Europe’s enemies will keep using migration as a weapon against the EU until members strike a deal on managing their borders, the bloc's chief executive has said.
Ursula von der Leyen said the crisis in Belarus — where the regime is accused of deliberately ferrying migrants to EU borders — could be repeated elsewhere.
She announced €100 million ($118m) in new humanitarian aid for Afghanistan as the bloc tries to prevent a fresh refugee crisis triggered by the fall of Kabul.
But she said talks on an EU asylum overhaul had been “painfully slow” as countries argue over how to share out migrants.
She said human traffickers were continuing to exploit people in the Mediterranean Sea, where arrivals to Italy have doubled this year. Migration concerns have also cooled Europe's ties with Turkey.
“As long as we do not find common ground on how to manage migration, our opponents will continue to target that,” said Ms von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission.
“Look at what happened at our borders with Belarus. The regime in Minsk has instrumentalised human beings. They have put people on planes and literally pushed them towards Europe's borders.
“And, let's call it what it is: this is a hybrid attack to destabilise Europe.”
Ms von der Leyen made the plea during a State of the Union address in Strasbourg, modelled on the annual speech by the US president.
She used the speech to promise more help for Afghanistan, call for more European co-operation on defence and security, and claim success in the bloc’s response to Covid-19.
Afghan support package
Ms von der Leyen said the EU would put forward a support package for Afghanistan in the coming weeks.
Her only concrete announcement on Wednesday was the €100m in increased aid, which comes with aid agencies warning of a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan.
She said Brussels would provide support to Afghans in neighbouring countries, where some people have fled over land borders. Europe sees this as a way of preventing a refugee surge to Europe.
“I want to be clear — we stand by the Afghan people,” Ms von der Leyen said.
“I think in particular of women judges who are now in hiding from the men they jailed. We must support them and we will co-ordinate all efforts with Member States to bring them to safety.”
Defence autonomy
The collapse of the Nato mission in Afghanistan has spurred calls for the EU to build its own defence capability to make it less reliant on Washington.
Ms von der Leyen said this was “part of the solution” and suggested tax relief for defence equipment developed and produced in Europe.
But she said that a lack of political will was also holding Europe back, after EU countries proved unwilling to maintain a military presence in Afghanistan without American might.
“We have started to develop a European defence ecosystem. But what we need is the European Defence Union,” she said.
She said she would hold a European defence summit with French President Emmanuel Macron next year, when France takes over the rotating presidency of the EU.
Call for EU intelligence centre
The EU could consider boosting its intelligence capacity by setting up a Joint Situational Awareness Centre, Ms von der Leyen said.
She said this was not just about intelligence in the narrow sense, but about “bringing together the knowledge from all services and all sources” across Europe.
“From space to police trainers, from open source to development agencies - their work gives us a unique scope and depth of knowledge,” she said.
Experts and former officials have called for improved intelligence capacity to prevent a repeat of events in Kabul and to discourage EU members from spying on each other.
Covid successes
The EU was widely criticised for its slow progress in the early months of the vaccination programme, but many of its members have since caught up with the UK and US.
Ms von der Leyen announced that another 200 million spare vaccine doses would be donated to developing countries to address a wide gap in vaccine coverage.
She said Europe was the only part of the world which had shared half its vaccine production with other countries, with 700 million doses delivered at home and the same number exported abroad.
“Today, and against all critics, Europe is among the world leaders,” she said in her speech.
But she said there were “worrisome divergences in vaccination rates” within the EU. About 80 per cent of adults are fully vaccinated in France, but only 21 per cent in Bulgaria.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Teaching in coronavirus times
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Honeymoonish
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elie%20El%20Samaan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENour%20Al%20Ghandour%2C%20Mahmoud%20Boushahri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The five pillars of Islam
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The years Ramadan fell in May
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
Zayed Sustainability Prize
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Racecard:
2.30pm: Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoun Emirates Breeders Society Challenge; Conditions (PA); Dh40,000; 1,600m
3pm: Handicap; Dh80,000; 1,800m
3.30pm: Jebel Ali Mile Prep Rated Conditions; Dh110,000; 1,600m
4pm: Handicap; Dh95,000; 1,950m
4.30pm: Maiden; Dh65,000; 1,400m
5pm: Handicap; Dh85,000; 1,200m
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHayvn%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EChristopher%20Flinos%2C%20Ahmed%20Ismail%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efinancial%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eundisclosed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2044%20employees%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eseries%20B%20in%20the%20second%20half%20of%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHilbert%20Capital%2C%20Red%20Acre%20Ventures%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
