Latest news bulletin | December 12th, 2025 – Midday
Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this December 12th, 2025 - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
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00:00In a stunning reversal for Europe, Greek finance minister Kyriakos Pirekakis has been elected as Eurogroup president.
00:10The European Union and Kiev have drawn up an action plan to propel Ukraine on its path to EU membership.
00:16The aim is to bypass Hungary's political veto.
00:21Bulgaria's Prime Minister Rosenzhelioskov resigned after tens of thousands of Bulgarians joined protests over allegations of widespread corruption.
00:30Football fan organizations have accused FIFA of a monumental betrayal as starting prices of World Cup tickets begin to circulate, reflecting exorbitant figures.
00:40Greek finance minister Kyriakos Pirekakis was elected president of the Eurogroup on Thursday,
00:46rewarding the country's turnaround story ten years after Athens almost crashed out of the Eurozone in a deep economic crisis.
00:55Pirekakis takes over the Eurozone functions on 12 December, coinciding with the exit of former boss Pascal Donohoe,
01:03who was re-elected this year, but abruptly exited a position to take the top job at the World Bank in Washington.
01:10The Greek politician will be in office for the next two and a half years and will also be the chairman of the European Stability Mechanism, the EU's bailout fund.
01:19The Eurogroup, the informal body of finance ministers from 20 European Union members,
01:25handles key economic files including the EU's capital markets and the investment union.
01:32Coming under assault from China's growing global market share and U.S. tariffs,
01:37the group's role has become even more crucial.
01:40Pirekakis has said it will work to keep the Eurogroup focused on its common currency and common interests grounded in the core values of the Union.
01:54The European Union and Kiev have drawn up an action plan to propel Ukraine on its path to EU membership.
02:00The two partners unveiled the agreement on Thursday following an informal meeting in Lviv,
02:05Ukraine of the EU ministers responsible for European affairs.
02:09The aim is to bypass Hungary's political veto on the official opening of accession negotiations,
02:16a step that requires the unanimity of all member states.
02:20It is very clear that we are 26 member countries that see a future with Ukraine in EU.
02:27It is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when.
02:31Ukraine will informally proceed with the reforms it's expected to implement
02:35with support from the Commission, allowing technical negotiations to continue.
02:40They all focus on strengthening the rule of law,
02:43fighting corruption and building the strong, accountable, democratic institutions in Ukraine,
02:50and these institutions Ukraine needs for the future accession process.
02:56The plan comes at a critical moment for Kiev as it faces mounting pressure from the US
03:01to swiftly sign a peace deal with Russia amid uncertainty over its future funding.
03:09Members of the Coalition for the Willing for Ukraine on Thursday called for continued transatlantic unity
03:17as Europeans seek to exert greater influence in the peace talks with Moscow
03:22and Washington ups pressure for a quick deal.
03:26The meeting came a day after leaders of England, France and Germany, known as E3,
03:32spoke with US President Donald Trump on the phone about the latest developments in the peace talks.
03:38According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky,
03:41the US-led peace talks are currently wrestling with Russian demands for Ukrainian territory
03:46and security guarantees for Ukraine.
03:48About an hour ago, we had a conversation with the United States team
03:53about possible security guarantees for Ukraine,
03:56and we are working on a framework document,
03:58and it must be strong enough to truly work.
04:01We believe this document should be approved by the United States Congress.
04:05This would mean real, solid, legally binding security guarantees for our country.
04:12Trump has made it clear he expects European allies to shoulder
04:15most of the burden for security guarantees,
04:19with 26 countries already declaring
04:21they will provide equipment and assistance post-truise.
04:26But many of the plans are dependent on a US backstop,
04:30mainly in the form of air protection and intelligence sharing,
04:34something that's yet to be agreed upon.
04:42Bulgaria's Prime Minister Rosenziliaskov resigned
04:45after tens of thousands of protesters gathered across the country the night before.
04:50They were calling for the government to step down over allegations of corruption,
04:55as well as for better living and working conditions.
04:58Ziliaskov announced his resignation right before a scheduled vote of no confidence.
05:03преди голосуванете на гота доверия,
05:06днес правителството подало ставка.
05:09За оставката
05:11глас си издигнаха и млади,
05:14и стари,
05:15хора от различни
05:17етноси, от различни религии.
05:19Затова тази гражданска енергия
05:22трябва да бъде подкрепена
05:23и трябва да бъде поощрена.
05:25The President will now ask the larger party in Parliament to form a new government.
