World
Asylum seekers will be relocated from Spain, Italy, Greece and Cyprus
Spain, Italy, Greece, and Cyprus have been considered “under migratory pressure” by the European Commission in its first Annual Asylum and Migration Report, unveiled on Tuesday.
These countries were interested last year in a “disproportionate level” of migrant arrivals, including those rescued at sea.
Spain, Italy, Greece and Cyprus will therefore benefit in 2026 from the solidarity of other EU member states, which could be expressed by relocating asylum seekers over their territory or by financial contribution.
Together with this assessment, the Commission proposed to the EU 27 member states the Annual Solidarity Pool, a mechanism to determine the total number of asylum seekers to be relocated and the amount each country should allocate, or to compensate for by paying.
The pool’s proposal is not public. It will be discussed by the EU member states, which are set to decide the size and the solidarity share for each country by the end of the year.
Each member state – excepting the ones under migratory pressure – has to contribute in proportion to its population and total GDP, and could choose among three options to meet the needs outlined in the solidarity pool: relocating a certain number of asylum seekers to their own territory, pay €20,000 per person they do not relocate, or finance operational support in member states under migratory pressure.
The final decision will be taken by EU countries by a vote at qualified majority, with the minimum size for the solidarity pool set by law at 30,000 relocations and €600 million in financial contributions.
The Commission’s report also identifies 12 states “at risk of migratory pressure”: Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, France, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland and Finland.
These countries are required to provide solidarity to those under migratory pressure, but their situation will be reevaluated to avoid disproportionate obligations in the next year.
A third group of countries has been classified as “facing a significant migratory situation”: Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Croatia, Austria, Poland. They are still required to provide solidarity, but can ask for an exemption to their quotas, which has to be certified by the Commission and approved by other member states.
The report and the solidarity pool are the basis for developing the system of “mandatory solidarity” envisaged in the Pact on Migration and Asylum, the major reform of migration policy adopted in 2024.
Some member states do not want to apply the rules
Some EU countries are still opposing the system envisaged by the Pact on Migration and Asylum.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico have already stated that they will not implement EU rules, as they do not want to contribute either financially or by accepting migrants from other countries.
“Poland will not be accepting migrants under the Migration Pact. Nor will we pay for it,” Tusk wrote on Twitter shortly after the presentation of the report.
Budapest and Warsaw have not even presented to the Commission their implementation plan for the Pact, EU Commissioners for Home Affairs Magnus Brunner admitted during a press conference.
Failing to contribute to the solidarity mechanism would be “a breach of obligations under EU law,” a senior EU official told Euronews.
This could lead to an infringement procedure towards the countries not willing to contribute when the regulation enters into force in June 2026. The first assessment of the EU’s new migration rules will happen next July, according to EU sources.
The only legal possibility to avoid the solidarity share is applying for an exemption, which could be done only by countries considered as “facing a significant migratory situation”: Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Croatia, Austria and Poland.
If the exemption is accepted by the Commission and other member states, the country that asked for it is no longer obliged to accept asylum seekers, nor to compensate for it with financial contributions. That country’s share will not be redistributed among the other member states.
According to the Commission’s report, the general migratory situation in the EU has improved, with illegal border crossings down by 35%, during the reporting period (July 2024-June 2025)
At the same time, the Commission considers irregular arrivals, unauthorised movements of migrant people within the EU and weaponisation of migration by Russia and Belarus, among the challenges the EU has still to face.
World
Hyun Bin, Jung Woo-sung Crime Thriller ‘Made in Korea’ Sets Disney+ Debut
Hyun Bin and Jung Woo-sung go head-to-head in “Made in Korea,” a 1970s crime noir that launches Dec. 24 on Disney+ with a two-episode premiere.
The series stars Hyun Bin (“Crash Landing on You,” “Confidential Assignment”) as Baek Kitae, an ambitious KCIA agent in 1970s South Korea who leads a dangerous double life. By day, he works as a government operative, while by night he runs an illegal operation, using his underworld connections to consolidate power, protect his brother and generate substantial revenue for the agency.
Jung Woo-sung (“Tell Me That You Love Me,” “12.12: The Day”) co-stars as Jang Geonyoung, an incorruptible prosecutor determined to bring Kitae down. Woo Dohwan (“Bloodhounds,” “Mr. Plankton”) plays Kitae’s brother Baek Kihyun.
The series is written by Park Eunkyo (“Mother,” “A Normal Family,” “The Silent Sea”) and Park Joonseok (“A Normal Family”), directed by Woo Minho (“The Man Standing Next,” “Inside Men,” “Harbin”), and produced by Hive Media Corp (“Inside Men,” “The Man Standing Next,” “12.12: The Day”).
Following the two-episode premiere, “Made in Korea” will release two additional episodes on Dec. 31, with the final two episodes rolling out weekly through Jan. 14. The series has already been renewed for a second season, which is currently in production.
The thriller joins Disney+’s expanding slate of Korean drama content that launched in 2025, including “Unmasked,” “Nine Puzzles,” “Hyper Knife,” “Low Life,” “The Murky Stream” and “Tempest.”
