passport fails to satisfy their destination’s entry criteria.

Britons requiring a passport with greater urgency might be eligible to utilise the Passport Office’s premium services, such as the Online Premium and One Week Fast Track alternatives, though these come at a higher cost than the conventional application route.

Passport applications can be lodged online or via a paper form obtainable from Post Office branches, although paper submissions incur an extra charge.

Those who have already submitted their application can monitor its progress using the Government’s online passport tracking service.

Passport processing times.

The standard UK passport application service generally takes up to three weeks for completion. For individuals needing a passport more swiftly, the One Week Fast Track service aims to deliver a passport within seven days.

Travellers who need a passport straight away can opt for the Online Premium service, which provides a same-day appointment and passport collection. The Passport Office confirms that processing times only commence once all required documents have been received, which means any hold-ups in providing paperwork can prolong the total time needed to obtain a new passport. Further information is available here.

If you’re planning to go on holiday this summer, you may need a new passport

With the summer holidays now in full swing, many travellers need a new passport. Anyone intending to go abroad will need the document, and there are specific criteria it must meet.

For instance, following Brexit, anyone travelling to the EU using a UK passport must ensure their passport’s “date of issue” falls within 10 years from their arrival date. The “expiry date” must also extend at least three months beyond the intended departure from the Schengen area, which encompasses 29 countries, including Spain, Greece, France, and Italy.

According to His Majesty’s (HM) Passport Office, when you submit an application for a new or replacement document, “you’ll usually get your passport within three weeks”. In an effort to inform travellers precisely when they can anticipate receiving theirs, independent website “UK Passport Waiting Time” is monitoring how long people are presently waiting for a new or replacement passport to be delivered.

The team, which operates independently from HM Passport Office, collects data from members of the public, including the dates they submitted applications for and received their new documents recently. Based on the most recent figures, people are waiting 19 days on average for a first adult passport, and 14 days for a replacement or renewed passport.

According to the website, the average processing time for a first child passport stands at 16 days, while a replacement takes 15 days. One traveller, using the Corby passport office to apply for a replacement passport, shared on the site that they submitted their application on May 19.

They said: “My passport was initially water damaged (to the point where the signature and previous immigration information had smudged) so required a replacement. No issues with digital photo submission from myself, just making sure to have a lot of light and a white background, and setting a timer to take the headshot (as I had no one else available) seemed to be sufficient.”

They subsequently received their new passport 23 days later, on June 11. A second applicant revealed they had applied for a first adult passport through the Hemel Hempstead passport office.

They submitted their application on May 1 and received their travel document on June 6, 36 days later. Naturally, timescales can differ between applicants, and HM Passport Office notes that: “It may take longer than three weeks if we need more information, or we need to interview you.

“We’ll tell you this within three weeks. There are different turnaround times if you’re applying from another country.”

Should you require a replacement passport as a matter of urgency, the one-day Premium Service is available to you. Bear in mind, however, that this comes at an additional cost, with an adult passport setting you back £239.50.

There’s also a one week Fast Track service available for renewing or replacing an adult or child passport – or for applying for a first child passport. The price is £192 for an adult passport, or £156.50 for a child’s.

Brits who find themselves stranded in Europe due to a cancelled flights could soon have new rights to claim back travel replacement costs, amid a shake-up of the EU’s air travel rules

Cancelled flights could soon come with a more costly penalty for airlines, as a landmark air passenger rights agreement was reached between the EU Council and the European Parliament in good news for holidaymakers.

The ruling means that Brits who find themselves stranded in Europe due to their flight being cancelled could soon claim back replacement travel costs worth up to four times the price of their original ticket. It comes amid a raft of changes around airline charges for cabin bags and family seating, which could see Brits getting a fairer deal when they visit destinations such as Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal, or France.

The law states that, after a flight cancellation, “if an airline fails to offer rerouting within three hours, passengers may organise their own rerouting and claim reimbursement of up to 400% of the original ticket price.” According to AirAdvisor, which specialise in claims for disrupted flights and mishandled baggage, this means passengers will no longer need to wait around for the airline to sort out a journey home for them.

AirAdvisor also said in a statement that this rerouting reimbursement will be separate from the standard compensation that some passengers are entitled to for cancelled flights. It explained: “The Council statement confirms that even when a passenger is rerouted, “airlines remain responsible for compensation for delays at arrival.”

This means passengers could potentially reclaim the cost of replacement flights, as well as claiming for standard cancellation compensation, which can be up to £350 per passenger for a UK to Spain flight, and higher for long-haul journeys.

“However, the standard compensation would still depend on the usual qualifying conditions, including whether the disruption was within the airline’s control. If extraordinary circumstances apply, airlines may not be required to pay financial compensation,” the statement continued.

EU rights aren’t based on nationality, but rather the route and the airline operating the flight. So even post-Brexit, Brits are protected on journeys departing from an EU airport to the UK, or any flights from the UK to the EU that are operated by an EU airline. For example, Brits taking a Ryanair flight from Malaga to the EU would be covered by the legislation.

However, flights from the UK to the EU on non-EU airlines wouldn’t be covered. So, the outbound leg of a London to Madrid flight on a carrier such as British Airways would not follow these rules because it is arriving in the EU from a non-EU country on a non-EU airline.

The UK has its own UK261 framework, which includes the Right to Care for journeys delayed over two hours, but it’s not known whether this legislation will be updated in light of the changes in the EU.

Anton Radchenko, aviation lawyer and CEO of AirAdvisor, said: “For the passengers who are genuinely in trouble, the ones standing at a desk in a European airport being told the next available flight is days away, this is the change that actually matters. A reimbursement cap of up to four times the original ticket price could make a real difference to families who suddenly have to buy last-minute flights home, and it is a part of the reform I would want every British holidaymaker to know about.”

He added: “The importance of this rule is that it gives people a clearer point at which they can act. The harder part, as with every passenger right, will be making sure travellers know it exists before they are stuck at the airport, rather than finding out months later.

“My practical advice to any traveller is straightforward. If your covered flight is cancelled, give the airline its three-hour window to offer a suitable reroute, and then keep everything: your original booking, the cancellation notice, proof of what the airline offered or failed to offer, and every receipt for the travel you arrange yourself.

“In my experience, the passengers who successfully recover what they are owed are almost always the ones who documented the situation as it happened, not the ones who tried to piece it back together weeks later. A right is only ever as useful as the evidence you keep to support it.”

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