European Union

Poland on Monday (10 August) called for an emergency European Union summit on the situation in Belarus after clashes in the night in Minsk following a disputed presidential election.

The EU must shape at least two different policies towards Belarus - one for the regime that stole the elections and one for the civil society, writes Urmas Paet.

French president Emmanuel Macron and EU Council president Charles Michel called for an independent enquiry into the Beirut explosion at a UN-organised virtual donors' conference on Sunday, which raised €253m in aid. There also ought to be "urgently needed reforms" in Lebanese politics, German foreign minister Heiko Maas told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper, amid mass protests in Beirut against government misrule and corruption.

A vaccine against Covid-19 may be available before the end of the year, said European Commissioner for health Stella Kyriakides. In an interview with the German newspaper Handelsblatt on Sunday. "Although making predictions is risky at this point, we have good indications that the first vaccine will be available toward the end of this year or beginning of next year," she is quoted as having said.

Images of bloody injuries after police attacked protesters with batons and stun grenades marked Belarus' latest sham election, posing questions on EU sanctions.

With more and more trade moving to the digital realm, Europe can ill-afford to cut itself off. Meanwhile, China continues to advance a vision for an internet that is fractured along national boundaries and controlled by governments.

The UK is scrambling to prevent migrant boat crossings but is facing legal obstacles in a move that seeks to offshore the issue onto France.

After 9 August Belarus will have a totally illegitimate president, and the West must be prepared for the perspective of the illegitimate Lukashenko, writes Andrius Kubilius.

Belarus police fired water cannons, tear gas and stun grenades in a crackdown on protests that erupted on Sunday (9 August) as President Alexander Lukashenko was set to claim another election win in the face of the biggest challenge in years to his grip on power.

The Afghan government agreed on Sunday (9 August) to release 400 “hard-core” Taliban prisoners, paving the way for peace talks aimed at ending almost two decades of war.

World leaders on Sunday (9 August) pledged more than €250 million for disaster-struck Lebanon, conference host France said, with the emergency aid to be delivered "directly" to a population reeling from the deadly port blast in Beirut.

Turkey's resumed search for oil and gas in the eastern Mediterranean is "extremely worrying", the EU said Sunday (9 August) after Greece and Egypt set up an exclusive economic zone in the region.

Britain's armed forces have been asked to help deal with boats carrying migrants across the Channel from France, the Defence Ministry said on Saturday (8 August) after a spate of arrivals on the southern English coast.

Italy has asked the European Union to tap its SURE unemployment scheme for €28.5 billion after extending furlough support to help the economy withstand the hit from the COVID-19 crisis.

The European Commission on Friday (7 August) urged member states to allow EU entry for unmarried partners of European citizens and residents by exempting them from travel restrictions targeting some countries.

Along other world leaders, President Michel delivered a speech at a virtual donor conference to secure international aid for Lebanon in the aftermath of the explosions that hit Beirut on 4 August

Charles Michel, President of the European Council, travelled to Beirut on 8 August 2020 to convey EU solidarity to the people of Lebanon after the devastating explosions on 4 August.

EU states have voiced fear of violence during Belarus elections on Sunday (9 August), as president Aleksander Lukashenko seeks to enter his third decade in power.

Following a review under the recommendation on the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU, the Council updated the list of countries for which travel restrictions should be lifted.