European Union

Budapest and Bucharest are engaged in a war of words over the heavily-Hungarian region of Szeklerland, part of Romania's Transylvania. But is a row over autonomy just cover to overshadow the corona virus crisis?

The reports we have received at the European Roma Rights Centre of extreme hardship, police violence, ethnic profiling and hate speech against Roma since the pandemic hit Europe, highlight the need for extra vigilance when governments adopt emergency powers.

One of most catastrophic fallouts of this crisis is that it is paving the way for a crackdown on press freedoms across the world.

France said Sunday (3 May) that it would not quarantine anyone arriving from the EU, the Schengen area or Britain due to the coronavirus, as it prepares to start easing confinement measures after two months of lockdown.

European leaders are backing an initiative from Brussels to raise €7.5 billion to find a vaccine to curb the global coronavirus pandemic.

Article written by President Michel , President von der Leyen, President Macron, Chancellor Merkel, Prime Minister Solberg.

The EU issued a declaration paying tribute on World Press Freedom Day to the essential role of journalism in upholding online and offline freedom of expression in democratic societies and fostering transparency and accountability.

Hundreds gathered in Portugal's capital Lisbon on Friday to celebrate Labour Day, observing strict social distancing rules in a smaller-than-usual event to show solidarity with those left jobless due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Greek workers and students wearing masks and gloves lined up outside parliament to commemorate May Day, defying a government ban on movement imposed to fight the coronavirus.

Iran has condemned Berlin's ban of Hezbollah activity in Germany and its designation of the Iranian-backed Lebanese group as a terrorist organisation, saying the move serves US and Israeli interests, Iranian state media reported on Friday (1 May).

Irish airline Ryanair announced mass job cuts on May Day and salary caps for remaining employees, as the low-cost flyer made a U-turn on its bullish insistence on being able to ride out the virus outbreak unscathed.

Croatia's President Zoran Milanovic walked away from a state wreath-laying ceremony on Friday (1 May) in protest at a Nazi-era slogan worn by one of the participants, exposing once again deep divisions in the EU's newest member.

Even if the money for an ambitious post-COVID-19 EU recovery plan was on the table, the political elites in Eastern Europe lack the competence and the imagination to create sustainable prosperity, writes Radan Kanev.

European electricity grid operators TenneT, Swissgrid and Terna have launched a cross-border blockchain platform, saying it will help stabilise the grid while allowing households to earn “a few hundred euros per year” from their home and car batteries.

European Commissioners find Masterchef fame, won’t someone come up with Boris’ baby name, and if we can’t go on holidays, that would be a shame.

In these times of COVID-19, the big challenge for most of us is how to protect ourselves and our families from the virus and how to hold on to our jobs. For policy-makers, that translates into beating the pandemic without doing irreversible damage to the economy in the process, writes Guy Ryder.

In a matter of a few weeks, the political challenges facing Europe have changed dramatically, with the unfolding health and economic crisis. In the previous economic turmoil, our collective response was to weaken the rights of the worker. This time it must be different, argue Danish MEPs Marianne Vind, Nikolaj Villumsen and Kira Marie Peter-Hansen.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday (30 April) threatened China with fresh tariffs as he stepped up his attacks on Beijing over the coronavirus crisis, saying he had seen evidence linking a Wuhan lab to the contagion.

China did try to pressure the EU into diluting a report on disinformation, the EU's top diplomat has admitted. But this was just normal diplomacy, he said.

The Council appointed Mr Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen for a second term as the Secretary-General of the Council.