European Union

“KFOR’s presence is of great importance as a deterrent force against Serbia’s use of conventional and non-conventional forces in Kosovo,” said Major General Michele Risi, commander of KFOR  (Kosovo Force, NATO-led international peacekeeping force in Kosovo), during the “Balkan Perspectives...

The European Commission launched a new industry alliance on Tuesday (30 September) aimed at strengthening the EU’s “strategic autonomy” on raw materials like rare earths, which are considered key for the bloc’s green and digital transitions.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama paid an unofficial and unannounced visit to Montenegro, daily Vijesti has learned. In the city Tuzi, close to Lake Skadar and the Albanian border, Rama met with Niko Djelosaj, the leader of the Albanian List...

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić denied allegations yesterday (29 September) that weapons made in Serbia had been used in the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The president admitted, however, that both sides were using ammunition produced in Serbia. “There are...

The agreements reached in Brussels during the dialogue with Pristina, such as the establishment of a Community of Serb Municipalities, would have to be implemented, said Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. The president did admit, however, that these agreements were, understandably,...

Due to technical glitches, the Hrvatski Telekom (HT, majority-owned by Deutsche Telekom AG) telecommunications provider experienced technical problems from 10:30 to 16:30 yesterday with its landline and mobile phone networks, which prevented access to the 112 emergency line. Even during...

The Coalition Council met on Tuesday (29 September) to discuss the division of ministries and the functioning of the government after the reconstruction. The meeting, which lasted about an hour, was attended, among others, by PiS party leader Jarosław Kaczyński...

The average number of unemployed people in Hungary from June to August 2020 was 214,000, while the unemployment rate stood at 4.6% during the same period, according to data published by the Central Statistical Office (KSH). Compared to same period...

The World Trade Organisation has authorised the European Union to impose tariffs on US goods worth $4 billion to retaliate against subsidies for American planemaker Boeing Co, people familiar with the matter said.

Seven parties finally agreed on a government in Belgium on Wednesday morning - 16 months after the elections. The parties are the Flemish and Francophone socialists, liberals, greens and the Flemish Christian Democrats. If the members of the seven parties now agree, a new prime minister will be appointed. His or her first task will be to deliver the government declaration in parliament on Thursday, 1 October.

The EU's Court of Auditors has warned that child poverty is increasing due to the pandemic's economic fallout, with 23 million under-18s already below the poverty line and with overall unemployment forecast to increase from 7.5% to 9.5% next year. "EU legislation does not target funding directly at combating child poverty," the court said Tuesday. "It is becoming more critical because of the expected impact of the pandemic," it added.

Britain's controversial internal market bill, giving the government powers to renege on its EU withdrawal agreement, passed a second reading vote by 340 MPs against 256 on Tuesday. It still has to be approved by the upper house. And MPs added an amendment that required follow-up votes in order to actually trigger its provisions. The EU, on Monday, repeated calls for Britain to drop the legislation.

More and more people have come to understand that today's challenges can only be dealt with at the European level. That is why today, perhaps even more than 20 years ago, there is an urgent need for independent, European, journalism.

A ruling by the Spanish Supreme Court to uphold the decision to ban the separatist leader from public office for 18 months, has been criticised as "disproportionate".

France's minister for digital, Cédric O, said on Tuesday that more work was needed to convince French people to download the Covid-19 tracing app, The Guardian reported. Only three million people have downloaded the French app, called StopCovid, based on a central server. Meanwhile, the UK's app has had 12 million downloads and Germany's 18 million. Both these are based on a decentralised system.

The UK on Tuesday slapped sanctions on Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, his son and other senior government officials. The British government imposed the sanctions, along with Canada, which include a travel ban and asset freeze on eight individuals from the Belarusian regime. The EU is unable to reach similar sanctions against the regime given a Cypriot blockade over Turkey.

Poland's health minister Adam Niedzielski on Tuesday ruled out a nationwide lockdown, although he announced a curfew on bars and restaurants in the areas most-affected by the coronavirus, Reuters reported. There would also be a limited number of people who can attend leisure events, such as weddings, and the wearing of face masks will be obligatory outdoors in hard-hit regions. Poland is currently reporting about 1,300 daily cases.

Hungary has called for the resignaiton of the commission vice-president, in the latest bellicose political move from the Hungarian PM.

Armenia says Turkey shot down one of its fighter jets, in the conflict with Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The Armenian defence ministry said the Armenian Sukhoi Su-25 was shot down by a Turkish F-16, a claim disputed by Turkey. "We are determined to resist with all our capacities and neutralise the intentions of this Turkish-Azerbaijani alliance", tweeted an Armenian official from the ministry of foreign affairs.

A report from the NGO Earthsight on Wednesday revealed that major European car manufacturers, including BMW and Jaguar Land Rover, are using leather linked to the destruction of a South American forest inhabited by one of the world's last uncontacted tribes. The 18-month investigation focused on the Paraguayan Gran Chaco forests. Earthsight estimated an area of one football pitch was cleared every two minutes in 2019.