European Union

NASA and the European Space Agency joined forces Tuesday (13 July) in the battle against climate change, a move they said paves the way to a global response to the problem.

Spain’s most “feminist” executive in the Iberian country’s history started its work with the economic recovery topping the agenda officially on Tuesday, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reported.

The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday said Bosnia and Herzegovina has to do better in its efforts to align with the European Union. "I have to regret that the rate of alignment has dropped in the first months of this year and this is, certainly, not in line with the aspirations to become a European Union candidate country," he said.

Over 100 intellectual-property experts and academics called on Tuesday on the UK, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Norway, Switzerland and the EU to stop blocking the proposal demanding the temporary lifting of intellectual properties rights for Covid-19 vaccines and treatments. The call comes ahead of this week's round of the 'TRIPS Waiver' negotiations at the World Trade Organization. The proposal is currently supported by over 100 countries, including the US.

Poland has postponed a Constitutional Court verdict, on whether EU or Polish law has primacy in the country, from Tuesday until at least Thursday. The EU Commission has urged Poland to scrap the procedure, in a court stuffed with political loyalists of the ruling, eurosceptic PiS party. Polish human rights Ombudsman Adam Bodnar also said Tuesday the process "sooner or later will lead to Poland's removal from the EU".

France's anti-trust watchdog has handed Google a €500m fine for using French news agencies' material, Reuters reports. Google must now present proposals within two months on how it will compensate the agencies, and other publishers, for the use of their news. If it does not, Google could face additional fines of up to €900,000 per day. Google said it was disappointed at the decision.

EU finance ministers on Tuesday approved investment plans from 12 member states - including Italy, Spain and France - paving the way for the first payments of grants and loans from the bloc's €800bn Covid-19 recovery fund to boost the economy. Plans from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Slovakia were also given the green light. The next group of plans could be approved on 26 July.

Lithuania's parliament has approved the mass detention of asylum-seekers and restricted their rights to appeal, in a bid to deter the newly-high numbers crossing the border from Belarus. Reuters writes. Some 84 members of the 141-seat parliament voted to pass the law, brushing aside protests from Red Cross and other non-government organisations saying it violates Lithuania's international obligations and migrants' rights.

The European Medicine Agency told Reuters on Tuesday that it is analysing data on rare cases of nerve disorder, discovered among some of those who receive the Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine in the US. The review comes after the US Food and Drug Administration added a warning for a rare side-effect called Guillain-Barre syndrome, which occurs when one's immune system damages the nerves. Most people recuperate from it.

The spread of the more contagious Delta variant has prompted authorities in member states to accelerate inoculation campaigns, and even make vaccination mandatory - in a bid to halt the new surge of cases and avoid lockdowns in the autumn.

The NGO search-and-rescue vessel Ocean Viking was the only civilian ship at sea. In the span of just four days, it saved nearly 600 people - often in a race with an aggressive Libyan coast guard.

The first battle of the 'Fit for 55' package has to be fought on the home front. Europe will also have to win the battle for the hearts and minds of citizens, mindful of the 'yellow vests'-style protests.

The EU must differentiate between temporary and Covid-19-related action from permanent changes before making any final decisions based on the new EU trade policy strategy.

The 2021 edition of PLATFORMA-CEMR regular series of publications on how municipalities, regions and their associations are making the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a reality on the ground is online!

The UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday (13 July) highlighted the global "scourge" of systemic racism and ordered an independent investigation into racially-fuelled police violence around the world.

Lithuania’s parliament on Tuesday (13 July) approved the mass detention of migrants and curbed their right of appeal, a move meant to deter high numbers crossing the border with Belarus but which stirred an outcry among humanitarian groups. Eighty-four lawmakers...

Poland's top court on Tuesday (13 July) delayed issuing a ruling in a landmark case on whether the Polish constitution or EU law have primacy in the member state, amid a bitter row with Brussels.

A study by Lancet Oncology has found that 4% of all newly diagnosed cancers in 2020 may be associated with drinking alcohol, with the highest proportion, or some 6%, in Central and Eastern Europe.

Information on the sustainability of food products in the EU's forthcoming harmonised front-of-pack labelling will heavily rely on data collected by producers, an EU official has said. Other stakeholders were quick to point out, however, that sustainability is only one factor in the complex labelling process.

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the beating heart of Europe’s economy, accounting for over 90% of all businesses in the EU and for more than half of its gross domestic product, whilst employing about 100 million EU workers before the pandemic.