UK News
Zelenskyy to talk with US negotiators about war with Russia after Easter ceasefire proposal – Europe live | Europe
Morning opening: Zelenskyy hopes for ‘results’ in talks with US over Easter ceasefire
Jakub Krupa
With most eyes still on the Middle East, and growing US frustrations with European Nato allies’ over their decisions to deny the use of their bases for offensive operations in Iran, there is often much less focus on Ukraine.
But the two universes will collide today, as the wartorn country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will sit down for talks with the US negotiators to discuss the last steps to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking to EU foreign ministers visiting Ukraine yesterday, Zelenskyy brought up his proposal of a ceasefire over the Easter holidays, saying he wanted the US to support this idea.
“We are waiting for a response from Russia. Tomorrow I will speak with the American team, including on this issue. We hope for results,” he said.
I will keep an eye for the latest updates.
Meanwhile, Europe is increasingly thinking about how to soften the economic blow of the continuing Middle East war and energy disruptions, with growing concerns about what it could mean for several EU countries who are particularly vulnerable to any disruptions to imports from the Gulf. Gulp.
I will bring you all the latest here.
It’s Wednesday, 1 April 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Key events
Starmer wants EU to get closer to EU on economy, defence, energy
During his press conference, Starmer also spoke about his intention to get closer to the European Union.
Replying to a question from the Guardian’s Jessica Elgot, he said:
“I do think that we should strengthen our cooperation on defence, security, energy, emissions and the economy. …
I’m ambitious that we can do more in relation to the single market, because I think that’s hugely in our economic interests.
Obviously, this is a matter of negotiation and discussion with the EU, but the summit we have this year will not be just be a stocktake summit where we look at actually the ten strands that we put in place last year. It will be a deliberate ambition on our part to go further than that and to cooperate more deeply, including in the economic sphere.”
Earlier on, he explained that “it is increasingly clear that as the world continues down this volatile path, our long-term national interest requires closer partnership with our allies in Europe and with the European Union.”
Again, more on that on the UK blog:
‘Whatever pressure on me and others, noise, … this is not our war,’ UK’s Starmer tells Trump
The UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, is the first one to react to Trump’s comments in The Telegraph, as he gets asked about it at his No10 press conference just now.
He defends Nato as “the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen,” and while he doesn’t respond to Trump’s comments, he says:
“Let me say a number of things in response to that. Firstly, Nato is the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen, and it has kept us safe for many decades. And we are fully committed to Nato.
Secondly, that whatever the pressure on me and others, whatever the noise, I’m going to act in the British national interest in all the decisions that I make. And that’s why I’ve been absolutely clear that this is not our war, and we’re not going to get dragged into it.”
For more lines from Starmer, check our UK politics live blog:
Trump’s frustration with Nato over its refusal to back his Iran war is clear – snap analysis
Trump’s latest comments come as he increasingly hardens his language against European allies, blaming him for difficulties in his Iran operation.
In last days, he specifically targeted European allies, calling them “cowards” and telling them to “build up some delayed courage” and take control over the strait of Hormuz.
He and his senior officials also criticised a number of specific countries, particularly Spain, which has been most vocally critical of the US-Israeli war against Iran, and France.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, warned last night about the sharply escalating frustration with Nato, as he told Fox News:
“We are going to have to reexamine the value of Nato and that alliance for our country. Ultimately, that’s a decision for the president to make … but I do think, unfortunately, we are going to have to reexamine whether or not this alliance that has served this country well for a while is still serving that purpose or has now become a one-way street where America is simply in a position to help Europe but when we need the help of our allies, they deny us basing rights and overflight.
I think these are very legitimate questions that we need to be asking and these are going to have to be very carefully examined after this conflict is over.”
Italy is the latest country to risk the US administration’s anger, after it has denied the use of an airbase in Sicily to US military planes carrying weapons for the war in Iran after the US did not follow the required authorisation procedure.
US could review its Nato membership amid frustrations over Iran war, strait of Hormuz, Trump tells Telegraph
US president Donald Trump has suggested to the Telegraph newspaper that he is “strongly considering” pulling the US out of Nato, saying the alliance was “a paper tiger” amid his growing frustration with the European partners’s refusal to join the Iran war.
When he was asked if he would reconsider the US’s membership of the alliance after the conflict, he replied: “Oh yes, I would say [it’s] beyond reconsideration.”
“I was never swayed by Nato. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way,” he told the paper.
Repeating his increasingly strong criticism of the alliance, he added:
“We’ve been there automatically, including Ukraine. Ukraine wasn’t our problem. It was a test, and we were there for them, and we would always have been there for them. They weren’t there for us.”
