Macron to address the nation on Middle East as first wave of stranded Europeans start to return home – Europe live

<p>French president will make his speech this evening; first wave of European travellers arrive home, but hundreds of thousands remain stuck in region</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/03/flights-depart-middle-east-travel-chaos"><strong>Airlines in Middle East rule out services resuming before Thursday</strong></a></p></li></ul><p></p><p><strong>Ahead of von der Leyen’s call with Zelenskyy later today, the European Commission was also asked about Ukraine’s 2027 target for joining the bloc.</strong></p><p>A spokesperson for the commission said that <strong>it was Ukraine’s ambition, but the EU “cannot have it as our reference”</strong> as it needs to go through the formal process and get the political agreement of all other member states.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/mar/03/european-travel-flights-iran-middle-east-freidrich-merz-europe-latest-news-updates">Continue reading...</a>