European Union

Serbia has not yet decided whether to continue the EU accession process under a new methodology because its European partners are yet to explain clearly what the new methodology entails, the Serbian minister in charge of the country’s accession to...

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said on Monday that “the election will no longer be the top issue” if there were more problems related to the coronavirus and the number of infected persons rose. “If things remain under control the election...

Slovenian satellites Trisat and Nemo HD will fly into space on 19 June, Vesolje-SI, the Slovenian Centre of Excellence for Space Sciences, where Nemo HD was produced, confirmed to STA news agency. Preparations for the launch, which has been postponed...

Croatia’s 151-seat parliament ended its last session on Monday (18 May) as the majority voted for its dissolution with 105 in favour, eight against and four abstentions. It is now up to President Zoran Milanović to determine the date of...

The European Commission intends to push a “transformative approach” to all forms of bioenergy – including biofuels and woody biomass – as part of a biodiversity strategy due to be unveiled on Wednesday (20 May).

After ten weeks on lockdown, Slovakia’s kindergartens and grammar schools (Grades 1-5) will reopen on 1 June under strict hygienic measures. However, parents can decide whether their child will return to school in June or not. It is just a...

On Monday (18 May), around 32 million people in Spain, roughly 70% of the country’s population, awoke to eased coronavirus lockdown restrictions after having to respect strict lockdown measures since 14 March. While the majority of Spain has progressed into...

More than 150 business giants, including Carlsberg, H&M and Pernod Ricard, with a combined market capitalisation of more than $2.4trn, have signed a joint statement calling on all governments to align coronavirus economic responses to climate science. EURACTIV's media partner edie.net reports.

The EU might lose its international stature and even face a near existential crisis if it fails to address and solve its internal problems, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö wrote in an article published in various domestic newspapers on Saturday (16...

Belgium’s foreign affairs minister Philippe Goffin (MR) met with his French, Dutch, German and Luxembourg counterparts in recent days to consider the gradual lifting of restrictions on the 1,385km common border with the four countries. “During the crisis, Belgium managed...

“From 3 June, we will be able to travel among the Italian regions and we are ready to welcome safely European citizens who want to spend their holidays in our country, as is the case each year. Our structures are...

British MPs on Monday (18 May) gave their initial backing to legislation ending free movement of workers with the European Union, but the vote was overshadowed by a row over foreign healthcare staff and coronavirus.

Some 66,3% of senior risk professionals pointed to a “prolonged global recession” as one of the most worrisome risks for their company, according to a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF), published on Tuesday (19 May).

Scepticism about adverse effects and actual lack of efficacy in immunisation practices can become an important negative factor when a vaccine against coronavirus becomes available, according to the head of the EU's medicines agency (EMA), Guido Rasi.

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has called upon the European Union to take the lead in establishing a legal framework for the regulation of online platforms, in order to resist other models of online governance, like China's, which do not appeal to Western values.

The World Health Organization said on Monday (18 May) it would launch an independent review of its response to the coronavirus pandemic as US President Donald Trump renewed his attack on the global body, branding it a "puppet of China".

"When you are the CEO, at the end of the day, you are the only one to be responsible, no one else," EU single market commissioner Thierry Breton told Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a live-streamed debate Monday, referring to Facebook's routine publication of dangerous fake news on the pandemic. "At the end of the day, it will be Mark who will be responsible and nobody else," Breton added.

A group of 11 EU states have agreed a roadmap for how to do summer holidays in Europe. EU nations ought to open borders phase-by-phase, coordinate measures, prioritise safety, and ensure people can get back home afterward, according to a joint statement Monday by foreign ministers from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Malta, Slovenia, and Spain. All EU countries currently have different travel rules in place.

Data privacy commissioner Ulrich Kelber said any use of WhatsApp was prohibited in federal ministries and institutions, even if some had resorted to using it during the current pandemic, Deutsche Welle writes. In a letter to branches of the federal government, Kelber said that bodies must respect, and not neglect, data protection "even in these difficult times." "Just by sending messages, metadata is delivered to WhatsApp every time," said Kelber.

Germany is to reopen its internal EU borders from 15 June, its foreign minister, Heiko Maas, has said. "We hope that on June 15 we will be able to replace the general travel warning with travel advice," he said Monday. People should remain careful and everybody should not start travelling at once, he added. This year's holidays "won't have much to do with the [past] vacation[s] you've known," Maas said.