Inclusion on a United States sanctions list is not sufficient on its own for a refusal to open a bank account in the European Union, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on Thursday

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Inclusion on a United States sanctions list is not sufficient on its own for a refusal to open a bank account in the European Union, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on Thursday.

• In 2022, a Slovenian bank – referred to in the court decision as Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor, since acquired by OTP Group – refused to open an account with basic features for a consumer, named in the decision only as LH, who was included on a sanctions list by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which enforces economic and trade sanctions, the court said.

• That consumer was not convicted of the criminal offence that led to his inclusion on the OFAC list and is not subject to sanctions imposed by the United Nations, the European Union or Slovenia, the court said.

• The court said any legal EU resident may open and use a basic bank account, though that right is subject to compliance with anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism rules.

• Inclusion on the OFAC list or any other sanctions list by a third country can be included as relevant factors while determining the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing, the court said.

• But “the mere inclusion of a customer’s name on the OFAC list, or on any other list of that type drawn up by a third country, does not automatically prohibit a bank from establishing a business relationship with that customer,” the court said in a statement.

• The U.S. Treasury Department and OTP Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by David Holmes

The centre-right administration will now draw up legislation to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 14, from the current 15, Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said

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Sweden’s government said on Thursday it had dropped plans to lock up violent offenders as young as 13 in special prison units as there was not enough support for the measure in parliament — a major reversal on a key policy ahead of elections.

The centre-right administration will now draw up legislation to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 14, from the current 15, Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said, as part of a crackdown on young people caught up in gang violence.

Sweden has seen a surge in gang-related shootings and bombings over the last decade, dozens of which were carried out by minors.

More than 50 children under 15 faced court last year suspected of murder or attempted murder, Strommer said. Under the current system, if convicted, they would go to youth homes where most inmates later reoffend, he added.

The aim of the measures was “to protect society from life-threatening crime, to protect victims of crime, often themselves children,” he told reporters.

“By lowering the age of criminal responsibility … fairer and proportionate sanctions can be imposed, and we will be able to create better conditions for rehabilitation than today.”

Strommer said the government had backed down rather than risk a parliamentary vote that could have left the current system in place.

The ruling coalition only has a slim majority – and that with support of the populist Sweden Democrats – and some government lawmakers were expected to vote against the measure.

The government, which is trailing in opinion polls ahead of the September vote, has overhauled the criminal justice system, giving the police more power and introducing tougher sentences.

Its plan to send children as young as 13 who commit the most violent crimes to special prison units has raised concerns among opposition parties and experts who say there is no evidence such measures work.

The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child recommends that the age of criminal responsibility should be 14 at the lowest. The average age of criminal responsibility across Europe is 14.

Reporting by Simon Johnson, editing by Terje Solsvik and Andrew Heavens

The EU has proposed a new package of sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine, heavily targeting the country’s banks and crypto networks in an effort to weaken its financial system

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The Kremlin on Thursday shrugged off the prospect of new European Union sanctions against its banks, saying they had already been operating under sanctions for a long time and this had not stopped them from making a profit.

The EU has proposed a new package of sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine, heavily targeting the country’s banks and crypto networks in an effort to weaken its financial system.

“Our largest banks have long been under sanctions. This does not prevent the banks from earning large profits, developing, maintaining absolute stability,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, when asked about the sector’s ability to weather new restrictions.

Peskov highlighted Wednesday’s comments by President Vladimir Putin about the overall economic situation being under control.

“The same can be said about the banking sector. Our central bank has repeatedly spoken about this; it is monitoring the situation quite closely and taking the necessary measures to maintain this stability,” he said.

Sanctions, high interest rates, and war spending have taken a toll on Russia’s $3 trillion economy, which contracted by 0.3% in the first quarter, marking its first quarterly decline since early 2023.

Reporting by Dmitry Antonov, Writing by Felix Light and Alessandra Prentice, Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Tomasz Janowski

The EU’s second emissions trading system, known as ETS2, will impose a price from 2028 on CO2 emissions produced by heating and transport fuels to encourage a shift to electric vehicles and cleaner home heating systems

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The European Union agreed stronger measures to control prices in its new carbon market early on Thursday, responding to governments’ concerns that the emissions-cutting initiative could increase fuel bills. 

Following negotiations that ran late into Wednesday night, EU countries and the European Parliament agreed that if the cost of permits in the new carbon market exceeds €45 ($52) per tonne of CO2, then 40 million permits will be released into the market from a “stability reserve” to regulate supply, up from a previous 20 million, the Parliament said in a statement.

The reserve can be triggered twice per year, adding a total of 80 million extra permits to the market annually. The reserve will also be extended beyond 2030 rather than expiring that year. 

