Evening news bulletin: top stories from Europe, July 25, 2026

It’s been a dense and at times dramatic Friday across Europe and beyond, with three major stories dominating the afternoon news cycle — a breakthrough energy pact in Brussels, deepening political chaos in France, and a heatwave that’s now killed at least 47 people across Spain, Portugal and southern Italy.

EU seals landmark energy deal after 11th-hour negotiations

European Union energy ministers reached a long-delayed agreement in Brussels this evening, signing off on a unified gas storage and pricing framework that’s been stalled in committee for nearly eight months. The deal sets a collective storage floor of 85 percent capacity by November 1st and introduces a price-cap mechanism tied to TTF benchmark rates. It won’t please everyone — Hungary and Slovakia both abstained — but officials are calling it a genuine step forward.

‘This framework gives European households and businesses the certainty they’ve been asking for,’ said an EU Energy Council spokesperson at a brief press conference shortly after 6 p.m. local time.

Markets responded cautiously. European gas futures dipped 1.4 percent on the news, though analysts warned the deal’s enforcement provisions remain vague.

France teeters as prime minister faces no-confidence vote

In Paris, French Prime Minister Édouard Lacombe is facing the most serious challenge of his 14-month tenure. A no-confidence motion tabled by a coalition of left and far-right opposition parties is set for a vote on Monday, and the numbers don’t look good for him. The latest head count puts the opposition within six votes of the threshold needed to bring the government down.

Thousands of protesters gathered near the Palais Bourbon on Friday evening, some demanding early elections, others simply angry about the cost of living. Police deployed water cannon against a smaller group that attempted to break through security barriers around 7:30 p.m.

The Élysée has stayed conspicuously quiet all day.

Heatwave death toll climbs as temperatures shatter records

Southern Europe is sweltering. Seville recorded 46.2°C on Friday afternoon — the highest temperature ever logged in the city in July. In Lisbon, 13 heat-related deaths were confirmed by Portuguese health authorities since Thursday morning. Spain’s emergency services responded to over 2,300 heat-related calls in a 24-hour period.

The death toll across the three countries now stands at 47, though that figure is expected to rise as regional data comes in overnight.

Authorities in Madrid have opened 140 air-conditioned cooling centers and are urging people, particularly those over 65, to stay indoors between noon and 8 p.m.

What to watch this weekend

Monday’s confidence vote in Paris is the obvious headline risk heading into the weekend. But there’s also a G7 foreign ministers’ call scheduled for Sunday evening, convened to address escalating tensions in the Western Balkans after a border incident near Mitrovica on Thursday left two people injured. And meteorologists say the heatwave won’t break until at least Wednesday — so the next few days are likely to stay very uncomfortable for millions of people across southern Europe.