European Union

The European Parliament passed new rules last December aimed at greater accountability of the unregulated bodies known as friendship groups. Not one group has since made public any declarations of support, which is a requirement.

MEPs have raised concerns about the lack of coordination and common Covid-19-related criteria among member states - while the EU virus-alert agency said that priority should be given to the harmonisation of test capacities and methodologies.

There are two avenues available for states to ensure that evidence of the abuses by Belarus authorities is collected, analysed, and preserved by impartial and independent international experts.

German chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday said Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny "was to be silenced", and is a "victim of a crime". Merkel said Navalny, now in a Berlin hospital, was a victim of an attack with a chemical agent of the Novichok group. She condemned the attack, saying "it raises severe questions that only the Russian government can answer and will have to answer," she said.

EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Wednesday he is "worried and disappointed" by the UK's lack of engagement in negotiations over the future relationship. Barnier said London has not engaged on "credible guarantees for open and fair competition", a compromise on fisheries or a meaningful dispute-settlement mechanism. The two sides need to reach an agreement by October to have enough time for formal ratification.

A court in northern Spain on Wednesday ordered that the descendants of dictator Francisco Franco must hand over the Galician villa, 'Pazo de Meirás', where Franco spent his summer holidays, with the judge ruling that it is property of the state, The Guardian reported. Spain's justice ministry started proceedings in the summer of 2018 after the dictator's heirs put the property on sale for €8m.

Fourteen people accused of helping jihadist gunmen storm French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket went on trial Wednesday, five years after the terror attack, AFP reported. The suspects face charges of conspiracy in a terrorist act or association with a terror group. The three assailants were killed by police. Charlie Hebdo marked the trial by republishing cartoons of prophet Mohammed that had angered Muslims around the world.

A 40-year old recognised refugee from Somalia has contracted Covid-19, making him the first case in the EU 'hotspot' camp of Moria in Lesbos, Greece. The man is now being treated in a local hospital but fears of contagion in Moria have since heightened, given the camp hosts some 12,000 people, but designed for only 3,000.

The European Union's chief negotiator urged the UK on Wednesday (2 September) to meet the EU in the middle by offering compromise proposals on state aid, fisheries and governance, warning that the EU would not ‘sacrifice’ its long-term interests for the sake of a deal.

EU needs a common approach to limit COVID-19 and avoid member states designating other EU countries as red zones, EP’s committee responsible for public health says.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

EU needs a common approach to limit COVID-19 and avoid member states designating other EU countries as red zones, EP’s committee responsible for public health says.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

July’s EU budget and recovery fund deal was rightly hailed as a historic moment for the bloc, as member states agreed to mutualised debt for the first time. But have we truly crossed the Rubicon?

A fresh spate of coordinated disinformation campaigns emanating from Russia's Internet Research Agency (IRA) has sought to target Western and European targets, Facebook has said.

The German government announced on Wednesday (2 September) that tests performed on samples taken from Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is lying in a coma in Berlin after a suspected poisoning in Siberia last month, showed the presence of the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok.

The EU farmers lobby COPA-COGECA has joined the ranks of those fighting against French Nutri-Score system in the race for picking a mandatory EU-wide nutrition food label.

The German government has said tests on samples taken from Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny showed the presence of the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok. Navalny is being treated in Berlin after falling ill in Russia last month. Novichok is a type of chemical weapon developed by the Soviet Union and Russia, and used in a 2018 attack in Salisbury, UK, against former GRU officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

Cyprus has welcomed the lifting of a US arms embargo as proof it is a "reliable partner" in the Eastern Mediterranean, as Washington's ambassador stressed the move was not aimed at Turkey.

Food labelling stole the spotlight from the reform of the bloc's main farming subsidies program during an informal meeting of ministers that kicked off the German EU presidency's agenda on agriculture.

Spain’s Telefonica launched its national 5G network on Tuesday, promising to bring the next-generation mobile internet service to 75% of the population this year.

Liechtenstein voters on Sunday (30 August) opposed plans to fund a new international rail link between Austria and Switzerland, which is supposed to pass through the tiny Alpine principality. Over 60% voted no during a national referendum.