European Union

Nearly two years after the European Commission set out plans for a ‘strategic partnership’ with Africa, and repeated delays, the long-awaited EU–African Union summit is almost upon us.

A record number of more than 28,000 migrants crossed the Channel from France to the UK in small boats last year, the PA news agency reported Tuesday, based on its analysis of government data, France24 writes. At least 28,395 people reached the UK, more than triple the figure for 2020. Such crossings ended tragically for many, with at least 27 migrants drowning off France on November 24.

A total of 4,400 migrants were lost at sea when trying to reach Spain in 2021, making it the deadliest year on record, according to a report of the Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras released on Monday, Reuters reported. The number of victims represents a 103-percent increase compared to 2020. The majority of those missing or dead were en route from Western Africa to the Canary Islands. 

The European Commission has been accused of undermining public scrutiny of its plans to label natural gas and nuclear as a "green" investment - after it published its long-awaited proposal on New Year's Eve when "nobody was watching".

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell will visit Ukraine's frontline this week in a show of support for Kyiv in the face of Moscow's military buildup on its border, The Moscow Times reports. Borrell — who will meet Ukrainian officials in Kyiv during his visit from Tuesday to Thursday — has insisted that "any discussion about European security must happen in coordination with and participation of EU."

Dozens of French MPs say they have received death threats, ahead of a vote in the French parliament on Tuesday on making a vaccination pass mandatory for entry to various public spaces, Euronews reported. Under the proposed new rules, citizens will not be allowed to show a negative test result to enter bars, restaurants, or use long-distance public transport.

Turkey's annual inflation rate has soared to a 19-year high, the BBC reports, underlining worries about the country's lira. Prices rose more than 36 percent in December as the cost of transport, food and other staples ate into household budgets. Turkey's Central Bank has lowered interest rates, amid a collapse in the value of the currency. The lira lost 44 percent of its value against the dollar in 2021.

New laws on the minimum price for alcohol in Ireland came into effect on Tuesday, the BBC reports. The new law, part of a public health measure, will affect alcohol sold in off licences, shops and supermarkets. Under the new measures, a bottle of wine cannot be sold for less than €7.40 and a can of beer for less than €1.70. Scotland introduced a similar law in 2018.

Dutch primary and secondary schools will reopen next week, despite rising infections rates, the government announced on Monday, Reuters reports. Schools had closed a week early before Christmas, due to the rising numbers, although the government said hospital admissions were down since the reintroduction of a lockdown in the Netherlands on 19 December. Universities will not reopen, but instead have online classes until at least 17 January.

Covid-19 infections in the US surpassed one million cases in one day for the first time on Monday, The Guardian reported. In total, 1.06 million new positive tests were recorded, according to the Johns Hopkins University database. The figure is almost double the previous record of about 590,000 set just four days ago in the US - itself a doubling from the week before.

MEPs are taking the EU-lead to hold Denmark to account for stripping Syrians of residency rights. Although aware of the problem, the European Commission has other priorities while the issue has not been raised at the Council, representing member states.

I dread evenings. This is when all bad things happen. When your house is raided by militants, when you are physically or sexually assaulted, when your daughter's very life is threatened.

Political disillusionment, lack of economic opportunities and dreams of a better life are reasons why many asylum seekers that enter Lithuania from Belarus originate from Iraqi Kurdistan, a region considered one of the wealthiest and most stable in the region.

In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about French MPs receiving death threats as they are set to discuss a draft law on the vaccination pass, German Chancellor Scholz wanting to be more involved with the Russia situation, and so much more.

From Monday, anyone wishing to enter Kosovo must provide evidence of complete vaccination comprising two COVID-19 vaccines. The decision was taken by the Kosovo government on 1 December but has just come into force. “From 3 January, 2022, for all...

The EU is in the final stages of honing its green finance rules and a leaked draft proposing that nuclear and gas should receive the label for the transition has prompted complaints from Berlin. But positions differ even inside the new German coalition government

NATO member states have much less trust in Montenegro after the change of government on 30 August 2020, said the MP Predrag Bošković from the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), the biggest opposition force led by President Milo Đukanović. Bošković...

Despite the owners of companies awarded controversial waste incinerator concessions being wanted for active corruption and money laundering, the government has confirmed it will continue paying them. The incinerator scandal saw a company with no prior experience win unsolicited bids to construct and operate...

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is trying to “save his political ally” BiH Presidency member Milorad Dodik to maintain his influence in the region, Dodik’s colleague in the tripartite BiH Presidency, Šefik Džaferović, said according to N1. Dodik is a Serb, and...

Serbia’s goal for 2022 is to open remaining clusters in the accession negotiations with the EU, with special emphasis on reaching transitional standards and those to close Cluster 1, referring to the basics of the rule of law, the Serbian...