Euobserver.com

Economic commissioner Paolo Gentiloni acknowledged that the goal of vaccinating 70 percent of EU adults by the summer is "a challenging target".

Existing loopholes provide ample opportunity for political actors to receive resources from abroad.

Lithuania has declined to extradite Denis Volkov, an exiled activist, to Russia on grounds he recently organised illegal protests via TikTok. "Using international tools for politically-motivated prosecution is ... wrong," Lithuanian interior minister Agne Bilotaite said, referring to Russia's anti-Volkov alert in the international police agency Interpol. Volkov is an associate of poisoned and jailed Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny. Interpol in the past rejected several "political" Russian warrants.

A Dutch court has suspended extradition of a suspected narco-trafficker to Poland under the European Arrest Warrant on grounds Polish judges were under political control. "There is a danger the judges in Poland who have to rule ... will not be able to do so freely, partly because of the risk of disciplinary proceedings," the Amsterdam court said Wednesday. The EU Commission recently urged Poland to fold its 'disciplinary tribunal'.

Germany has extended its lockdown from 14 February to at least 7 March to stave off a third wave of corona and the risk that "mutated viruses could gain the upper hand". "There could be a third wave [of infections] ... and we can only fight that if we can really get the incidence numbers down," German chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday. Schools might reopen on 1 March, however.

Anxiety, fear, depression, and psychosomatic conditions were on the rise in one third of seven to 17-year olds in a study by University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany out Wednesday. The symptoms, linked to months-long lockdowns and school closures, hit children from poor families and migrant families even harder, the study found. Children who "felt safe and supported in the family," before the pandemic struck would fare better, it said.

Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, reportedly flew to Germany on Wednesday, the Interfax news agency reports, citing a "well-informed source." Navalnaya took a flight from Moscow's Domodedovo Airport to Frankfurt, according to the Russian news outlet. The reason for her flight to Germany, where her husband had medical treatment, was not clear. According to Der Spiegel magazine, it was a visit for private reasons.

Poland's right-wing rulers will row back on plans for a "political" tax on free press after a media blackout, the editor of one leading newspaper predicts.

"We don't accept Russian behaviour and we are certainly not intimidated by Russia. We want to coordinate closely with the US," EU Council president Charles Michel told a videoconference held by US think-tank the Atlantic Council on Wednesday, in damage-control to transatlantic relations. He spoke after EU top diplomat Josep Borrell criticised US policy on Cuba while visiting Russia last week, while Moscow expelled three European diplomats.

The EU Commission expressed concern on Wednesday over media freedom in Hungary, after one of the last independent radio broadcasters, the government-critical Klubradio station, lost its licence, forcing it off the air. The move "increases concerns" about "media freedom and pluralism" in Hungary, a commission spokesman said. Klubradio will go off the airwaves on Sunday after a court upheld a decision by media authorities not to extend its broadcasting licence.

Europeans are preparing to stay in their home countries for summer 2021 vacations due to the pandemic, with bookings and real-estate prices soaring for cottages in Ireland and Sweden, for instance, Reuters reports. Houseboat bookings in Germany also shot up, amid fears Greek and Spanish beach resorts may be closed. "People shouldn't be booking holidays right now - not domestically or internationally", British transport minister Grant Schapps also said Wednesday.

The trial of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen started in Paris on Wednesday, AFP reported. She is charged with breaching hate speech laws by tweeting pictures of atrocities committed by the Islamic State. Le Pen argues the charges challenge her right to free speech. The National Rally party leader in 2015 tweeted the images, in response to a journalist, shortly after the Paris terrorist attacks that killed 130 people.

Eurozone countries must keep fiscal spending up this year and into 2022 to protect the bloc from permanent damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday. Lagarde also urged the EU to kick start the bloc's €750bn recovery spending package, as some economic restrictions could remain in place until the second half of the year, she told the Economist magazine.

The EU Commission adopted a proposal on Wednesday to ask the UK if it can take an extra two months to ratify the post-Brexit trade agreement, by extending the provisional application of the deal until April 30, Reuters reported. The commission said it needed more time to translate the deal into all 24 languages, and for the European Parliament to vote on the deal.

The International Organization for Migration, an inter-governmental body related to the UN, is demanding the EU and member states put an end to illegal expulsions of people seeking asylum.

The European Commission admitted mistakes were made during the bloc's approval and rollout of vaccines - triggering criticism from MEPs who demanded more transparency and accountability, plus solidarity with low and medium-income countries.

It's more than geography. Ukraine and the European Union are "stitched" together with a common worldview and goals, with common values and future. And the best thing we can do – is to make these threads stronger.

The development of the Chinese economy over the past 40 years has also been a process of greater alignment, connection, and integration with the world economy.

The US Senate voted 56 to 44 Tuesday that the second impeachment process against former US president Donald Trump was constitutional and could proceed, Deutsche Welle reports. The vote meant Trump was officially accused of inciting the Capitol riot on 6 January 6 and will face a fully-fledged trial. But with only six Republicans breaking with their party Tuesday, the Democrats still lack a majority to convict the former leader.

Turkey is close to completing purchase of a gas-drilling ship from Norwegian firm Dolphin Drilling in a move that bodes ill for EU relations. The ship was "legendary" and the "crown jewel" of the Norwegian fleet, Turkish pro-government newspaper Daily Sabah said Tuesday. Turkey is currently in talks to reduce tension with Cyprus and Greece after its three existing drilling vessels violated Cyprus-claimed waters in recent months, prompting EU sanctions.