European Union

A few weeks ago media reports revealed that the EU border agency Frontex had not only covered up illegal pushbacks of refugees by Greek border guards, but was also actively involved in the practice. MEPs are now calling for the resignation of Frontex director Fabrice Leggeri. But commentators say the scandal goes far beyond misconduct by individuals.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has apparently obtained a confession from one of the agents involved in the poison attack against him. Last week the media had talked of a murder plot involving eight FSB agents. Posing as an advisor to the Russian Security Council chief on the phone, Navalny learned details of the attack and posted a recording of the conversation on YouTube.

Russia will be excluded from the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo and the 2022 Olympics in Beijing for manipulating doping data. But in what counts as a success for Russia, the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), halved the four-year ban imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency Wada on appeal. In addition, those athletes who were not implicated will be able to compete as neutral contenders - much to the displeasure of observers.

Critics of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy’s (CAP) for its effect on developing African countries have an exaggerated view of its importance outside Europe, although some specific areas and particular products remain a cause for concern, according to a CAP expert.

The Council adopted conclusions on the Commission's new customs action plan.

Member states can start vaccination programmes in the next few days, after EU approved the use of Pfizer and BioTech's Covid-19 drug.

Immigration police in France are monitoring networks of safe houses and believe an estimated 100 sophisticated people-smuggling gangs are targeting the UK, The Times writes. The dismantling of the UK network, thought to have made €1m a month facilitating a "VIP" service, shed light on the inner workings of one of these organisations. There could be about 100 similar gangs offering Channel crossings, the report said.

Several Covid-19 infections have been found in a Chilean military base in Antartica, the only continent that had not been touched by the pandemic so far, the Chilean army announced on Monday, Le Soir reports. "Thirty six men have tested positive, of whom 26 are soldiers and 10 civilians who are working on a maintenance programme on the Antarctic base," a spokesperson of the Chilean army said in a statement.

French, German, and UK foreign ministers have agreed not to set preconditions to a revival of the Iran nuclear deal, amid hopes Tehran and Washington would come back into compliance with the existing accord, instead of trying to amend it, The Guardian reports. The European position emerged amid the first high-level talks by signatories of the non-proliferation deal - France, Germany, the UK, Iran, China, and Russia - since 2018.

The new, more contagious strain of Covid-19 is already in the EU, with Sweden closing its border to Denmark, on top of a UK cordon sanitaire.