European Union

Europe has become the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from China, the World Health Organization said late Friday. "More cases are now being reported everyday than were reported in China at the height of its epidemic", Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO secretary-general said, adding: "Our message to countries continues to be: you must take a comprehensive approach."

EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen warned countries not to unilaterally close borders, saying "I am convinced that the EU can withstand this shock."

Stadiums are a great environment in which to trial sustainability measures because of the number of people who regularly attend sporting and entertainment events, according to those involved in their day-to-day running.

The G7 leaders of the United States, Italy, Japan, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom will hold an extraordinary summit by videoconference on Monday amid the coronavirus outbreak, French president Emmanuel Macron said. "We will coordinate research efforts on a vaccine and treatments, and work on an economic and financial response," he tweeted.

The UK's local and mayoral elections, scheduled for May, have been postponed for 12 months over the coronavirus outbreak, the government announced on Friday. The polls, including for London mayor, had been scheduled for 7 May. The decision came after advice from the independent Electoral Commission that there was a "growing risk" voters would not be able to full participate.

The European Commission on Friday said health checks imposed by EU states inside the passport-free Schengen zone won't be classified as a border control. "If they introduce health checks, it is not seen as an internal border control," said home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson. Anyone entering the EU from another country at the external border and showing symptoms of the virus can be denied entry, she added.

Whoever said that British exceptionalism would end with Brexit? While the continental cousins put themselves on self-imposed lockdown – closing schools and ordering people to work and stay at home as much as possible, it is almost business as usual across the Channel.

Morocco closed the border with Ceuta and Melilla, Spain's two North African enclaves, early on Friday (13 March) to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus, officials said.

The Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg has ruled that the construction of Nord Stream 2 pipeline project could continue, rejecting a complaint over a plot of land through which the pipeline should pass and finally clearing the path for the German-Russian project. EURACTIV Germany reports.

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen warned Friday (13 March) against imposing unilateral travel restrictions to fight the coronavirus epidemic, as some member states have done.

Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier said on Friday (13 March) that he had sent an "ambitious" first draft of what could be a new post-Brexit trade deal with Britain to EU capitals.

"China and Russia have started an information war with the West ... In the time of a real plague let us be immune to the virus of a lie," Donald Tusk, a senior EU politician who was recently EU Council president, has said. The Chinese and Russian propaganda lines were "the virus has come from the USA" and "the EU is doing nothing", Tusk warned on Twitter.

The Regional Development Committee is ready to find the most efficient way possible to allow the Corona Response Investment Initiative to be adopted and swiftly implemented.
Committee on Regional Development

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

The Regional Development Committee is ready to find the most efficient way possible to allow the Corona Response Investment Initiative to be adopted and swiftly implemented.
Committee on Regional Development

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

The EU and eurozone will enter a recession this year, and its growth projection could go"considerably below zero" due to the coronavirus, the EU commission warned. Maarten Verwey, director general for economic and financial affairs said that "normally, we can expect normally to bounce back" in 2021. The official said member states' quick and bold measures will be crucial in not letting the shock turn into a long-term crisis.

Parliament’s Transport and Tourism Committee Chair welcomed the Commission’s swift proposal and pledged that MEPs will work quickly on the legislation.
Committee on Transport and Tourism

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

Parliament’s Transport and Tourism Committee Chair welcomed the Commission’s swift proposal and pledged that MEPs will work quickly on the legislation.
Committee on Transport and Tourism

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

The Czech Republic on Friday introduced an unprecedented travel ban in a fight against the coronavirus. Czechs and foreigners with permanent or long-term residency in the Czech Republic will not be allowed to leave the country, beginning on 16 March. Foreigners will not be able to enter the country for the next 30 days. People working abroad (within 50km of the Czech border) will be able to cross.

Romanian interim prime minister Ludovic Orban will quarantine himself after coming into contact with one of his party's senators who was later confirmed to have the coronavirus, he said Friday. Orban, his cabinet and Liberal Party leaders will enter self-quarantine and testing was underway, he said. As of Friday afternoon, Romania recorded 73 confirmed cases of the virus, with no fatalities.

Italy’s death toll from the coronavirus epidemic shot past 1,000 on Thursday (12 March) as the economic impact worsened, with much of the country at a standstill and the Milan bourse posting its largest-ever one-day fall. Milan’s stock exchange fell...