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EU Parliament questions defence loan’s ‘€17 billion gift’ to Hungary

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EU Parliament questions defence loan’s ‘€17 billion gift’ to Hungary

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The European Parliament is set to hold a debate about the allocation of public defence funds to Hungary over fears that the money may be misused by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who faces a difficult election in April.

The money in question is part of the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) programme, a €150 billion loan scheme that enables member states to finance the purchase of defence equipment.

This is a part of the plan to boost Europe’s defences in the light of both Russian threats and the uncertainty of support from the United States.

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Hungary has requested €17.4 billion in SAFE funds to boost its army. This would be the third biggest SAFE allocation among the member states, even though most of the EU’s regular payments to Hungary are suspended because of rule of law deficiencies and corruption risks.

The Greens in the European Parliament initiated the debate, which has gained the support of mainstream political parties.

“I’m really frustrated that the European Commission chose Hungary as the third largest beneficiary of this whole SAFE programme, which means that Hungary will get €16 billion for its defence industry without any human rights rule of law conditionality,” Greens-EFA MEP Tineke Strik told Euronews.

The debate will take place next Tuesday at the plenary session in Strasbourg, and will not be followed by a resolution.

Treading carefully

MEPs critical of Orbán argue that the EU should impose robust safeguards before transferring the SAFE funds to his government.

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The EU has already suspended €17 billion out of €27 billion previously earmarked for Hungary, with payments made conditional on improvements in justice, rule of law and anti-corruption efforts.

EU budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin told the European Parliament last December that the same conditions might be applied to SAFE funds as well, but the 15% down payment could be allocated without conditions.

On Monday, Euronews reported that the European Commission has postponed most upcoming decisions related to Hungary in order to avoid any perception of interference in the current election campaign. But because boosting defence spending is a strategic goal of the von der Leyen Commission, SAFE is an exception.

If approved by the EU Council, the first of the defence payments could happen during the first quarter of this year, just before Hungary’s crucial parliamentary election on April 12.

“This is a huge present to Orbán, because he will get a big part of it before the elections in Hungary,” Strik said. “And because of the lack of conditions, he can use it for his own campaign and sell it as a sign of the legitimacy of his regime.”

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“This is really a toxic present for democracy in Hungary.”

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Trump’s push to acquire Greenland sparks international media frenzy on remote island

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Trump’s push to acquire Greenland sparks international media frenzy on remote island

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As President Donald Trump ramps up his effort to acquire Greenland, a surge of international journalists have rushed to the island to take the pulse of its political leaders and residents.

In recent weeks, media from around the world — including The Associated Press, Reuters, the BBC and Al Jazeera, as well as outlets from Scandinavian countries and Japan — have made their way to the semi-autonomous Danish territory, overwhelming its politicians and community leaders with interview requests.

While Trump has argued that controlling the roughly 800,000-square-mile island is necessary for national security purposes, its leaders have repeatedly insisted it’s not for sale.

Juno Berthelsen, a member of parliament for the Naleraq opposition party, said the media storm intensified last year when Trump first expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, adding that he has been doing multiple interviews a day for the past two weeks.

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TRUMP TAPS REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR TO SERVE AS SPECIAL ENVOY TO GREENLAND

A journalist conducts an interview in Nuuk, Greenland, on Jan. 15. (AP Photo/Emma Burrows)

“We’re very few people and people tend to get tired when more and more journalists ask the same questions again and again,” Berthelsen told the Associated Press.

Greenland’s population is about 57,000 people, with roughly 20,000 living in Nuuk, the small capital city where the same collection of business owners are repeatedly asked to do news interviews, sometimes as many as 15 a day.

Many residents interviewed by the AP said they want the world to know that Greenlanders will decide their own future and expressed confusion about why Trump wants to control the island.

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TRUMP ISSUES STERN WARNING TO NATO AHEAD OF VANCE’S HIGH-STAKES GREENLAND MEETING

Residents and officials in Nuuk face growing media attention as President Trump renews efforts to acquire the strategically located island. (AP Photo/Emma Burrows)

“It’s just weird how obsessed [Trump] is with Greenland,” Maya Martinsen, 21, told the AP.

She said Trump is “basically lying about what he wants out of Greenland,” asserting that the president is using U.S. national security as a means to take control of “the oils and minerals that we have that are untouched.”

The Americans, Martinsen continued, “only see what they can get out of Greenland and not what it actually is.”

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EUROPEAN ALLIES WORKING ON PLAN IF US ACTS ON ACQUIRING GREENLAND: REPORT

Rows of houses in Nuuk, Greenland, on Jan. 13, 2026. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)

“It has beautiful nature and lovely people. It’s just home to me. I think the Americans just see some kind of business trade,” she added.

Americans, however, appear ambivalent about the acquisition, with 86% of voters nationwide saying they would oppose military action to take over Greenland, according to a Quinnipiac University poll. By a 55%-37% margin, voters surveyed said they opposed any U.S. effort to try to buy Greenland.

On Wednesday, Trump said in a social media post that “anything less” than U.S. control of Greenland is “unacceptable,” but Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said during a news conference this week that the island will not be owned or governed by the United States.

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Trump’s recent comments have sparked tension with Denmark and other NATO allies, and troops from several European countries, including France, Germany, Sweden and Norway, deployed to Greenland this week for a brief two-day mission to bolster the territory’s defenses. 

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Israel continues deadly Gaza attacks as ceasefire deal moves into phase two

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Israel continues deadly Gaza attacks as ceasefire deal moves into phase two
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Harry Styles announces first album in 4 years, ‘Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally’

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Harry Styles announces first album in 4 years, ‘Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally’

NEW YORK (AP) — In this world, it’s just him: Harry Styles has announced that his long-awaited, fourth studio album will arrive this spring.

Titled “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally” and out March 6, the album is Styles’ first full-length project in four years. It follows the 2022, critically acclaimed synth pop record “Harry’s House,” which earned the former One Direction star the top prize of album of the year at the 2023 Grammy Awards.

In a review, The Associated Press celebrated “Harry’s House” for showcasing “a breadth of style that matches the album’s emotional range.”

On Instagram, Styles’ shared the cover artwork for “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally,” which features the 31-year-old artist in a T-shirt and jeans at night, standing underneath a shimmering disco ball hung outside.

According to a press release, “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally” will contain 12 tracks and is executive produced by Kid Harpoon. The British songwriter and producer has been a close collaborator of Styles’ since the beginning of his solo career, working on all of his albums since the singer’s 2017 self-titled debut.

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“Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally” is now available for preorder.

It is also Styles’ first project since his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne died in 2024 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.

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