European Union

Non-essential travel to Europe will be banned for 30 days in an effort to contain the virus and encourage EU leaders to reopen internal borders.

Belgium will enter into a new lockdown Wednesday noon until 5 April, prime minister Sophie Wilmès said Tuesday. The stricter measures will mean people will be requested to stay at home except for work, when not possible to work from home, essential shopping, such as medicine and groceries, and walking or doing sport with just one family member or one friend. All shops but food stores and pharmacies will close.

The World Health Organization in Europe urged countries to lift export bans on masks and other medical supplies. "Solidarity within the country and with other countries is essential," the director of WHO Europe, Hans Henri Kluge, said on Tuesday.

The Aether theory made a lot of sense, it was beautiful, even poetic. Its only problem was that it was wrong. There is no such thing as aether out there in the cosmos.

Cases of European tourists bringing the virus to African states has roused fears of contagion, as some seek to avoid self-isolation irregardless of the pandemic caused by Covid-19.

The regular March summit of EU leaders in Brussels will be held by videoconference, EU Council president Charles Michel said Tuesday. The European Council was scheduled for next Thursday and Friday (26-27 March). EU summits usually draw over a thousand journalists and hundreds of diplomats to the EU Council building. Michel did not reveal which day the online summit will be held.

Falling demand and prices for oil and raw materials will revive the risk of deflation. The collapse in international trade and long-term rethinking of China's role as the major hub for the production of consumer goods and electronics is inevitable.

Women’s economic empowerment is a driver for sustainable economic growth and central to realizing women’s rights, but progress in this area has been far too slow. In the context of the International Women’s Day, it is time for companies to step up and do their share for gender equality. #WEPs | #EnterpriseForEqual | #EqualityMeansBusiness | #IWD2020 | #GenerationEquality

The UK unveiled an unprecedented £350 billion (€400 billion) financial rescue package to “support jobs, incomes and businesses” on Tuesday (17 March), in a bid to offset the economic damage unleashed by the coronavirus crisis.

Statement by the President of the European Parliament David Sassoli

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

Statement by the President of the European Parliament David Sassoli

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

Belgium declared a lockdown for the entire country over the coronavirus crisis from noon on Wednesday (18 March) until 5 April, following the example of several European countries, including neighbouring France, which took the same decision earlier this week.

Regional Development Committee triggers the urgent procedure to adopt the Corona Response Investment Initiative measures.
Committee on Regional Development

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

Regional Development Committee triggers the urgent procedure to adopt the Corona Response Investment Initiative measures.
Committee on Regional Development

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

Following their videoconference on COVID-19, G7 leaders issued a joint statement.

All EU countries have now been offered the option to extend by one month the deadline by which farmers must submit their applications for Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments, the European Commission announced on Tuesday (17 March).

The Hungarian authorities are refusing to make public information about the cities or regions where the new cases of COVID-19 have been registered, making it hard to know where in Hungary the disease is spreading. 

UK and EU officials on Tuesday (17 March) cancelled the second round of post-Brexit trade talks planned for this week 

The European Commission prepared a temporary framework to fast-track state aid approval as a response to the coronavirus (COVID-19), last used in the aftermath of the financial crisis in 2008.

EU transport ministers will hold an extraordinary online meeting on Wednesday, the commission said. They will discuss so-called "Green Lanes", a proposal by the commission to put in place fast-track lanes across borders for delivering supplies. As EU member states close their borders amid the outbreak, fears of cutting off supply chains have been on the rise. Air carriers also demanded swift action to help them survive.