Germany’s growth forecast halved on fears over impact of Middle East war
Over in Germany, leading economic institutes cut their growth forecasts for the country, warning that surging inflation resulting from the Middle East war and rising energy costs would hit Europe’s top economy hard.
The German economy should grow by 0.6% in 2026, the seven institutes said, down from a September forecast of 1.3%, while inflation is predicted to stand at 2.8%, up from 2.0%.
Ukrainian drone manufacturers to meet with Romania to discuss joint production using EU funds
Meanwhile, Ukrainian drone manufacturers are meeting Romanian defence ministry and army officials in Bucharest this week to discuss potential joint production under a new European Union rearmament funding mechanism, the ministry said in a statement quoted by Reuters.
Romania, an EU and Nato state, shares a 650-km land border with Ukraine and has had drones breach its airspace and fragments fall on its territory repeatedly since Russia began attacking Kyiv’s ports located across the Danube from Romania.
Reuters noted that the EU has allotted Romania €16.6bn under its new rearmament initiative SAFE, which will begin later this year, and defence minister Radu Miruță said the country wanted to spend 200 million euros for joint drone production.
Fifteen Ukrainian companies will continue discussing the project in Bucharest in the coming days, he added.
Morning opening: Zelenskyy hopes for ‘results’ in talks with US over Easter ceasefire
Jakub Krupa
With most eyes still on the Middle East, and growing US frustrations with European Nato allies’ over their decisions to deny the use of their bases for offensive operations in Iran, there is often much less focus on Ukraine.
But the two universes will collide today, as the wartorn country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will sit down for talks with the US negotiators to discuss the last steps to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking to EU foreign ministers visiting Ukraine yesterday, Zelenskyy brought up his proposal of a ceasefire over the Easter holidays, saying he wanted the US to support this idea.
“We are waiting for a response from Russia. Tomorrow I will speak with the American team, including on this issue. We hope for results,” he said.
I will keep an eye for the latest updates.
Meanwhile, Europe is increasingly thinking about how to soften the economic blow of the continuing Middle East war and energy disruptions, with growing concerns about what it could mean for several EU countries who are particularly vulnerable to any disruptions to imports from the Gulf. Gulp.
I will bring you all the latest here.
It’s Wednesday, 1 April 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
But Spencer says his business is being squeezed from every angle – as well as minimum wage, he has had increases in business rates, national insurance, and statutory sick pay. He also expects energy bills to go up because of the war in the Middle East.
Naomi Long says there are no concerns about an uptick in activity, but those involved are “wedded” to destruction and violence.
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UK News
Oil price tumbles and stock markets soar on hopes Middle East war will end soon – business live | Business
Introduction: Oil tumbles and markets rally on hopes of Middle East de-escalation
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
After its biggest monthly gain ever, the oil price has dropped sharply on hopes of de-escalation in the Middle East.
Brent crude has dropped around 13% since last night, back down to $103 a barrel, as investors welcome signs from Washington DC that the Iran war might end soon.
Yesterday, US president Donald Trump said the United States could end its military attacks on Iran within two to three weeks, declaring:
Now we’re finishing the job. I think in two weeks or maybe a few days longer, we’ll do the job. We want to knock out everything they’ve got.
Trump is expected to address the US at 9pm ET tonight (2am BST tomorrow morning).
Asia-Pacific markets have started April in good heart too.
China’s CSI 300 index is up 1.5%, Japan’s Nikkei has surged 4.9% and South Korea’s KOSPI has leapt by 9.5%.
That follows gains in New York last night, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped by 2.5%.
Investors are also cheered by reports that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said Iran is willing to end the war but only if there are guarantees “to prevent the recurrence of aggression”.
Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, says the “more constructive commentary” from both the US and Iranian camps is encouraging traders to move bac into riskier assets:
We saw reports breaking in Asia yesterday from the WSJ that Trump was willing to end the war without taking the Straits of Hormuz. In fact, he encouraged other international peers to take the strait without US involvement. There are different ways to interpret that, both positive and negative, but the market has taken this as a small step towards appeasing and compelling the Iranian camp.
The Iranians have also come out with more constructive rhetoric for risk, signalling the necessary will to end the war. They have outlined their conditions, some of which were already known. But the combination of the narrative, driven through headlines, has certainly seen risk come back into play.
The agenda
-
9am BST: Eurozone manufacturing PMI for March
-
9.30am BST: UK manufacturing PMI for March
-
10am BST: eurozone unemployment data
-
10.30am BST: Bank of England releases financial stability report
-
2.45pm BST: US manufacturing PMI for March
Key events
Chances of two Bank of England rate rises this year fall
City traders are slashing their bets on UK interest rate rises this year, as hope builds that an end to the Iran war might possibly be close.
