European Union

In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about how UK MPs voted in favour of the controversial Internal Market Bill, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš not reacting to Hungarian PM Orban calling for Czech EU Commissioner Vera Jourova to resign, and so much more.

“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.

Slovakia’s Conference of Bishops has criticised the government’s new COVID-19 measures according which forbid public masses from 1 October. In a statement, the group says it hadn’t been consulted on the matter which it described as disproportionate. “To order the...

The Russian embassy issued an aggressive statement against US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who paid a visit to Greece this week. “This is not the first time that American officials have tried in their public statements to draw Greece...

Spain’s central government and Madrid’s regional authorities continued on Tuesday (29 September) to search for a solution on how to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Spain’s capital which has Europe’s worst infection rate, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reported. While negotiations...

“The recovery from this pandemic situation is a must-win challenge, which we can succeed at only if we work together”, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told Italian industry representatives during the Confindustria Assembly on Tuesday (29 September). “We’ll enact a...

Following the marathon-like negotiations on the coronavirus situation, the Finnish government came out late on Tuesday evening (29 September) with a set of new restrictive measures. Restaurants, bars and nightclubs will have to close at 1 am and serving alcohol...

UK lawmakers on Tuesday evening (29 September) passed the controversial Internal Market Bill by a comfortable 340 to 256 majority. The law, which is designed to govern trade arrangements within the UK and Northern Ireland, would also give ministers the...

As coronavirus cases continue to rise, Germany’s leaders adopted a new set of measures following a meeting of the federal government and states yesterday (29 September). “We want to act regionally specific, targeted,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters following...

The UN Security Council on Tuesday (29 September) called on Armenian and Azerbaijani forces to "immediately stop fighting" over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, after three days of deadly clashes, according to a statement seen by AFP.

US President Donald Trump and his Democratic contender Joe Biden faced off in their first debate in Cleveland on Tuesday (29 September), marked by personal insults and Trump’s repeated interruptions, as they battled over Trump’s leadership on the coronavirus pandemic, the economy and the integrity of November’s election.

EU countries still do not report enough to the European Commission about the situation on the ground when it comes to COVID-19, putting at risk the attempt to formulate a unified approach to tackle a second wave of the pandemic.