European Union

The restrictions of social distancing are making it difficult for people to come into contact with one another. Especially those who have neither a partner nor family are feeling increasingly isolated. But the pandemic is also not without consequences for relationships between couples and friends. Commentators describe a world without physical contact caught between fatalism, longing and hope.

The leaders of some countries are turning a blind eye to the coronavirus pandemic. In Belarus, for example, President Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly railed against the 'corona panic' - and recommends drinking vodka to prevent infection. In Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro has accused the media and politicians of scaremongering. While some observers voice concern others see good reason to take a relaxed stance.

The European Commission has started assessing the impact and consequences of the Interchange Fee Regulation (IFR) on the payments market. While we welcome the Commission’s initiative, we have several reasons to believe that an assessment of the impact of IFR at this stage is premature.

Only five EU member states have submitted long-term renovation strategies that were due last month under the revised energy performance of buildings directive: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands and Sweden.

The growing number of diseases transmitted from animals to humans is closely linked to the way food is produced and the intensification of animal production, especially large-scale agribusiness, a Greek professor has said. Charalambos Kasimis, a professor at the Agricultural...

The European food supply chain and food safety system are proving to be extremely resilient,  according to the chair of European Parliament's Agriculture Committee, Herbert Dorfmann, as people still manage to find available and safe food on supermarket shelves even in time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The US should follow the lead of France when it comes to testing the radiation from mobile phones, writes Devra Davis, arguing that we still don't really know how safe the devices and their networks are.

The COVID-19 disease pandemic is still infecting and killing large numbers of people across Europe and there is no sign yet that the peak of the region's outbreak has been reached, the EU's disease monitoring agency said on Wednesday (8 April).

The European Union should prolong until mid-May curbs on travelling to the continent, the bloc's executive arm said on Wednesday (8 April) of extraordinary measures meant to limit the spread of coronavirus.

The economic crisis caused by coronavirus could push over half a billion people into poverty unless “urgent and dramatic action is taken”, a new Oxfam study published on Thursday (9 April), has warned.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Wednesday (8 April) that Italy must stick with its rigid lockdown to try to curb the COVID-19 epidemic, rejecting calls from businesses to reopen factories.

As EU countries fight the coronavirus pandemic, they “must not lose sight” of the EU’s climate neutrality objective, the European Commission reminded on Wednesday (8 April).

In today's news from the Capitals, find out more about the Czech Republic's unclear COVID-19 strategy, compensation for being forced to stay home in Finland, and so much more.

Serbia has one of the highest prison mortality rates in Europe, according to the Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics (SPACE). The mortality rate among Serbian inmates has significantly risen, jumping from 32.4 to 51.5 people per 10,000, which puts...

On International Roma Day, Deputy Prime Minister Zorana Mihajlovic said that Serbia is fighting every day to ensure the equal position of Roma people in society. Mihajlovic, who also chairs the Coordinating Body monitoring the implementation of the Strategy for...