The EU’s second emissions trading system, known as ETS2, will impose a price from 2028 on CO2 emissions produced by heating and transport fuels to encourage a shift to electric vehicles and cleaner home heating systems. 

It will require fuel suppliers and distributors to buy CO2 permits from the ETS2 market to cover their emissions.

Proceeds from the scheme will be spent on helping people pay bills, buy electric cars and invest in energy-saving home renovations. 

The scheme is separate from the EU’s existing emissions trading system, which covers power plants and heavy industries. 

The stricter measures to regulate ETS2 prices follow warnings from governments, including France and the Czech Republic, that the new program risked stoking opposition to climate change policies if it was perceived as raising consumers’ fuel bills. 

The agreed changes also include a more staggered release of permits from the market stability reserve, to avoid sudden supply changes that could trigger sharp price moves. Smaller volumes will start to be released as soon as the amount of permits in the market drops below 260 million, replacing the previous plan to release 100 million permits when the total falls below 210 million. 

EU countries and the European Parliament must approve the deal before it enters into force. That step is usually a formality that waves through pre-agreed deals without changes.

($1 = €0.8666) 

Reporting by Kate Abnett and Mrinmay Dey; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Tom Hogue, Alexandra Hudson

The Commission negotiated multi-billion vaccine contracts with drug makers such as Pfizer and BioNTech on behalf of the 27-nation bloc during the pandemic

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An adviser to Europe’s top court on Thursday recommended it to dismiss an appeal lodged by the European Commission against a 2024 ruling forcing the disclosure of information on COVID-19 vaccine contracts.

“The General Court was correct in holding that the transparency of the process of negotiating agreements for Covid-19 vaccines constitutes a specific purpose in the public interest within the meaning of EU law,” Advocate General Athanasios Rantos said, according to a court document released on Thursday.

The Commission negotiated multi-billion vaccine contracts with drug makers such as Pfizer and BioNTech on behalf of the 27-nation bloc during the pandemic.

Rantos recommended upholding the ruling that annulled the Commission’s decision to redact the names of the members of a negotiation team and some contractual clauses of the contract arguing protection of privacy of individuals and protection of commercial interests of the companies.

In both cases, the Commission’s attitude does not allow accountability, Rantos, whose opinion is not binding, added.

The Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The recommendation is a setback for the Commission and its President Ursula von der Leyen, who was already at the helm of the institution during the COVID crisis. The issue was used against her as evidence the EU’s executive body under her leadership lacks transparency.

In a separate case, the court ruled in 2025 that the Commission had to disclose text messages between von der Leyen and the CEO of Pfizer exchanged during the negotiations for the COVID vaccines.

The Commission did not provide credible reason for rejecting a New York Times request to hand over the texts, which von der Leyen said she no longer has. The Commission did not appeal that ruling.

Reporting by Inti Landauro; Editing by Bart Meijer

The stop in the Spanish archipelago off the western coast of Africa is a centrepiece of the pope’s week-long tour of Spain, in which he has also warned that escalating conflicts have pushed the world into a profound crisis

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Pope Leo arrived in the Canary Islands on Thursday for the final leg of his visit to Spain, where he will meet migrants who have braved dangerous Atlantic waters to reach Europe as he urges the world to treat immigrants more humanely.

The stop in the Spanish archipelago off the western coast of Africa is a centrepiece of the pope’s week-long tour of Spain, in which he has also warned that escalating conflicts have pushed the world into a profound crisis. 

Juan Carlos Lorenzo, coordinator of the Spanish Commission for Refugees in the Canary Islands, said that Leo’s visit to the Canaries, where the pope will meet with around 1,000 migrants on Friday, was a “significant milestone”.

“It will serve as a strong affirmation of the defence of human rights, respect, and the dignity that all people deserve, regardless of their origin,” said Lorenzo.    

Leo landed on Gran Canaria, one of the main islands, where he will meet several groups that help recently arrived migrants before laying flowers at a memorial to migrants lost at sea.

More than 3,000 people died in 2025 trying to reach the Canary Islands, according to the NGO Caminando Fronteras.

Leo, who has spoken forcefully against the direction of global leadership in recent months, told the Spanish parliament on Monday that a lack of help for the world’s migrants was ​challenging “the ethical foundation of the international order”.

In contrast to most of Europe, Spain has adopted a more open stance on migrants, introducing a programme to grant residency to more than half a million undocumented people. 

The initiative, however, has drawn criticism from far-right leaders in Spain and across the continent, and the country is struggling with the slow pace of granting legal status to thousands in limbo.

Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Additional reporting by Corina Pons; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Alex Richardson