European Union

The European Commission approved a €18 million support package to Iran on Thursday (23 August) sending an important signal both to Teheran and Washington that Brussels will not back on its efforts to preserve the nuclear deal despite US sanctions.

EU diplomats from a dozen member states will meet Friday (24 August) to discuss the bloc's asylum policy as Italy refuses to let migrants on a coast guard ship disembark, while the European Commission is scrambling to find member states willing to host them. "We are stepping up our work to find a long-term solution," a commission spokesperson said, adding that the meeting is informal and no decisions are expected.

The number of West Nile virus infection cases in Europe has gone up in 2018, with increased temperatures to blame. The biggest number of cases has been registered in Serbia, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed. EURACTIV Serbia reports.

The liquidation of Cyprus’ Olympic Insurance, largely unnoticed on the island, is sending shockwaves through Bulgaria as it has left almost 200,000 policyholders with no coverage, causing a serious political crisis.

German chancellor Angela Merkel has dropped her support for Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann to become governor of the European Central Bank (EBC) and instead wants a German, possibly economy minister Peter Altmaier, to head the next European Commission, German daily Handelsblatt reported Thursday. Current ECB president Mario Draghi's term ends in autumn 2019, while the new commission will need to be set up after the European elections next May.

Recently published research has uncovered parallels between hate-fuelled Facebook posts and an increase in racially-motivated attacks on refugees in Germany, with material from the German Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party page under the spotlight.

The European Union is unlikely to heed London's call for it to match the latest US sanctions against Moscow over an attack on a former Russian spy in Britain earlier this year, diplomats in Brussels said.

Donald Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen has incriminated the president while under oath, admitting that hush money was paid to two women who wanted to make their affairs with Trump public during the election campaign in 2016 - in violation of campaign financing laws. In a separate hearing, Trump's ex-campaign chief Paul Manafort was found guilty on various counts of fraud. Will Trump manage to stay in the White House?

This summer's droughts have ruined harvests in many places in Europe, with huge losses for farmers. In Germany, the state has promised its support, and the EU Commission has also pledged financial aid. While some commentators believe farmers should adopt new practices others make the point that consumers and retailers also need to change their ways.

In a televised interview Liviu Dragnea, the leader of Romania's ruling party PSD, has claimed that he was the target of a murder attempt in 2017 and implied that US billionaire George Soros was behind it. According to prosecutors, however, the case was never reported. Newspapers in Romania doubt the veracity of the allegation and wonder what Dragnea could be up to.

After nearly 60 years of brightening our homes and streets, halogen lightbulbs will finally be banned across Europe on 1 September. EURACTIV’s partner The Guardian reports.

Public authorities in Europe and elsewhere need to engage with young people and take their feeling of being excluded from economic, social and political life seriously if they want to tackle urban violence effectively, writes Scott Weber.