European Union

Rich nations representing a fraction of the global population have already bought up over half the promised Covid-19 vaccine stocks, a study showed, as US President Donald Trump pledged to begin inoculating Americans within weeks.

Opinions on how governments handled the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic varies hugely in Europe, a survey showed Thursday (17 September), with hard-hit Italians especially disillusioned with the EU.

The European Parliament voted on Wednesday (16 September) in favour of assigning new tax revenues to the European Union to repay the bloc's intended joint borrowing of €750 billion for economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.

EP TODAY 17 September

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

EP TODAY 17 September

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about how Italy's universities will reopen, how authorities in North-Rhine Westphalian are investigating a group of police officers who allegedly posted right-wing extremists messages in chat groups, and so much more.

Protests in Bulgaria asking for the resignation of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev have entered their third month. Against this background the Bulgarian parliament has become a fortress in which journalists are treated as the enemy. EURACTIV Bulgaria reports.

The United Opposition of Serbia (UOS) demanded that the Serbian government get in touch as soon as possible with international organisations, primarily EU institutions, to ensure that the COVID-19 vaccine that will be used in EU member states be made...

Labour inspectors found illegal workers from Romania, Turkey, India, Italy, Albania, Bosnia, Poland, Croatia and Moldova between November 2018 and August 2020 on building sites across Serbia, the United Trade Unions Independence reported on its website yesterday (16 September). The...

After the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) asked Romania to delegate between 20 and 30 prosecutors to investigate cases regarding fraud with EU funds, the country’s justice ministry only sent 10, G4Media reported. Though Romania’s then socialist government tried last...

Bosnian Serbs leader Milorad Dodik visited Zagreb on Wednesday (16 September) and met with Croatian President Zoran Milanović and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, in the capacity of the Serb people representative, rather than a member of state’s collective presidency. His...

In a video address posted on Facebook, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that experts expect the second wave to reach its peak around December-January. “Everyone can rest assured, if they catch this disease, we will cure them,” Orbán said....

The Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw ruled that by commissioning the Polish Post Office to organise correspondence elections in May, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki had violated the Constitution, the Electoral Code and the Act on the Council of Ministers, as...

A consortium of twelve Finnish corporations calling themselves the "game-changers" have announced a new billion-euro offensive to build new digital infrastructure, saying the digital transition will be key to achieve green objectives after the COVID-19 crisis.

Conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to face a difficult political vote in the parliament on North Macedonia. When in opposition, Mitsotakis firmly opposed a name-change deal with North Macedonia that was pushed forward by the then premier leftist...

Spain’s Central Bank (Banco de España) on Wednesday ruled out a rapid economic recovery. This will be particularly true for the tourism sector, which accounts for almost 15% of the country’s GDP, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reported. While Spain’s public financial...

The majority of universities in Italy will reopen, confirmed University and Research Minister Gaetano Manfredi. Half the lessons will be held in-person, while the other will be held remotely. “First-year students will be favoured when it comes to in-person teaching...

Finland should become carbon neutral by 2025, announced the country’s green-red five-party coalition. Content for the promises made were provided as the government announced its budget proposal for 2021 on Wednesday (16  September). Taking centre stage was a question on...

The European Commission will present today (17 September) detailed proposals to reduce carbon emissions in the EU by 55% below 1990 levels by 2030. While German industry officially welcomes the new ambitions, it is also clearly sceptical. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Authorities in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) have been notified about a chat group, where police officers exchanged right-wing extremist messages. The discovery implicates 29 officers from a small town near Essen, 11 of whom actively sent out...