European Union

Ukrainians seeking protection in Sweden should begin working as quickly as possible, said Migration and Integration Minister Anders Ygeman and Employment Minister Eva Nordmark at a press conference on Thursday. The ministers confirmed that the government would actively encourage Ukrainian...

The Danish government is still selling timber to a group owned by oligarchs close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, while many Danish companies have stopped their activities in the country, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation DR has revealed.  The Danish Nature...

EU member states on Thursday (7 April) green-lighted an embargo on Russian coal and the closing of the bloc's ports to Russian vessels over Moscow's war in Ukraine, but attention has already shifted to who may stand in the way of possible future energy sanctions.

Irish lawmakers have passed the country’s first carbon budget, establishing legal limits on greenhouse gas emissions until 2030. The measure faced such little resistance, with fewer than 10 lawmakers opposing it, that a formal vote in the parliament was not...

Ruling party VVD wants Russian hackers added to the EU’s list of sanctioned people to ensure they lose access to their financial accounts in Europe. “They are hackers who daily attack companies in the Netherlands, our small and medium-sized enterprises,...

The Bundestag has rejected a proposal by government parties to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for certain groups, revealing divisions within the governing coalition. The majority of German MPs voted against a proposal to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for anyone over...

The European Commission has approved Bulgaria’s €6 billion recovery plan, but Commissioner President von der Leyen has made it clear that the money will not come without reforms. In Sofia on Thursday, von der Leyen assured the government that the Bulgarian plan...

While Polish law prevents the confiscation of Russian assets in Poland, the Law and Justice party (PiS) has submitted a draft constitutional amendment to allow the confiscation of Russian property, which the opposition says is unnecessary. The proposal to allow...

There is neither time nor money to support the construction of gas pipelines such as the EastMed project, US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland told Kathimerini journal in an interview. “We don’t need to wait for 10 years and spend...

Norway’s authorities are considering whether to go along with an EU decision to forbid access to European ports to all Russian vessels, but there may be some exceptions. European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen this week presented a proposal...

The crisis inflicted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine will last for years to come, Europe Minister Karoline Edtstadler told Der Standard in an interview, adding that since the war began, “nothing is the same as it was before”. The EU...

The United Nations suspended Russia from the Human Rights Council on Thursday (7 April), as US President Joe Biden called the atrocities continuing to emerge in Ukraine an “outrage” to humanity. The diplomatic rebuke came as the G7, the European...

Russia gave the most damning assessment so far of its invasion, describing the “tragedy” of mounting troop losses and the economic hit from sanctions as Ukrainians were evacuated from eastern cities before an anticipated major offensive. Moscow’s six-week long incursion...

Ukraine accused Hungary of undermining the unity of the European Union on Thursday  (7 Apil) and Budapest told Kyiv to stop meddling in its affairs, deepening a row between the neighbours over the Hungarian response to Russia’s invasion. Hungarian Prime...

On late Thursday (7 April) WHO verified over 100 attacks on health care in Ukraine since the Russian invasion on February 24. Attacks not only took the lives of over 70 people but are also having long-term effects on the healthcare system, WHO stressed. 

Morocco's King Mohammed VI hosted Spain's prime minister on Thursday (7 April) in a landmark visit ending a year-long diplomatic crisis after Madrid reversed decades of neutrality on the Western Sahara conflict in a U-turn that has angered Algeria.

France's highest administrative court has stripped Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet constellation, of its frequency authorisations, ruling they were granted without public consultation despite its potential "significant market impact". EURACTIV France reports.

European agriculture ministers have called for higher domestic farm output, amid food security worries, and a looming food crisis in Africa. Many African countries, eg Benin, Egypt, Sudan, Madagascar, and Burundi, are almost entirely, or exclusively, dependent on Ukrainian grain.

Oil companies have made around €3bn in profits in Europe since the Ukraine war began, a report published on Thursday by Greenpeace found. Between January and March, crude oil prices increased by about 19.38 cents per litre — prompting campaigners to demand taxes on windfall profits and investigations into potential price-fixing. Campaigners said it is necessary to accelerate the greening of the transport sector to reduce oil dependencies on Russia.

MEPs called for an immediate and "full" embargo on Russian oil, coal, nuclear fuel, and gas in response to atrocities in Ukraine. But a coal ban is the only likely move for now.