Organisers of Budapest Pride said the government was attempting to restrict peaceful protests by targeting them
Good morning and welcome to the Europe live blog. My name is Tom Ambrose and I’ll be bringing you all the latest news lines.
We start with news that record numbers of people are expected to take part in Budapest Pride on Saturday. Hungarians will join forces with campaigners and politicians from across Europe in the march that has become a potent symbol of pushback against the Hungarian government’s steady rollback of rights.
Severe weather warnings have been issued across southern Europe, including in Italy, Spain and Portugal, with temperatures expected to get close to or locally even above 40C this weekend, prompting concerns about health hazards and wildfires (14:32).
Expected temperatures on early Saturday afternoon: Madrid 38C, Thessaloníki 38C, Florence 38C, Rome 37C, Lisbon 36C, Tirana 36C, Athens 35C.
It will be hot in Paris (32C) and still warm in London and Berlin 28C, and in Brussels 27C.
European leaders failed to agree on the latest, 18th, package of sanctions at last night’s European Council meeting in Brussels, with Hungary and Slovakia holding firm in their opposition to the proposed measures.
But it’s worth noting that the EU has agreed on rolling over the already existing sanctions against Russia, which were due to expire.
In Germany, lawmakers agreed to suspend family reunification rights for refugees without asylum status as conservative chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government pursues a crackdown on immigration.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Estonia’s stated intention to let Nato allies’ nuclear-capable aircraft use its territory was a direct threat to Moscow.
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