European Union

Kazakhstan is suspending all public events and taking special preventive measures due to the global spread of the coronavirus, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev wrote on Twitter on Thursday (12 March).

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez sent out on Wednesday (11 March) a message of “unity, serenity and stability” to the Spanish people, pointing to the “difficult days and weeks” that Spain faces in order to contain the coronavirus outbreak and get the country back to normal.

The US has blocked entry to people from 26 European states, but not the UK, over the coronavirus pandemic US president Donald Trump said Wednesday. "To keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from Europe," he said. The ban is to come into force Friday for 30 days and apply to anybody who had visited Europe's passport-free Schengen zone in the past two weeks.

The EU's new Africa strategy promises relentless support for "a comprehensive continent-to-continent free trade area" - and ignores the risks posed by trade liberalisation where labour, fiscal and social regulation is immensely diverse and sometimes weak.

The Greek government dismissed on Wednesday (11 March) a report in The New York Times that it was holding illegal migrants who cross the border from Turkey at a secret "black site" where they are denied access to lawyers and cannot file asylum claims.

Revelations by the New York Times that Greece is running a black site where asylum seekers are detained, denied legal rights and then deported, will not be probed by the European Commission.

British minister Michael Gove said on Wednesday that face-to-face meetings for the second round of negotiations on the future relationship between the UK and the UE could be hit by the spread of the coronavirus, Reuters reported. "It is a live question (…) We have had indications today from Belgium that there may be specific public health concerns," he said. However, the commission said that the schedule has not changed.

A German court has for the first time rejected a request to extradite a suspect to Poland, over concerns about judicial independence in the fellow EU member state, AFP reported. Judges at the court in Karlsruhe said there was a "high probability" that an extradition "would prove to be illegal, at least for the moment, because of current developments in Poland related to the 'justice reform'."

Police in Slovakia detained a dozen judges on Wednesday as part of an investigation into the murder of a journalist and his partner in 2018, which unleashed years of protests over corruption. The judges could face charges of corruption, abuse of power, and interference in the independence of the courts. Among those detained were the vice president of the Supreme Court, and a former deputy justice minister.

The US is pushing Kosovo and Serbia to make a peace deal, over a year after the last EU-led talks took place.

EU countries have introduced partial travel bans, shut down schools, sports and cultural events, closed cinemas and theatres in an effort to slow down the spread of covonavirus. Fears over the economic turmoil also grow.

EU countries have introduced partial travel bans, shut down schools, sports and cultural events, closed cinemas and theatres in an effort to slow down the spread of covonavirus. Fears over the economic turmoil also grow.

A new circular economy strategy was adopted on Wednesday intended to strengthen the EU's economy, empower consumers and protect the environment. However, it fails to set targets for the EU's so-called 'material footprint' and waste reduction for specific waste streams.

"This is the worst crisis Italy has had to face since the end of the Second World War" says Emanuele Felice, professor of economic history at the University of Chieti-Pescara, and economic advisor to Italy's Democratic Party.

"This is the worst crisis Italy has had to face since the end of the Second World War" says Emanuele Felice, professor of economic history at the University of Chieti-Pescara, and economic advisor to Italy's Democratic Party.

EU spokesperson Peter Stano has warned Turkey to stick to its recent “clear” commitment and stop undermining chances to sort out the ongoing crisis with Brussels by threatening to keep borders open for migrants.   

Germany will spend what it takes to tackle the coronavirus which is likely to infect up to 70% of the population in Europe's largest economy, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday (11 March).

More than 30% of European adults suffer from chronic disease (heart failure, cardiovascular disease, liver cirrhosis, chronic kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, among others) and more than 85% die from it. Professor Raymond Vanholder is the President of the European Kidney...

President Donald Trump on Wednesday (11 March) suspended travel from Europe to the United States for 30 days in an "aggressive" effort to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic that has sparked a run on the stock market and is rapidly multiplying.

Italy on Wednesday (11 Mach) shut all stores except for pharmacies and food shops in a desperate bid to halt the spread of a coronavirus that has killed 827 in the the country in just over two weeks.