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Macron expected to back Andorra’s moves to decriminalise abortion during visit – Europe live | France

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Morning opening: Co-prince Macron visits Andorra

Jakub Krupa

Jakub Krupa

France’s president Emmanuel Macron is in Andorra, performing his duties as the state’s co-prince, alongside the Catholic Bishop of Urgell, Josep-Lluís Serrano Pentinat.

France's president and Andorra’s co-prince Emmanuel Macron arrives as he is welcomed by the second co-prince Josep-Lluis Serrano Pentinat (R), ahead of a dinner in Andorra.
France’s president and Andorra’s co-prince Emmanuel Macron arrives as he is welcomed by the second co-prince Josep-Lluis Serrano Pentinat (R), ahead of a dinner in Andorra. Photograph: Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images

That in itself could be at best a factoid for your next politics geek pub quiz, but – as briefly covered in yesterday’s Europe Live – there is a serious element to it as his visit comes at a time of policy debate on abortion in the country, which continues to have some of the most restrictive laws in Europe.

Radio France International reported that Andorra’s prime minister Xavier Espot Zamora has “indicated he hopes to decriminalise abortion within a year, though not necessarily legalise it,” but the microstate’s governance setup involving a Catholic bishop makes it tricky.

During today’s speech as Andorra’s co-prince, Macron is expected to speak frankly about the issue and back the changes, as well as endorse plans for Andorra to ratify its association agreement with the European Union, which could be done as early as in July.

Last night, Macron raised a toast “from heart” to celebrate Andorra’s unique history and international position, with political talks only taking place behind the closed doors, but today we should hear more.

Andorra’s public broadcaster RTVA reported on Monday that Macron confirmed that abortion would feature in his speech, with the Catholic co-prince conceding that “we must move forward without breaking the institutional seams.” Let’s see what that means.

I will bring you the key lines from Macron’s speech later.

Separately, the European Parliament is expected to discuss the next EU budget, and the European Commission to talk about reforming its regulatory environment.

Again, I will keep an eye on this for you.

It’s Tuesday, 28 April 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

Good morning.

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‘Public secret’ that Iran war causes delays to stock deliveries to Europe, Finland and Estonia’s leaders confirm

Separately, Finland’s Stubb confirms that Europe faces some delays in stock deliveries from the US as a result of the Middle East war.

He says:

“It is a public secret that some of the stocks and delivered systems in the US are either going elsewhere or being delayed. But I don’t see any need for alarm here in Finland.”

Estonia’s Karis confirms this, too:

“We are in a same position in the sense I know that there is a delay – it is probably a question to our minister of defence what kind of missiles or ammunition we are missing – but as far as I know, its [tactical ballistic missiles] Himars.

But it’s a signal that in Estonia and in Europe in general, we should much much faster develop our defence industry, not relying on different countries in the world.”

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David Guetta and Sia’s song Titanium got me through my fertility treatment | Dance music

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At the end of 2011, party season was under way but I was in no mood for festivities. Two years into fertility treatment, my body was pumped full of synthetic hormones and felt like a pin cushion, while my head was filled with both the fragile hope of having a baby, and the exhaustion of failed clinical attempts to do so.

I was in my late 20s. I met my husband when I was 22; we got married when I was 25. “I want to have kids young,” I’d told him. It was a feeling I’d harboured since my teenage years. But I’d also had the nagging sense that it might not come easily to me. As it turned out, my intuition was right. Approaching 28, I was a regular on the infertility merry-go-round.

I was recovering from my second miscarriage that year when I heard Sia’s raspy voice on the car radio belting out words that sounded emotionally weighty for an electronic dance number – her David Guetta collaboration, Titanium.

It’s not a song I would have necessarily rated or listened to again – I’m more likely to play 00s R&B and hip-hop – but it came at the perfect time in my life. I had forgotten how days felt before fertility drugs and the diarised cycles of administering them. I’d been constantly wearing a brave face and cramming in hospital appointments before and after work, going about my job through a fog of longing and hormones. It had left me in a “cry on the bedroom floor” kind of a heap. I needed something to drag the hope back into me.

I turned the radio up and listened to the lyrics: “I’m bulletproof, nothing to lose / Fire away, fire away.” It felt as if it was talking to and about me, issuing a riposte to all those shots of disappointment that had been fired our way. As Sia’s vocals ascended through the chorus with Guetta’s soaring synths – “Ricochet, you take your aim” – I cried, but I felt myself gaining power with her, too. “You shoot me down, but I won’t fall / I am titanium.” Those were the words I needed to hear.

I felt like a puppet pulled upright again. I streamed it on repeat in the days that followed. I might not have been able to face the work Christmas party but I wasn’t going to languish on the bedroom floor any more.

Over the next months, I spent a lot of time in my car, travelling to work and to fertility appointments to get my blood tested, hormones measured or insides scanned. Listening to Titanium became routine. Each time, its cinematic surge had the same empowering effect and I’d turn up the volume, wind down the windows and defiantly sing along in my terrible voice so it could wash over me.

The following May, when my husband and I headed to the clinic for another IVF embryo transfer, I let it motivate me; when we drove back from scans confirming we were six weeks, then 12 weeks pregnant, I celebrated with it. As I nervously made my way through my pregnancy, I turned to it when I needed the boost.

In January 2013, our first son was born. Today, he is the eldest of three: his brother arrived 15 months later, via IVF too (the last of our fertilised embryos) and four years later, another brother, without fertility treatment. We consider ourselves unspeakably lucky; for many, the outcome is not the same.

In our family, everyone knows Titanium is my fight song. It’s the only big commercial dance hit on my playlists, and a marker of something I overcame.

My kids call me in whenever it streams or plays on TV. When I made my husband a playlist for our 15th wedding anniversary, it’s the song that represented our 2011. And the other week, when he was out with friends, he sent me a voice note from the bar: he’d recorded it playing in the background.

There’s something all-consuming about fertility treatment: you view life only through the filter of your efforts to get pregnant. If you’re lucky, the filter lifts. It did for me, but the fight song remained. So, now, elsewhere in life, when I need a shot of strength and find myself alone in the car, down goes the window and on it goes.



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Parents 'facing uncertainty' as SEN children left without school places

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Amy Gibney says she is one of eight families at her child’s school to find out that they don’t have a place for next year.



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Edinburgh airport reopens after security alert but passengers warned of ‘knock on’ effect | Scotland

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Edinburgh airport reopened on Saturday morning after parts of the terminal building were evacuated on Friday night because of a security alert.

An explosive ordnance disposal team was sent to the airport to investigate what Police Scotland described as a “potentially suspicious package” discovered at about 6.50pm on Friday.

An evacuation was ordered and a police cordon was set up, with roads closed.

Passengers faced disruption as result of the operation and the airport warned that schedules would continue to be affected on Saturday.

In a statement at about 3am on Saturday, the airport confirmed it had reopened and would work to restore normal services as quickly as possible.

“Following investigations by specialist teams, the airport has now reopened.

“This incident will have knock-on impacts throughout today and staff are working hard to address these and support passengers.

“Operational teams are continuing to work to restore normal services as quickly as possible.

“Please check with your airline for the latest information on your flight.”

The statement did not provide an update about the examination of the suspicious package.



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