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The European Central Bank (ECB) is a powerhouse in the EU, wielding influence over financial supervision, foreign exchange reserves, and economic forecasts. The ECB’s main goal is to keep inflation at 2% by adjusting interest rates. Its massive quantitative easing program from 2015 to 2022 aimed to tackle low inflation with trillions of euros.

Hungary responded to Brussels' request for an explanation over its easing of entry requirements for Russian and Belarusian nationals on Wednesday (21 August), dismissing concerns about potential security risks to the bloc's Schengen border-free travel zone.

Several animal diseases made a comeback across the European Union this summer, forcing authorities to impose transport restrictions and the culling of thousands of livestock amid financial losses for farmers and concerns about the potential impact on the bloc’s exports.

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority closed its investigation into Google and Apple app stores on 21 August, but new laws that would give it more power to control the dominance of big tech companies could ensure that scrutiny continues.

Bartłomiej Ciączyński has resigned from his post as Polish deputy justice minister after it emerged that he used an official car for a private holiday in Slovenia and fuelled it with public money.

Spanish prosecutors are stepping up investigations into hate crimes on social media after the country's two main far-right parties - SALF and VOX - stepped up their bashing of African migrants following the murder of an 11-year-old boy over the weekend, although police later identified the perpetrator as Spanish.

China has initiated an anti-subsidy probe into dairy products imported from the European Union, once again placing the bloc’s agri-food sector at the forefront of trade tensions between Beijing and Brussels.

WHO (World Health Organisation) Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge is confident that Europe can control mpox, but calls for more consistent support and solidarity for Africa.

Hello and welcome back to Euractiv’s Green Brief, which brings you a roundup of energy and environment news from across Europe.

In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about Polish-German relations hitting a low point due to a suspect in the Nord Stream explosion, the Italian coalition showing cracks over the current citizenship debate, and so much more.

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday (21 August) he will "share perspectives" on the peaceful resolution of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia during his visit to Kyiv this week.

After two weeks of fighting, Ukraine claims to have taken control of 1,250 square kilometres of Kursk Oblast in Russia, but also of a gas terminal that is highly strategic for Europe. 

Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil supported the head of the pro-Russian Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Onufry, with a congratulatory address on the 10th anniversary of his "solemn consecration as Metropolitan of Kyiv and of all Ukraine." 

NGOs in Slovakia could soon no longer select civil society representatives to monitor EU funds as the government plans to have this done by the Plenipotentiary for the Development of Civil Society, against the wishes of NGOs.

Ukraine launched one of the largest ever drone attacks on Moscow on Wednesday (21 August), the city's mayor said, with Russian air defence units destroying at least 10 drones flying towards the capital.

Portuguese incomes are growing, even with inflation, but wage increases are slowing, with the average wage still close to the minimum wage.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sought during a whirlwind trip to the Middle East to inject urgency into efforts to broker a Gaza ceasefire deal, but departed the region on Tuesday (20 August) with an agreement between Israel and Hamas still elusive.

A new rift has emerged within Italy’s governing coalition over the controversial and hotly debated issue of citizenship reform, with Lega (ID) and Fratelli d’Italia (ECR) warning their ally Forza Italia (EPP) not to join forces with the opposition on the matter.

Lithuania is set to expand its military training infrastructure, with the Defence Ministry considering the districts of Tauragė and Šilalė as potential sites for new training centres amid growing demand for military training.

It is time to turn the page on President Emmanuel Macron and LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Raphael Glucksmann, the French Socialist leader in the European Parliament, said in an interview with Le Point.