European Union

The European Commission is getting ready to withhold funds to Poland for refusing to pay a €500,000-per-day fine for failing to comply with an EU ruling to shut down its Turow lignite mine due to cross-border pollution, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. The EU executive has sent three requests for payments. But Poland hopes to reach a deal with the Czech Republic that would end current procedures. 

A range of new studies has confirmed that dogs can detect Covid by smell, according to The Guardian. While sniffer dogs had already been trialled in places such as Finland, three new peer-reviewed studies found the accuracy of the trained dogs' detection rate at between 82 and 97.5 percent. The three studies were done in Florida, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Germany.

The record numbers reflect those registered by health authorities, and does not include self-tests or infected people who develop no symptoms, and are not aware of their contagiousness.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said British prime minister Boris Johnson should resign for attending an illegal "bring your own booze" party at his office, The Guardian reports. Johnson admitted attending a gathering in the Downing Street garden during the first lockdown and apologised to the nation while arguing it was a work event and "technically" broke no rules. The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, called Johnson "a man without shame."

The Danish government on Wednesday proposed easing coronavirus restrictions at the end of the week despite record-high infection numbers, Reuters reports. However, even as infection rates remain above 20,000 a day, hospital admissions and deaths have stabilised at levels below those seen a year ago. The government proposals include the reopening of theatres, cinemas, museums, as well as allowing spectators at outdoor sports events.

Members of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina participated in the celebration of the so-called ‘Day of RS’ (RS, Republika Srpska, Serb entity) on 9 January in Banja Luka. The BiH Constitutional Court declared the ‘Day of RS’ unconstitutional,...

The European Environment Agency warned current projections indicate emissions-reductions in member states covered by the EU's cap-and-trade carbon market are insufficient to meet the bloc's new climate targets for 2030 and 2050.

The EU does not need to become a counter-propaganda machine - but finding and providing the right facts will be the only way for Europe to stop falling into ISIS' polarisation trap.

This election is marked by the untimely passing of David Sassoli, who steered the parliament through an extremely complex and challenging period. He showed that it was possible to reach agreements through much-needed dialogue, and away from dogmas.

Serbia’s Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin submitted to the Kremlin transcripts of wiretapped conversations in Belgrade between Russian opposition members, Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza has announced. Andrei Pivovarov, the former director of the NGO, Open Russia, was arrested as a result....

Low-volume hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, will be allowed in Slovenia under amendments to the mining act adopted by the government this week. It will pave the way for limited fracking in the only location where it is currently...

About 68% of parents support the introduction of legal restrictions on unhealthy food advertising while children watch television, according to a survey conducted in November. According to the same research on children’s exposure to television advertising of food and beverages...

The Romanian government will discuss new measures to help consumers affected by the increase in energy prices and measures to force energy suppliers to redo wrongly-issued bills. Romania adopted last year a law that caps electricity and natural gas prices...

Alliance, the Hungarian minority party in Slovakia founded by the merger in October of three political parties, all disagree on who to support in Hungary’s elections in April. While SMK (Party of the Hungarian Community) openly supports Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s...

Agence France-Presse (AFP) is launching a website to fight disinformation in Hungary, just three months before elections that will determine Orbán’s grip on power - however, experts remain sceptical.

European Commission proposals to bring shipping into the bloc's carbon market contain exclusions for small commercial and military vessels that would leave millions of tonnes of CO2 emissions unregulated, an NGO study showed on Thursday (13 January).

The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party and the opposition clashed on Wednesday in parliament during the debate on the new amendments to the education law, which the government’s critics say will limit parents’ control over their children’s education. The...

The EU needs to intensify its cooperation on green innovation with other parts of the world, writes Mats Engström.

A total of 107 nations and almost 7,000 companies will be represented at this year’s 42nd edition of the International Tourism Fair (Fitur) in Madrid from 19 January, with the Dominican Republic as a special partner, EURACTIV’s partner EFE and...

Over half the families in Italy (50.2%) went without health care services, partially due to COVID-19, between spring 2020 and November 2021, the Cerved Group’s 2022 report on Italian Household Welfare presented Wednesday in Rome has found. At the same...