European Union

Czech health insurance providers will not be able to penalise patients based on previous cancer diagnoses if they have successfully completed treatment, following a deal based on the “right to be forgotten” by ministers and insurance companies. 

United Nations workers observed a minute's silence on Monday (13 November) to honour the more than 100 employees killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began last month, the largest toll of humanitarian workers in the organisation's 78-year history.

The EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell will visit Israel and the Palestinian territories, as well as several Arab countries, later this week as part of a wider effort to discuss humanitarian aid to Gaza and political issues with regional leaders.

As of 1 November, a broader group of Polish women will have access to preventive screenings for the early detection of breast and cervical cancer, but experts warn that more should be done.

Connectivity is increasingly linked to achieving the EU’s socioeconomic and climate goals. Europe must  reduce the time and cost of rolling out high-speed internet service. This is only possible if the Gigabit  Infrastructure Act remains focused on this objective.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak brought back former leader David Cameron as foreign minister on Monday (13 November) in a reshuffle triggered by his firing of interior minister Suella Braverman after her criticism of police threatened his authority.

While the fifth round of COVID-19 vaccination encounters re-occurring delays in Slovakia, the country’s problem with immunisation seems to be rooted deeper.

PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński has rallied against the EU treaty, dubbed Donald Tusk's opposition a "German party," and warned of Poland's independence being at risk. Meanwhile, the pro-democratic coalition has unveiled its 24-point programme, which lacks concrete detail.

At a special summit in Riyadh, the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League called for an immediate end to "Israeli aggression" in Gaza and an international peace conference. Syria's demand to break off relations with Israel was not accepted. Saudi Arabia had previously rejected a proposal by Iran to impose an oil embargo on the country. Commentators analyse the situation.

Spain's conservative Popular Party (PP) mobilised hundreds of thousands of people against the planned amnesty law on Sunday. The law is to be introduced to the Spanish parliament this week and among other things enable Pedro Sánchez's PSOE to form a coalition government with the leftist alliance Sumar and the Catalan pro-independence parties Junts and ERC. The party leaders must deal judiciously with this delicate situation, commentators warn.

Over a hundred thousand people took to the streets in Paris and other French cities on Sunday to protest against rising antisemitism. The participation of right-wing populist Marine Le Pen was criticised, as was the absence of President Emmanuel Macron and the left-wing populist party La France Insoumise. Commentators voice dissatisfaction.