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UK researchers try to crack genetic riddle of COVID-19

Euractiv.com - Wed, 05/13/2020 - 08:42
British researchers will study the genes of thousands of ill COVID-19 patients to try to crack one of the most puzzling riddles of the novel coronavirus: why does it kill some people but give others not even a mild headache?
Categories: European Union

Romania shuts down websites with fake COVID-19 news

Euractiv.com - Wed, 05/13/2020 - 08:41
In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about French associations bringing a case before a Paris court for allowing hate content to be published, and so much more.
Categories: European Union

BELGRADE – ‘Election boycott is not the right way’

Euractiv.com - Wed, 05/13/2020 - 08:40
The European Parliament’s Standing Rapporteur for Serbia Vladimír Bilcík said on Tuesday (12 May) that boycotting democratic institutions and elections was not the way to change politics, noting that the EU would be monitoring the situation in Serbia before and...
Categories: European Union

LJUBLJANA – Prosecutor dismisses ‘coronavirus’ suit against president, ministers

Euractiv.com - Wed, 05/13/2020 - 08:39
Slovenia’s state prosecutor has rejected a complaint filed by a private lawyer against President Borut Pahor and two government ministers for allegedly endangering public health, the 24ur news website reported. The complaint said the three had appeared in public in...
Categories: European Union

ZAGREB – Poorly disguised threat

Euractiv.com - Wed, 05/13/2020 - 08:38
Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić announced that his parliamentary group will not support parliament’s dissolution, a crucial precondition for new elections, if parliament decides not to vote on the bill for Zagreb’s reconstruction following the 22 March earthquake. The law on the...
Categories: European Union

BUCHAREST – Romania will ask for EU support on milk, pork and poultry

Euractiv.com - Wed, 05/13/2020 - 08:37
Romania will ask the European Commission for direct financial support for milk, pork and poultry, as farmers and food producers have amassed large inventories, Agriculture Minister Adrian Oros said Tuesday (12 May). The European Commission has already accepted a request...
Categories: European Union

BUDAPEST – A war of letters

Euractiv.com - Wed, 05/13/2020 - 08:36
“At present, the fight against the epidemic consumes all my energy and strength,” wrote PM Viktor Orbán in response to European Parliament President David Sassoli’s letter inviting him to personally come to Brussels on Thursday (14 May) to take part...
Categories: European Union

ROME – ‘Unsustainable’ guidelines

Euractiv.com - Wed, 05/13/2020 - 08:35
Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL) and the Italian Institute of Health released two guidelines with the safety measures required for reopening beaches and restaurants. However, representatives from both industries informed Economic Development Minister Stefano Patuanelli that the protocols were “unsustainable”...
Categories: European Union

HELSINKI – Quickest shift to teleworking

Euractiv.com - Wed, 05/13/2020 - 08:34
Following the coronavirus outbreak across the EU, employees in Finland were the quickest to start working from home and switch to ‘teleworking’ as 60% made the switch this spring compared to a 37% EU average, according to a survey published...
Categories: European Union

BRUSSELS – Phase 2

Euractiv.com - Wed, 05/13/2020 - 08:33
Belgium’s National Security Council meets on Wednesday to discuss Phase 2 of the country’s exit strategy which is meant to start on 18 May. The positive trend seen in Belgium’s case figures makes another easing of lockdown measures likely. After...
Categories: European Union

PARIS – Twitter taken to court for hate speech

Euractiv.com - Wed, 05/13/2020 - 08:33
Four anti-discrimination associations took Twitter to court in Paris, claiming that the social network had “long and persistently” failed to meet its obligations in terms of content moderation, according to a document sent to AFP.  “Faced with a 43% increase...
Categories: European Union

EU seeks trade truce with US amid virus crisis

Euractiv.com - Wed, 05/13/2020 - 08:32
The EU's top trade official hopes the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic will spur efforts to heal US trade ties, bogged down in a tit-for-tat tariff feud.
Categories: European Union

BERLIN – Continued pressure to open borders

Euractiv.com - Wed, 05/13/2020 - 08:32
The pressure continues to mount on conservative Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) not to extend the closure of Germany’s borders, which is set to expire on 15 May. While the European Commission will present guidelines to lift the border controls...
Categories: European Union

Romania shuts down websites with fake COVID-19 news

Euractiv.com - Wed, 05/13/2020 - 08:31
The declaration of a state of emergency in Romania due to COVID-19 has brought with it a first for the country – the authorities have started to close down news sites for promoting false information related to the pandemic. The...
Categories: European Union

World Health Organization: Is it fit for purpose?

Written by Martin Russell,

© Ricochet64 / Adobe Stock

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19, the disease resulting from the novel coronavirus SARS-COV2, a pandemic on 11 March 2020, putting the United Nations (UN) agency in the global spotlight. The WHO is coordinating international efforts to fight the virus, for example by issuing guidelines on preventing and treating the disease, and coordinating research into testing and vaccines.

Critics argue that the WHO was overly accommodating of China, and as a result failed to handle the pandemic effectively in its early stages. According to them, the WHO too readily accepted Chinese reassurances that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission. The WHO also failed to hold China to account for its initial cover-up, and even praised its transparency.

Even before coronavirus, the WHO already had a mixed track record, including, on the one hand, successful eradication of smallpox, and on the other, a delayed response to the West African Ebola epidemic of 2014, which may have cost thousands of lives. Its failures, both in the Covid-19 pandemic and in previous health crises, highlight long-standing problems: the agency is weak, underfunded, and its complex organisational structure can get in the way of effective action. Underlying such weaknesses is the fact that the WHO is entirely dependent on cooperation from its member states and can only act within the limits set by them.

While Covid-19 has highlighted many of the WHO’s weaknesses, it is also a reminder that diseases respect no borders, and that the organisation’s task of global coordination has become more necessary than ever.

Read the complete briefing on ‘World Health Organization: Is it fit for purpose?‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Categories: European Union

Electric car sales in Europe jumped 57% in Q1 2020

Euractiv.com - Wed, 05/13/2020 - 08:20
Registrations of electric cars in Europe jumped 57.4% in the first quarter of 2020, but still only accounted for 4.3% of total registrations, auto industry data showed on Tuesday, as carmakers struggle to meet tough new anti-pollution rules.
Categories: European Union

Austria’s Kurz aims to lift border controls to Switzerland by June

Euractiv.com - Wed, 05/13/2020 - 08:03
Austria aims to ease some border controls with Switzerland within days and to end all controls by June, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told Swiss broadcaster SRF on Tuesday (12 May), as countries push ahead with loosening COVID-19 restrictions.
Categories: European Union

Insect-based foodstuffs hold ‘enormous potential’ for EU sustainability goals

Euractiv.com - Wed, 05/13/2020 - 07:44
With the presentation of the long-awaited Farm to Fork strategy due in the coming days, EURACTIV took a look at the potential that insects hold for contributing to the goals of the strategy and creating a more self-reliant, sustainable food system in the EU.
Categories: European Union

Polish opposition threatens to block plans for rescheduled election

Euractiv.com - Wed, 05/13/2020 - 07:42
Poland's main opposition grouping threatened on Tuesday (12 May) to block planning for a delayed presidential election, accusing the ruling coalition of rushing a voting plan through parliament for political gain.
Categories: European Union

EU to preserve refund safety-net for travel vouchers

Euractiv.com - Wed, 05/13/2020 - 07:26
The European Commission will later on Wednesday (13 May) publish a common rulebook for voluntary travel vouchers, which advises that state aid could be used to set up guarantee funds, according to documents seen by EURACTIV.
Categories: European Union

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