European Union

Poland and Luxembourg were the only EU countries expected to send top VIPs to Beijing's Olympics, as Russia and China use the games to forge closer ties.

To mark World Cancer Day, researchers from The Netherlands Cancer Institute and the University of Amsterdam publish results of the world’s first laboratory experiment on pharmaceutical transparency, showing that comprehensive transparency can significantly decrease prices without compromising R&D investments.

The transition to electric vehicles will put around 73,000 jobs at risk in Italy, metal workers' unions and a lobby group said on Thursday. (3 February), calling on the government to start discussions on measures to support the automotive industry.

Bulgaria has rejected an informal idea from North Macedonia to temporarily suspend the work of the Joint Commission on Historical and Educational Affairs to facilitate progress in relations. Common history is one of the hot issues between Sofia and Skopje,...

The European Commission refused to immediately comment on the announcement by President Andrzej Duda that he would forward a draft law to dismantle the Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Chamber, a longtime bone of contention between Poland and the EU. The EU...

The opposition in Slovakia intensified its attacks against President Zuzana Čaputová after her Tuesday speech when accused Russia of warmongering and supported the stationing of NATO’s troops in Slovakia. She was labelled an American agent, spokeswoman of the US Embassy...

The easing of entry restrictions into Portugal, namely the end of the mandatory negative test for COVID-19 for those with a digital certificate is highly positive, the Confederation of Tourism of Portugal (CTP) said on Thursday. “The CTP welcomes the measure the...

President Sergio Mattarella, who was just re-elected for a second mandate, has urged the EU to have a greater role in “supporting stabilisation and peace processes in the troubled Mediterranean and the Middle East”. “The EU must be aware that...

The construction of the Ionian-Adriatic Gas Pipeline (IAP) will be led by a project company based in Split and shareholders from four countries through which the pipeline passes or is used, EURACTIV’s partner Jutarnji list has reported. The IAP project...

I am “absolutely convinced” Sweden will join NATO within five years, the chair of the moderate party, Ulf Kristersson, has said. Interviewed by the tabloid Expressen on 2 February, Kristersson said he would like to see Sweden and Finland proceeding...

Sweden will lift most COVID-19 restrictions on 9 February, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson confirmed during a press conference, saying it was “time to open up” the country. “It’s time to open up Sweden. The pandemic is not over, but we...

Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Coveney has called for the UK government to respect international law after a DUP minister halted post-Brexit checks on goods arriving in Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK. “Put simply, the British Government has...

People who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and have been infected with the virus will no longer have to take the third dose to obtain the vaccine pass, Health Minister Olivier Véran announced on broadcaster BFMTV Wednesday night. This was...

A cross-party delegation of German MPs travelled to Lithuania on Thursday in a show of “solidarity” towards the “excessive” trade barriers China imposes on the country. The announcement came just ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics which are set to...

Budapest welcomes international observers for the April parliamentary elections but deplores EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders comments about it, a Hungarian government’s spokesperson said on Thursday. “We welcome all observers, and we classify the Commissioner’s statement as a political expression...

The government on Thursday approved a controversial labour market reform by a margin of only one vote after a tense debate in parliament. With 175 votes in favour and 174 against, the text, which entered into force in December 2021,...

Support for the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE) – currently in opposition – is growing, making them the most popular party among the electorate, a new survey conducted in January shows. Support for EKRE has grown to 24%, with...

After Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki unexpectedly arrived in Prague to sign a deal on the Turów coal mine on Thursday, the Czech government praised the long-awaited agreement but law experts and green NGOs warn against a bad deal. The...

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers proposed matching bills in the Senate and House of Representatives on Thursday (3 February) that would require the United States to negotiate the renaming of Taiwan's de facto embassy in Washington as the "Taiwan Representative Office," a move certain to anger China.

The Council renewed the EU terrorist list setting out persons, groups and entities subject to restrictive measures with a view to combating terrorism for a further six months, and delisted one person.