European Union

League Party leader Matteo Salvini said the right-wing supports the Silvio Berlusconi in the race for the country’s presidency and Mario Draghi should remain prime minister, A right-wing summit will be held Friday afternoon at Villa Grande, the Roman residence...

In what they described as a groundbreaking discovery, scientists from the Medical University in the northeastern Polish city of Białystok have identified a genetic profile that makes people predisposed to a severe form of COVID-19. The discovered genetic variant “more...

The new cabinet of Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) on Thursday evening finally got the green light from the lower house of parliament, a step needed in the Czech political system. However, the success was diluted by several issues surrounding...

Russia has refused to rule out a military deployment in Cuba and Venezuela if talks with the West on European security and Ukraine failed to go its way, while warning the latest discussions with Nato were hitting a dead end, The Guardian writes. Sergei Ryabkov, who recently led Russia's delegation in a meeting with the US, said "it all depends on the actions by our US counterparts".

Poland’s Sejm on Thursday passed a bill by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, with 227 votes in favour and 214 against, which will step up government control of schools and which critics say could curb access to teaching...

Schools will make agreements with local pharmacies to perform screening tests for COVID-19 on their pupils, the president of the National Association of Directors of Groupings and Public Schools (ANDAEP) said on Thursday. “We will sign a protocol with the...

Sweden's military said on Thursday (13 January) it was ramping up its visible activities on the Baltic Sea island of Gotland amid increased tensions between NATO and Russia and a recent deployment of Russian landing craft in the Baltic.

The presidents of two Swiss political parties announced on Thursday they would join forces to launch a popular initiative to amend the constitution focusing on climate.

A bitter dispute has been triggered in the central government following the alleged exclusion of the capital over the disbursement of EU funds to ease the impact of the pandemic. The Madrid regional government filed an appeal to Spanish Justice, EURACTIV’s...

"It seems that the risk of war in the OSCE area is now greater than ever before in the last 30 years," Poland's foreign minister, Zbigniew Rau, who currently chairs the Vienna-based intergovernmental body, said Thursday during the latest round of talks on Russia. Russia's deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said the same day Russia saw no reason for further talks with Nato, as its demands were being ignored.

Huge numbers of French teachers went on strike Thursday, with the biggest teachers' union saying half of primary schools were closed as staff demanded clarity from the government on coronavirus measures, France24 writes. They complained that their members were unable to teach properly, not adequately protected against coronavirus infection and frequently heard about changes to health precautions via the media rather than from higher-ups.

Enlargement commissioner Várhelyi "openly colluded [with Dodik] in potentially breaking up Bosnia and Herzegovina", according to dozens of MEPs who wrote to Várhelyi's boss.

Slovenia will stop using coal for electricity generation by 2033 under the national strategy to phase out coal and restructure coal regions that the government adopted on Thursday. It is one of the last EU countries to do so. R...

Electricity consumption in Finland returned in 2021 to pre-pandemic levels. The wholesale price has risen to an all-time high but remains at mid-level compared to other European countries. Electricity consumption saw a 6% increase last year, according to a survey...

The elderly and residents of Denmark’s nursing homes may have to prepare to receive a fourth COVID-19 dose, Søren Brostrøm, director of the Danish Health Authority said this week. The Danish elderly were among the first to receive their first...

A report from Denmark's Security and Intelligence Service said on Thursday there has been an increasing espionage threat from Russia, China, Iran and others against Denmark and the Arctic region in recent years, Reuters reported. The agency argues that Copenhagen's active global role has made it a target of spying attempts. Geopolitical tensions run high in the Arctic as climate change is expected to reshape trade routes.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Thursday that Turkey remains committed to full membership in the European Union, Ekathimerini writes. "Turkey, which is geographically and historically a part of Europe, is committed to its target of becoming a member," Erdoğan said during a meeting with EU ambassadors in Ankara, however adding that certain countries, which he did not name, were seeking to undermine the country's bid.

A court in Germany has given a former Syrian intelligence officer a life sentence for crimes against humanity, in the first such case of senior Bashar al-Assad official facing justice, writes The Guardian. Anwar Raslan, a former colonel who gained asylum in Germany, was found by the Koblenz court to have overseen the murder of 27 people and the torture of at least 4,000 others.

The EU is planning to impose tough sanctions on Mali, after its junta postponed elections for five years and invited Russian mercenaries to replace French soldiers fighting a jihadist insurgency there, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said Thursday. "The risk that the situation in this country deteriorates is evident," he said. "The new sanctions regime was agreed and these discussions will now continue," French defence minister Florence Parly added.

Italy's centre-right bloc will support former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's bid to become the next president of the republic, League party leader Matteo Salvini says, Reuters reports. "The centre-right is firm and unanimous in its support for Berlusconi, we will not accept ideological vetoes from the left," Salvini said in a statement, referring to centre-left parties that have denounced Berlusconi's presidential ambitions. The vote is on 24 January.