Good morning. It’s Thursday, and my name is Angela Skujins. On today’s agenda: exploring the role of artificial intelligence (AI) on Europe’s battlefield, keeping the international justice system accountable, and how to stop the world’s islands from sinking.
Some breaking news before we dive in: A federal judge has ordered the White House to restore press access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico after their reporters had their credentials pulled. On the surface this is a major win for journalism, but, as always, this is a developing news story. Make sure to continue reading Euronews for updates.
The ‘new normal’: Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and Polish President Karol Nawrocki reportedly met with Alex Karp, CEO of US-based tech company Palantir Technologies, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York this week.
Not to be confused with the Lord of the Rings seeing stone of the same name, Palantir is known for embedding AI into its tech systems. These systems are routinely used by American forces such as the US Department for Defence and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — but also on the battlefield in Ukraine.
In a post on social media platform X, which includes a photo of Nausėda sitting alongside Karp, the Lithuanian leader said that Vilnius “is ready” to become a strong regional hub for the Baltics and the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). “Combining top talent, AI, data and defence technologies to develop solutions for real security needs across the alliance” the post reads.
Rival hubs: A similar story emerged of the Polish president meeting the Palantir’s CEO published in the domestic press. In Polish, the newspaper Niezalezna reports that Karp officially declared an interest in establishing a regional technology development centre in Warsaw for NATO.
But the company has also been castigated. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has gone so far as to blocking Palantir from public contracts and state-controlled companies. Human Rights Watch (HRW) and others have criticised Palantir for supplying surveillance, data-analytics and AI intelligence tools for those employed in military operations.
In one report, HRW writes that the US’ deployment of Palantir technologies, alongside other systems, led to the “widespread scale” and tempo of Trump’s Operation Epic Fury, the name given to the operation that kicked off the war with Iran in February 2026.
With this track record in mind, I asked the European Commissioner for Defence Andrius Kubilius about the meetings between Karp and the presidents of Lithuania and Poland on Europe Today. He said Palantir is a "great company" and the development of AI on the battlefield is necessary.
“Developments with AI for intelligence, for managing the data, are very crucial for modern warfare doctrines," he said.
"And we can see, for example, Ukrainian development with their own Delta system for data management, battlefield data management. And this is what really is becoming a new normal in the management of battlefields and in implementation of warfare or defence doctrines.” Watch.
No justice: US President Donald Trump once again lashed out at the International Criminal Court during his own show-stopping United Nations General Assembly moment, however Brussels has come to The Hague court’s defence.
In a statement shared exclusively with Euronews, the European Commissioner for Justice Michael McGrath said that the EU is strongly committed to international criminal justice and the fight against impunity.
“Attacks or threats against the Court, elected officials, personnel and those cooperating with the Court are not acceptable,” he said. Does this mean that the Commission will deploy the “blocking statute” — a legal mechanism designed to protect EU companies and entities from things such as sanctions? The Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen has reportedly requested its deployment.
Member of the European Parliament Chloé Ridel (S&D), who belongs to a group of MEPs calling for stronger EU support for the ICC, just told Europe Today that the blocking statute needs to be launched. "(European Commission President) Ursula von der Leyen has refused to do that. Even so, we gather the majority in the European Parliament in favour of the activation," she said.
One more UNGA story: Outside of the major news that dominates much of these political events, another extremely important but less talked about topic is how to support those dramatically impacted by rising sea levels.
The UN's main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ is expected to approve a declaration recognising statehood and UN membership for countries affected by the most dramatic consequences of the climate emergency: sinking islands.
Kamal Amakrane, Managing Director of the UN’s Global Centre for Climate Mobility, just told Europe Today that the climate emergency is not only an island issue. “For some, it is definitely a matter of how they affirm their statehood continuity, their maritime zones, their rights, their dignity,” he said.
“These are the countries of the Pacific, Tuvalu, Marshall Island, Kiribati. It hits at the core of their identity and who they are. In Europe, it's an infrastructure challenge. It's an insurance challenge. It's a livelihood challenge.” Watch.
Onto the Brussels beat: Montenegro’s ambitious goal of becoming the EU’s 28th member by 2028 could be jeopardised unless it resolves its outstanding bilateral disputes with Croatia soon.
As Luca Bertuzzi reports, Brussels was forced to postpone a pencilled-in intergovernmental conference with the bloc's "frontrunner" candidate on Tuesday, after Croatia reiterated its opposition to closing several negotiating chapters over the ongoing disputes.
Podgorica has already closed 18 negotiating chapters and aims to complete its homework on the remaining 15 by the end of the month, which would then leave it up to member states to sign off on them. But the long-running disputes with Croatia risk derailing the whole process. Read more.
One final thing before you go: The EU is facing the prospect of another squeeze on its liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies, as Trump’s latest Russia sanctions could disrupt the LNG flows the EU still relies on.
The reporting by my colleague Marta Pacheco comes as Osama Rizvi, International energy and economic analyst, tells Europe Today that Europe's potential looming energy crisis has far-reaching consequences.
"This can result into a spillover increase in food prices, and an increase in food prices can also result in social unrest," he said, adding: "This is practically proven. So this becomes a policy measure."
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