05:44If he fails to do so or rejects the proposition, two other parties will get the chance.
05:49If once again this fails, the President will appoint an interim government and call for
05:53snap elections.
05:56The turmoil comes as Bulgaria is set to become the 21st member of the Eurozone on the 1st
06:01of January.
06:07Serbian President Aleksandr Vucic appeared to suggest he had received a message from Moscow.
06:13He was caught saying so on a hot mic during a visit to Brussels in which he held talks
06:17with top European Union officials.
06:20Vucic was walking next to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ahead of taking
06:25a family picture.
06:26The two were accompanied by EU Council President António Kosta.
06:37It is not yet clear what message from Moscow Vucic was referring to.
06:41However, the Serbian President is one of the few European leaders who maintains a communications
06:46channel with the Kremlin as the EU broke off diplomatic ties with Russia after its invasion
06:51of Ukraine in 2022.
06:53Vucic was in Brussels on Wednesday for a Serbia-EU bilateral meeting to discuss, among other themes,
07:00the country's EU membership bid.
07:03A new world inequality report warns that fewer than 60,000 of the world's richest people own
07:11more wealth than half of the entire world put together.
07:15The report highlights extreme gaps in income and wealth, which translate into unequal distribution
07:20of political power.
07:22A global elite amounting to 0.001 percent of the population is three times wealthier than
07:28the bottom 50 percent.
07:31At the same time, the top tier contributes disproportionately little to public finances.
07:38Middle-class workers on a high professional salary such as doctors, teachers and engineers
07:43pay a higher share of their income in tax than a billionaire whose wealth is based on
07:47offshore structures or capital gains.
07:50Global wealth inequality also leads to an unequal contribution to climate change.
07:56The report shows that a person in the global top 1 percent income group emits on average
08:00around 75 times more carbon per year than someone in the bottom 50 percent.
08:07At the global scale, the top 1 percent accounts for 41 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions
08:12under ownership-based accounting.
08:15The report argues that the international monetary and financial system is structurally set up to
08:20favor rich countries and drain resources from poorer ones.
08:24Crucially, the report argues this pattern is not the natural outcome of free markets, but
08:29the result of political and institutional design.
08:33The report concludes that the current global system reproduces inequality between countries
08:38in a way that echoes, in a subtler form, older patterns of colonial extraction.
08:43The organization Football Supporters Europe have accused FIFA of a monumental betrayal after
08:51the latest prices for World Cup tickets began to circulate on Thursday.
08:55Football's governing body has allocated 8 percent of tickets to national football associations
09:01for games involving their teams to sell to their most loyal fans.
09:04A list published by the German Football Federation revealed prices ranging from $180 to $700 as
09:12the lowest price for varying group stage games.
09:16The lowest listed finals ticket was priced at almost $4,200, while the highest came just
09:22shy of $8,700.
09:24The prices are a stark increase from FIFA's promises of affordable tickets, which they claimed
09:29would start at $60.
09:32It's also a dramatic increase from targets from U.S. football officials when bidding for
09:36the tournament seven years ago to offer hundreds of thousands of tickets for a starting price
09:41of $21.
09:44The organization described the current prices as extortionate, claiming it massively discounts
09:48supporters' contribution to the spectacle that is the World Cup.
09:53They've also immediately called on FIFA to halt ticket sales via national associations until
09:58a solution that respects the traditions of the World Cup is found.
10:03Archaeologists in the United Kingdom have uncovered the earliest evidence of humans making fire
10:12at 400,000 years old.
10:15It has long been known that ancient humans used naturally occurring fire more than one million
10:19years ago, but it has remained unclear when exactly humans learned to create and control
10:24fire themselves.
10:25We have this evidence for a fireplace.
10:29We have next to it, archaeology, artifacts made by Neanderthals.
10:33But what really makes this site extraordinary is the discovery of these two little fragments.
10:39And this is just a tiny little fragment of iron pyrite.
10:44So this is a mineral that can be used for striking, you strike it with flint and it creates sparks.
10:50So it's part of a fire lighting kit.
10:54So this is evidence that not only were Neanderthals using fire at this site, but they were also
10:59making the fire using flint and pyrite.
11:03The archaeological team spent four years analyzing the materials to rule out natural wildfires.
11:10Tests showed temperatures above 700 degrees Celsius and repeated burning in the same location,
11:16indicating a hearth was used multiple times.
11:18Other fossils of the same age were found in Britain and Spain, exhibiting traits linked to Neanderthals.
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