Finland recorded its first two first same-sex adoptions as a male couple and a female couple adopted infants three years after the country’s reformed Marriage Act, which made it possible for same-sex couples to marry and adopt. The two adoptions,...
The European Commission's Green Deal chief, Frans Timmermans, assured EU lawmakers on Tuesday (21 April) that "every euro" spent on economic recovery measures after the COVID-19 crisis would be linked to the green and digital transitions. EURACTIV Germany reports.
An increasing number of Germany’s 16 states have decided to begin enforcing mandatory mask-wearing on public transport and in shops. Saxony was the first state to introduce such regulations, coming into effect on Monday (20 April). Bavaria also announced their...
Creating debt without planning how to pay it would not be credible, Iratxe García, the leader of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, stated in a letter sent to EU leaders ahead of the 23 April EU Summit....
Differences among EU countries look set to stymie any major decisions on tackling the long-term economic impact of the crisis at a summit later this week. In a letter Tuesday inviting the 27 leaders to the videoconference, EU Council President...
The European Union's chief climate official said on Tuesday (21 April) there could be green conditions attached to any car scrappage schemes set up by the bloc to revive vehicle demand following the coronavirus pandemic.
The management of COVID-19 cases seems to be working more on the basis of Darwin's well-known theory of natural selection, where the strong survive, rather than on any European strategy, writes Bashkim Smakaj.
Dozens of migrants, including many single-parent families, accomodated at a hostel in southern Greece tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday (21 April) as the government prepared for a gradual easing of a broad lockdown from 27 April.
The UN General Assembly has demanded equal access for any future COVID-19 vaccine but its seeming unanimity was a fluke. The United States in fact opposed the resolution but acted too late to stop it, diplomats say.
The Spanish government announced on Tuesday (21 April) that children under the age of 14 will be allowed to accompany adults on essential errands, allowing youngsters – and politicians – a long-awaited breath of fresh air. EURACTIV's partner EFE reports.
The UK government’s decision to opt-out of an EU procurement scheme for urgently needed medical equipment to cope with the coronavirus crisis was a “political decision”.
The much-awaited re-visit of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) should get rid of “prejudices” and take advantage of technologies and products already placed on the market, a biodiesel stakeholder told EURACTIV.com in an interview.
The COVID-19 pandemic could lead to 'biblical famines' and almost double the number of people suffering acute hunger, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday (21 April) as it released a new report on food crises around the world.
Fears that cash-rich corporate raiders could use the coronavirus crisis to swoop on weakened European firms were perhaps best exemplified by Donald Trump's alleged bid for a German biotech firm working on a vaccine.
As Europe takes tentative steps to ease the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, it cannot neglect the virus’ potential to wreak havoc in the poorest and most fragile states around the world, writes Michael Keating. Michael Keating is the executive director of...
Pascal Lamy, the French former head of the World Trade Organisation, has urged EU leaders to dig deep to "save the European project", ahead of an EU videoconference summit on post-pandemic bailouts Thursday. "European leaders must stop fighting each other", he told Belgian daily Le Soir in an interview out Wednesday. French, Italian, and Spanish leaders have also said the EU is at risk if there is no financial solidarity.
EU steel makers could be flooded by cheap products from overseas amid a glut in world stockpiles due to the pandemic, which saw orders fall by up to 75 percent, the EU's trade commissioner, Phil Hogan, has warned. "Third country exporters may well decide to sell their product at below cost or at all cost ... with a view to gaining larger stakes in a smaller EU market," he said.
France, the Netherlands, and Spain have said they will let children go back to school in early May in staggered groups, starting with younger ones first. Dutch shops will stay closed until at least 20 May and big events, like football games, remain cancelled for another three months, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte said Tuesday. "Impatience cropping up, [but] ... rapid relaxation can lead to the virus immediately striking again".
Russia and China are still bombarding the EU with coronavirus disinformation, including "malicious" Russian "fake cures" which put lives at risk.
It is estimated that between €275bn to €400bn will be lost for the tourism and travel sector because of the pandemic, the commissioner of the internal market, Thierry Breton, told MEPs from the parliament's committee on tourism on Tuesday.
Pages