The streamer has additional Korean series slated for 2026, including “Gold Land” starring Park Boyoung, “Perfect Crown” starring IU and Byeon Wooseok, and the return of “A Shop for Killers” for a second season with Lee Dongwook and Kim Hyejun.
World
Pope Leo XIV says he’s ‘very disappointed’ after Illinois approves assisted suicide law
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker meets with Pope Leo XIV
Illinois Democratic Gov. Jay Robert “JB” Pritzker met with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, a fellow native of the Land of Lincoln, at the Vatican this week. (Credit: REUTERS — No use Fox Weather/Outkick)
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Pope Leo XIV said Tuesday he was “very disappointed” after his home state of Illinois approved a law allowing medically assisted suicide.
Leo, who grew up in Chicago, said he had spoken “explicitly” with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker while the legislation was on his desk and urged him not to sign the bill into law, saying the measure undermines respect for human life from “the very beginning to the very end.”
“Unfortunately, for different reasons, he decided to sign that bill,” Leo told reporters outside Rome. “I am very disappointed about that.”
The Medical Aid in Dying Act, also referred to as “Deb’s Law,” was signed into law by Pritzker on Dec. 12 and allows eligible terminally ill adult patients to obtain life-ending medication after consultation with their doctors.
NY GOV. HOCHUL TO SIGN BILL TO LEGALIZE PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE: ‘WHO AM I TO DENY YOU?’
Pope Leo XIV met with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker during an audience at the Apostolic Palace on Nov. 19 in Vatican City, Vatican. (Simone Risoluti – Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
The measure was named after Deb Robertson, a lifelong Illinois resident with a rare terminal illness who had pushed for the bill’s approval.
The law takes effect in September 2026, giving participating healthcare providers and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) time to implement required processes and protections.
Leo said Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich also urged Pritzker not to sign the bill, but his efforts were unsuccessful.
BISHOPS, CATHOLIC GROUPS SLAM CARDINAL CUPICH’S PLAN TO HONOR PRO-ABORTION SEN DICK DURBIN: ‘GREAT SCANDAL’
Pope Leo XIV said he was very disappointed” that Illinois passed a law allowing medically assisted suicide. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images)
“I would invite all people, especially in these Christmas days, to reflect upon the nature of human life, the goodness of human life,” Leo said. “God became human like us to show us what it means really to live human life, and I hope and pray that the respect for life will once again grow in all moments of human existence, from conception to natural death.”
The state’s six Catholic dioceses have also criticized Pritzker’s decision to sign the bill, saying it puts Illinois “on a dangerous and heartbreaking path.”
Illinois joins a growing list of states allowing medically assisted suicide. Eleven other states and the District of Columbia allow medically assisted suicide, according to the advocacy group, Death with Dignity, and seven other states are considering allowing it.
After signing the bill, Pritzker said the legislation would allow patients with terminal illnesses to “avoid unnecessary pain and suffering at the end of their lives,” and said it would be “thoughtfully implemented” to guide physicians and patients through deeply personal decisions.
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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Medical Aid in Dying Act on Dec. 12, allowing eligible terminally ill adult patients to obtain life-ending medication after consultation with their doctors. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has reached out to Pritzker’s office for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
Europeans show solidarity with Denmark after Trump’s Greenland threat
Published on
Exactly one year after Donald Trump first announced his intention to integrate Greenland into US territory on grounds of “national protection”, he’s back for more.
The US president has appointed Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, as the new US special envoy for Greenland with the stated objective of “integrating Greenland into the United States” and repeated the US needs the territory for its national security.
His comments have been taken seriously by EU heads of state and government, who are presenting a united front against what they describe as American expansionist ambitions towards the autonomous territory, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron and his Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, both responded to the announcement by reaffirming their support for the integrity of Denmark’s territory.
“Greenland belongs to its people. Denmark stands as its guarantor. I join my voice to that of Europeans in expressing our full solidarity.”
On Tuesday, Trump told reporters the United States “needs Greenland for national security, not for minerals or oil, but national security. And if you take a look at Greenland, there are Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. So, we need this for protection.”
He also chastised Denmark for what he described neglecting the territory, “they have spent no money, they have no military protection, they say Denmark arrived there 300 years ago with boats – we were there with boats too, I’m sure. We’ll have to work it all out.”
Adding to the European voices pushing back on the US ambitions and the criticism of Denmark, Commission Ursula von der Leyen insisted that “territorial integrity and sovereignty are fundamental principles of international law”. Despite the tone coming out of Washington, she appeared to refer to the US as an ally in arctic security.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez echoed those remarks. “Respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity is central to the EU and to all nations of the world,” he wrote on X. “Security in the Arctic is a priority in which we seek to work with allies and partners.”
The US and Denmark are part of NATO, which is supposed to ensure mutual defence in the event of aggression against one of its members. That principle has never been tested by conflict between members of the alliance if one were to seize territory from another.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has so far remained silent on the issue. During a press conference with Trump in the White House’s Oval Office in March, he also chose not to comment after a question from a journalist.
“When it comes to Greenland, if it joins the US or not, I will leave that outside of me in this discussion because I don’t want to drag NATO into that,” he said.
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