Europe's top diplomat ducked a "word-fight" with the US, but president Donald Trump issued more anti-EU slurs on Tuesday.

In an exclusive interview with EUobserver, Marta Lorenzo, the director of the UNRWA office in Brussels, summarises the situation in Gaza as “a combination of hope and despair”.

The war in Ukraine, North Korea’s missile tests, and China’s growing assertiveness reveal a stark truth: the EU needs to deepen partnerships with other democracies that share our values. And few countries embody this alignment more than Japan, writes Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former Danish PM and Nato chief.

EU states are struggling with upcoming border rules that critics say could led to detention-like centres. Under the new regime authorities will have only seven days to screen a prospective asylum seeker.

Today, we kick off an anniversary campaign to convince new supporting members to join EUobserver's mission of providing the information citizens need to safeguard EU democracy.

Russian spies are still active in the EU capital and have a "higher risk appetite" than before the Ukraine war — despite Belgium's efforts to push back against their plots.