European Union

MEPs will discuss the use of smartphone apps in managing the spread of the pandemic and address the risks posed to personal data and privacy.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday (13 May) that a bombshell ruling on the European Central Bank by Germany's top court should "spur" efforts toward greater eurozone integration.

In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about Germany and Austria opening its borders on Saturday, the European Parliament in Strasbourg now being a huge lab for testing coronavirus, and so much more.

The so-called ‘Green Corridors’ concept should contribute to more efficient border crossings to counter hours’ long wait times, Serbia’s  Construction, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister, Zorana Mihajlovic, said on Wednesday (13 May). The concept was designed by member states of the...

Two men have been detained since Tuesday (12 May) on suspicion of ‘scaremongering’ after sharing posts critical of the government on Facebook, local media reported.

Since the state of emergency was declared to fight the coronavirus pandemic, about 200,000 people have lost their jobs in Serbia, which corresponds to about 8% of the people employed in February, including informal and self-employed workers, according to research...

Belgian schools will partially reopen and markets, museums and zoos will also be allowed to operate again from next Monday, Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès said on Wednesday (13 May), in a further easing of the country's two-month coronavirus lockdown.

Thursday (14 May) is the last day of the state of emergency, but it is still unclear what follows as of Friday, no restrictions could be in place whatsoever. The government planned to replace the state of emergency with a...

French lawmakers on Wednesday (13 May) approved a controversial bill to ban hate speech on social media, a measure dismissed as censorship by detractors.

Many websites in Slovenia have not been adapted for people with disabilities. This means that during the pandemic, many disabled people are not only isolated from social contacts, but also from the information they need to properly deal with the...

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that he and his government have initiated a discussion about the European Commission’s documents regarding tourism and transport. According to the PM, one of the key aspects of Croatia’s EU Presidency has been the...

Coordinating measures and sharing criteria is crucial to saving Europe's tourism sector, writes José Ramón Bauzá.

Written by Nikolai Atanassov, Hubert Dalli, Costica Dumbrava, Gianna Eckert, Ulla Jurviste, Anja Radjenovic, Sofija Voronova,

© Ivelin Radkov / Adobe Stock

Member States have adopted a range of emergency measures in response to the unprecedented public health crises generated by the coronavirus pandemic. Whereas not all Member States dispose of constitutional mechanisms to enable the declaration of a ‘state of emergency’, all have taken exceptional and far-reaching emergency measures that affect citizens’ rights and freedoms as well as democratic processes. These institutional changes and the restrictions imposed on citizens’ lives pose significant institutional and democratic challenges.

Given their impact on fundamental rights and freedoms and on the normal functioning of democracy, emergency measures need to be carefully examined, matched with adequate legal safeguards, and subject to close democratic scrutiny. This is particularly true in the context of rapid changes of circumstances and in view of new evidence about the evolution of the crisis and its implications. This briefing covers the following countries: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Malta, Austria, Romania, and Slovenia. It focuses on three key aspects: i) the constitutional framework of the state emergency or legitimation of the emergency legislation; ii) the concrete measures adopted; and iii) the extent of parliamentary oversight exercised on the adopted measures.

This briefing is the second in a series aimed at providing a comparative overview of Member States’ institutional responses to the coronavirus crisis. The first in the series covered an initial set of seven Member States.

Read the complete briefing on ‘States of emergency in response to the coronavirus crisis: Situation in certain Member States II‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

As planned in the country’s exit strategy, Belgium’s National Security Council has given the go-ahead for a series of new relaxations as of next Monday (18 May), including the reopening of schools, hairdressers and even some social activities in an...

Prime Minister Boris Johnson came under fire on Wednesday (13 May) after Labour leader Keir Starmer called on him to account for 10,000 “unexplained” deaths in care homes last month. Starmer said there were 18,000 more deaths in care homes...

As the European Parliament continues its sessions partly online and in Brussels, the institution’s huge building in Strasbourg was transformed into a testing centre for the coronavirus this week. Given that the eastern part of France has been particularly hard...

Many people are looking for explanations since lockdown measures were introduced to contain the coronavirus outbreak. In Germany, right-wing extremists are trying to take advantage of this. EURACTIV Germany reports.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke before the Bundestag yesterday (13 May) in a government Q&A similar to Prime Minister’s Questions in the UK, reiterating the need for caution for those going out in public and warning of a possible second...

Statistics reveal that alcohol sales in Finland increased by 23% in April compared to the year before. Finnish national alcoholic beverage retailing monopoly, Alko, saw its sales of Rosé wine increase by 40% that month, while red and white wins...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke before the Bundestag yesterday (13 May) in a government Q&A similar to Prime Minister’s Questions in the UK, reiterating the need for caution for those going out in public and warning of a possible second...