Europe digest

Roundup

FRANCE

Flooding and strike heap pain on Louvre

Insult has been added to injury at the world's most visited museum, the Louvre in the French capital Paris, as weeks after a high-profile daylight break-in, a water leak has damaged hundreds of items, and workers have announced strike plans. Between 300 and 400 pieces, mainly research books, were affected by the leak in the Egyptian department, an issue that had been known about for some time and was scheduled for repair late next year. Employees have called for a walk-out starting on Dec 15 over staffing numbers and building repairs.

EUROPEAN UNION

Block to send failed asylum seekers out

Interior ministers of European Union member states have agreed to tighter measures to send failed asylum seekers to so-called hubs outside the 27-member bloc, marking a turn toward a harsher approach to the contentious issue of migration. The new proposals, which require approval by the European Parliament, add several countries to the safe country of origin list, and would allow member states to come to agreements with non-EU countries to act as return hubs, and were described by EU migration commissioner Magnus Brunner as "a turning point in European migration and asylum policy".

X blocks commission's ads after $140m fine

Days after the European Union fined Elon Musk's X platform 120 million euros ($140 million) over transparency issues, X blocked European Commission advertising on its site. Nikita Bier, a senior X executive, on Sunday accused the EU regulator of exploiting the site's ad system to promote its penalty. On X, he told the commission: "It seems you believe the rules should not apply to your account … Your ad account has been terminated. "Musk escalated US-EU tensions on Sunday, saying the EU should be "abolished and sovereignty returned to individual countries".

Trump slams European leaders as 'weak'

US President Donald Trump has condemned European leaders as "weak" on immigration and for failing to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. "Europe doesn't know what to do," Trump told Politico. "They want to be politically correct, and it makes them weak." His comments widen a rift between the US and some of its oldest allies over a US-led peace plan. Trump called on Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to agree to a peace deal, and urged him to "play ball" by ceding territory to Moscow.

New carbon border tax set 'to be expanded'

The European Union is planning to expand its new Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, or CBAM, to include items such as garden tools and kitchen appliances. The CBAM, which will be launched on Jan 1, currently calls for new taxes on imported high-carbon commodities, including cement, iron, and steel, and for some downstream items, such as aluminum, electricity, fertilizers, and hydrogen. But proposed additions call for taxes to also be applied to finished products such as washing machines, based on how much carbon was emitted during their production, and whether the nation where they were made has a carbon tax in place.

ITALY

Juliet's balcony open to visitors with a ticket

Tourists will now have to pay to visit a famous balcony in Verona, Italy that has long been associated with William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The balcony, in what has become known as Juliet's House, has been linked to the story because of similarities between the fictional Capulet family and a family that once lived there in the story. But the large crowds that gather in the square to take photos and rub the breast of a bronze Juliet statue, which is considered lucky, have prompted new rules from the local authorities that prohibit entry to the courtyard without a ticket costing 12 euros ($14). No more than 100 people at a time will be allowed into Juliet's House, and visitors with valid tickets will be limited to spending no more than 60 seconds on the balcony.