The money markets are now pricing in around 41 basis points (0.41 percentage points) of increases to UK Bank rate by the end of 2026. That means that two quarter-point rises are no longer fully priced in.
Yesterday, the market was anticipating 66bps of rate rises by Christmas, and last week 75bs (or three quarter-point increases) were fully priced in.
Gold has risen to its highest level in almost two weeks.
After jumping 3.5% yesterday, gold is up another 0.8% today to over $4,700 an ounce.
Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG, says an end to the Iran conflict could prove a double-edged sword for gold:
On one hand, a lasting peace agreement would remove the geopolitical safe haven bid that supported prices in the run-up to the conflict.
On the other hand, it would allow for lower oil prices and easing inflation fears, which would revive expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts later in 2026. This dynamic, combined with the underlying structural demand from central banks who have been accumulating gold for diversification, means we could still see upside.
European stock markets are set to rally when trading begins in around 30 minutes, reports Emma Wall, chief investment strategist at Hargreaves Lansdown:
“Markets paint an optimistic picture this morning – choosing to believe the optimism from the White House that the war in Iran will be over in a couple of weeks. US President Donald Trump yesterday announced that he saw the war ending within a couple of weeks, and that he would be addressing the nation with further details later today.
This was enough to propel the S&P 500 into a relief rally, up 2.9%, the best day for the market since May last year. Asian markets have continued the optimism early today, with the Hang Seng in Hong Kong up nearly 2%, and the Nikkei in Japan jumping 4.56%. European futures are also looking positive, with markets in the UK, France, Germany and Italy set to open up.
UK food inflation forecast tripled to 9%
Ouch! UK food inflation is forecast to hit at least 9% by the end of this year, as the cost of living crisis is reignited by the Iran war.
The Food and Drink Federation has revised its food inflation forecast upwards – triple its previous forecast.
Having previously expected food prices inflation to end the year around 3%, the FDF now fear it will have risen to between 9% and 10%.
They say
This is a fast-moving situation, and our update is based on assumptions that the Straits of Hormuz opens within 2-3 weeks and energy production in the Middle East returns to normal within a year
As one of the UK’s energy intensive and most globally connected sectors, food and drink manufacturing is unusually exposed to these shocks, with cost pressures on multiple fronts hitting the industry at once
As well as the surge in energy costs, food producers also face a spike in the cost of fertilisers.
Last month, the boss of one of the world’s largest fertiliser companies – Yara International – has said global food supplies could be badly damaged this year if the Iran war becomes an extended conflict.
UK hit by ‘awful April’ shower of bill increases
An end to the war in the Middle East, and a drop in energy prices, would be a relief to UK households as we enter Awful August.
UK households face a bill surge this month, in which the annual cost of essentials, including council tax and water, will increase by more than £200.
The price jumps caused by the Iran war will add to that financial hit. More here:
Introduction: Oil tumbles and markets rally on hopes of Middle East de-escalation
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
After its biggest monthly gain ever, the oil price has dropped sharply on hopes of de-escalation in the Middle East.
Brent crude has dropped around 13% since last night, back down to $103 a barrel, as investors welcome signs from Washington DC that the Iran war might end soon.
Yesterday, US president Donald Trump said the United States could end its military attacks on Iran within two to three weeks, declaring:
Now we’re finishing the job. I think in two weeks or maybe a few days longer, we’ll do the job. We want to knock out everything they’ve got.
Trump is expected to address the US at 9pm ET tonight (2am BST tomorrow morning).
Asia-Pacific markets have started April in good heart too.
China’s CSI 300 index is up 1.5%, Japan’s Nikkei has surged 4.9% and South Korea’s KOSPI has leapt by 9.5%.
That follows gains in New York last night, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped by 2.5%.
Investors are also cheered by reports that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said Iran is willing to end the war but only if there are guarantees “to prevent the recurrence of aggression”.
Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, says the “more constructive commentary” from both the US and Iranian camps is encouraging traders to move bac into riskier assets:
We saw reports breaking in Asia yesterday from the WSJ that Trump was willing to end the war without taking the Straits of Hormuz. In fact, he encouraged other international peers to take the strait without US involvement. There are different ways to interpret that, both positive and negative, but the market has taken this as a small step towards appeasing and compelling the Iranian camp.
The Iranians have also come out with more constructive rhetoric for risk, signalling the necessary will to end the war. They have outlined their conditions, some of which were already known. But the combination of the narrative, driven through headlines, has certainly seen risk come back into play.
The agenda
-
9am BST: Eurozone manufacturing PMI for March
-
9.30am BST: UK manufacturing PMI for March
-
10am BST: eurozone unemployment data
-
10.30am BST: Bank of England releases financial stability report
-
2.45pm BST: US manufacturing PMI for March
-
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