European Union

The Cuban government should listen to its people's grievances instead of reacting with a crackdown on the biggest demonstrations there in 30 years.

As the first anniversary of the deadly Beirut explosion approaches, the EU said it hopes to develop the legal framework for sanctions targeting Lebanese leaders by August. More than 11 months since Lebanon's government resigned in response to the blast in August 2020, the country is still headed by a caretaker government. The EU said the sanctions would be "balanced" against people from Lebanon's various ethnic, sectarian, and political divides.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday (12 July) urged member states to consider imposing sanctions over the crisis in Ethiopia's Tigray, as the bloc looks to increase aid deliveries to the region.

Prime minister Mark Rutte admitted on Monday coronavirus restrictions had been eased too early, reimposing restrictions in a bid to halt the surge of Covid-19 cases in the country, Reuters reported. "We had poor judgement, which we regret and for which we apologise," Rutte said. Infections have increased eightfold in a week, reaching their highest level in 2021. Meanwhile, several organisations joined a lawsuit aiming to overturn the restrictions.

The EU has temporarily paused its own plans to create a new tax on online sales, targeting US firms such as Google, in order to help forge new minimum-tax rules at the global level, the European Commission said Monday. "We will work together to reach this global agreement," EU economic affairs commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said, referring to an emerging G-20 level accord on how to tax tech giants more.

The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned on Monday that the gap in Covid-19 supplies is "hugely uneven and inequitable," Reuters reported. He added countries and regions should not order more millions of doses before other countries have supplies to vaccinate their health workers and most vulnerable, specially when the Delta variant is "driving a new spike in Covid-19 cases and death".

The EU is to send 200 to 300 military-training officers to Mozambique by 2022 to train its forces to fight jihadists, EU foreign ministers agreed Monday. Portugal is to supply half the personnel and the commander for the two-year long mission to its former colony, Reuters reported. It already sent 60 soldiers in May for an initial four-month period to teach local forces how to use drones.

Facebook's decision to share users' data from its WhatsApp messaging firm across the group in January "put an undue pressure on users" and impaired "freedom of choice', violating EU laws, the European Consumer Association in Brussels (Beuc) and eight national members said in a complaint to the European Commission, Reuters reports. Facebook's "unintelligible" WhatsApp policy made matters worse, it added, but Facebook said Beuc's concerns were based on a "misunderstanding".

The EU executive is analysing the latest replies it received from the Hungarian authorities which only arrived last Friday. MEPs have urged the commission not to approve Hungary's plan until an effective anti-fraud system is in place.

The European Commission will unveil its 'Fit for 55' package of revised climate and energy laws this week. We take a look at what is expected to be in it - and why it matters.

Minsk suspended an EU-readmission agreement in June. Now the European Commission announced similar threats, possibly making it more difficult for Belarusians to travel to the EU.

The Future European Leaders Forum (FELF) will present their visions on how to shape the EU policies. Watch it live here on Tuesday (13 July) between 9:30 and 10:40 CEST

Favouring electrification while ignoring low-carbon liquid fuels will hinder the bloc's efforts to decarbonise road transport, a prominent industry body has said ahead of the release of the EU's climate law package.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday (12 July) sought to distance the bloc from comments made by Slovenia’s Prime minister at a meeting of an Iranian opposition group that enraged Tehran. Iran’s foreign ministry has slammed Slovenian premier...

Just weeks before Tbilisi Pride, the ultra-conservative Georgian activist, Levan Vasadze, who is affiliated with the group that organised the counter-protests, held a press conference at the Tbilisi Marriott Hotel.

A circle isn’t just a shape. It is a symbol of continuity – of permanence. The European Commission has proposed creating a new circular economy, to boost sustainability and reduce pressure on natural resources.  It is now time for EU...

Official entities, such as airlines and tourist agencies, are involved in organised human trafficking via Belarus and should face sanctions, Lithuania's foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.

US and Russia said on Monday (12 July) they would cooperate on climate change despite strained relations, during a visit to Moscow by US climate envoy John Kerry.

The European Commission announced on Monday (12 July) it will put on hold its own proposal for a digital levy in Europe in order to facilitate a global tax agreement. The digital tax, which would have affected US tech giants, was postponed following repeated calls from Washington on the Europeans to cancel their plans. 

After the grand finale, came the mourning after; if you are an England fan, that is.