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    French forces board Russian tanker suspected of drone launches – Europe live | World news

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    French forces board Russian tanker suspected of drone launches – Europe live | World news


    French armed forces board suspected shadow fleet tanker off France – sources

    Since we’re on Macron and France …

    French military personnel were reportedly on the deck of the suspected “shadow fleet” tanker we reported on a bit earlier (17:17), which is stationed off France and suspected of involvement in drone flights over Denmark last month, AFP reported.

    A source within the executive branch, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP earlier that the French navy had boarded the Boracay, a Benin-flagged vessel blacklisted by the European Union for being part of Russia’s sanction-busting “shadow fleet” of ageing oil tankers.

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    Closing summary

    Jakub Krupa

    … and on that note, it’s a wrap!

    • French military personnel were reportedly on the deck of a tanker alleged to be from Russia’s “shadow fleet” stationed off France and suspected of involvement in drone flights over Denmark last month (13:22, 18:51, 17:17).

    Elsewhere,

    • Top European leaders have met in Copenhagen for talks on the continent’s security situation and Ukraine (16:23), before joining the Danish royal couple for a formal dinner at Amalienborg Palace (18:38, 18:44).

    • Before the talks, Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen issued a stark warning that that Europe is “in the most difficult and dangerous situation since the second world war,” even worse than during the cold war (11:52), as she urged leaders to leave national perspectives behind and unite to take on Russia (11:50).

    • While the formal press conference is still expected to take place later tonight, some division lines were laid bare during the leaders’ arrivals as they publicly disagreed on the prospect of EU membership for Ukraine (14:46) and the use of Russian frozen assets to support Ukraine (12:30, 12:45, 12:58, 13:49)

    Meanwhile,

    • The annual beer festival Oktoberfest had to temporarily close its main site after a bomb threat issued by a man allegedly involved in an earlier explosion and fire in northern Munich (10:09, 11:21). It eventually reopened after several hours and a sweep of the site (14:18, 15:23, 15:46).

    And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.

    If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.

    I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.

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    As the clock strikes 7pm, the doors to Amalienborg Palace close, and that’s it.

    The royal dinner is under way.

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    Germany’s Friedrich Merz is the last leader to arrive, with two minutes to spare.

    … and I think we’re ready for the royal dinner!

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    Updated at 18.58 CEST

    Danish PM Mette Frederiksen is next on the red carpet, joined by the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Council president, António Costa.

    That’s the trio we are likely to hear from later tonight.

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    French armed forces board suspected shadow fleet tanker off France – sources

    Since we’re on Macron and France …

    French military personnel were reportedly on the deck of the suspected “shadow fleet” tanker we reported on a bit earlier (17:17), which is stationed off France and suspected of involvement in drone flights over Denmark last month, AFP reported.

    A source within the executive branch, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP earlier that the French navy had boarded the Boracay, a Benin-flagged vessel blacklisted by the European Union for being part of Russia’s sanction-busting “shadow fleet” of ageing oil tankers.

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    More and more leaders are now streaming towards the royal residence, eager not to be late for the starters.

    France’s Emmanuel Macron walked with Romania’s Nicușor Dan, followed by Spain’s Pedro Sánchez.

    Ireland’s Micheál Martin and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas follow, as does Italy’s Giorgia Meloni.

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    We are now hearing that the post-summit press conference is expected not before 9.30pm local time.

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    EU informal summit in Copenhagen wraps up before royal dinner

    That’s it – the leaders are now leaving the Christiansborg Palace, so we will take that a confirmation that no press conference will take place until after the dinner with the Royals.

    Leaving the venue, Finland’s PM Petteri Orpo told journalists that the talks were “good,” but he “would have hoped for more concreteness,” via Reuters.

    Erm.

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    For those of you who asked – here’s Albania’s Edi Rama and his funky tie…

    King Frederik X of Denmark and Queen Mary of Denmark welcome Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama (C) upon arrival for a dinner for EU heads of state and government at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen. Photograph: Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/Getty ImagesShare

    We understand that the working session is now over. The leaders should have just enough time for a quick family photo, and will be off to see the royals very soon.

    Still no update on whether we will hear from them tonight, though.

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    It’s looking increasingly unlikely that we will hear from the leaders before their royal dinner, which is scheduled for 7pm local time.

    King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark are now waiting for them outside the Amalienborg Palace, so we can only assume that they are expected there shortly.

    Albanian prime minister Edi Rama is one of the first guests to show up (he’s not wearing his signature sneakers, but he’s got a funky tie). Albania is not (yet?) part of the EU, but he is here for tomorrow’s summit of the European Political Community.

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    Updated at 18.27 CEST

    We are hearing from EU sources that the leaders’ talks in Copenhagen are progressing a bit slower than expected.

    We understand that they have only just finished their first agenda item – a debate on Europe’s defence – and are now moving on to Ukraine.

    However, the delay means the closing press conference could be moved to late evening, as they will first have a hard stop for a formal dinner with Denmark’s royals.

    We will keep an eye on this and let you know as soon as we know what the plan is.

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