European Union

New Zealand's customs agency has fired nine border workers who declined to get the Covid-19 vaccine, The Guardian writes, amid confusion in the EU on how to handle refuseniks. All New Zealand frontline border workers to be vaccinated by the end of April. In February, the government said it would not make vaccination compulsory for frontline staff, and that those who declined the vaccine would be moved into backroom roles.

The EU should relax its debt rules to allow national economies to recover from the pandemic, EU budgets commissioner Johannes Hahn told German newspaper Die Welt on Saturday. "The fiscal policy goals for these countries must be realistic," he said of Greece and Italy, who debt-to-GDP rations were more than double the prescribed EU limit of 60 percent. France is also on 199 percent, while Germany is on 54 percent.

On the occasion of 3 May – World Press Freedom Day – the EU stated it was ready to pioneer new approaches for upholding press freedom, to counter disinformation and seek means to support sustainable business models for independent media.

Member states will hopefully reach a common position on the definition of EU minimum wages before the end of Portugal’s presidency of the Council, which runs until June, European Commissioner for employment, Nicolas Schmit, told Lusa.pt, highlighting the “efforts” made...

US microchip maker Intel wants €8 billion in state aid to make it "competitive" to build a new factory in Europe instead of Asia, its CEO, Pat Gelsinger, has told Politico. "We think of Germany as a good candidate," he added, in German newspaper Handelsblatt, after visiting Brussels and Berlin last weekend. "Europe will drastically increase [chip] production capacity," EU single-market commissioner Thierry Breton tweeted, after meeting Gelsinger Friday.

The EU aims to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers, especially China, in six areas - raw materials, pharmaceutical ingredients, semiconductors, batteries, hydrogen, and cloud technologies - according to an industrial strategy paper due out Wednesday, seen by Reuters. The EU should rely on "different trading partners whenever possible, but also stockpiling and acting autonomously," it said, adding EU states should also pool funds for "Important Projects of Common European Interest".

Russia has said it was "optimistic" of a new deal on Iran nuclear non-proliferation after a meeting of senior officials from China, France, Germany, Iran, Russia, the UK, the US, and the EU in Vienna on Saturday. "We have reasons for cautious and growing optimism," Russia's delegate Mikhail Ulyanov tweeted. "Participants aim at successful completion of the talks in approximately three weeks," he added. The other delegates kept silent.

British foreign minister Dominic Raab has indicated the UK will give the EU's ambassador in London full diplomatic status ahead of a 'G7' foreign ministers' meeting this week. The EU was "not quite a normal state", but London wanted to be "pragmatic" and to "turn the page", he said. "We will treat our EU partners with all of the respect that they rightly deserve," Raab said on Sunday.

Statements, literary quotes, and jokes, but no action - that is how the EU handled Russia's decision to blacklist its highest official.

The “moment of truth” has arrived in the regional election in Madrid, to be held on Monday and Tuesday, with several polls predicting a clear victory for Spain’s centre-right Popular Party (PP) well ahead of its left-wing rivals, after a heated and polarised political campaign including death threats to several candidates, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reports.

A study revealed that air-pollutant emissions from the power plant and the Turów mine caused an estimated 120 premature deaths in 2017, and 51,000 days of sick leave from work.

EU leaders will focus on a social summit in Porto this weekend, where they will hold a video conference with Indian PM Narendra Modi.

The truth is brutally simple: the G7 is a relic of the past. It deserves an emotional and respectful adieu but should be taken off life support.

We need to be critical of the European Union to protect the values and fundamental rights in our countries, without anti-European or pro-European labels being thrown around.

Head of the Kunming biodiversity summit asks nations to review destructive support for fishing, agriculture and other industries. EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian, reports.

Former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker believes the European Union has to be "less naive" with China, saying that "Europeans have to organise their relations" better with other foreign powers.

Sweden summoned Russia’s ambassador to Stockholm on Saturday (1 May), denouncing Moscow for sanctioning European Union officials including a Swedish researcher in an escalating row between Russia and the West. The announcement came a day after Moscow barred eight EU...

The European Union condemns the decision of the Russian authorities to ban eight European Union nationals from entering the territory of the Russian Federation.

The Kremlin accused Washington on Friday (30 April) of fuelling tension with “unfriendly actions” after the US embassy in Moscow said it was cutting staff and stopping processing visas for most Russians.

Hans van Baalen, ALDE Party President, passed away in the late hours of 29 April at the age of 60 after a short illness, his party central announced on Friday (30 April).