Prominent Kremlin critic Dmitry Gudkov was detained and faced possible jail time Tuesday (1 May) as authorities ramped up pressure on dissenters ahead of upcoming parliamentary elections.
Anyone who has not yet had a chance to be vaccinated should be able to get tested for free or cheaply if they need a certificate to travel, Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke said on Tuesday. “If you haven’t received...
Former infrastructure minister Norbert Hofer has resigned as leader of the far-right FPÖ party over increased tensions with his party colleague and former interior minister, Herbert Kickl, who recently announced his plans to lead the party in the upcoming elections....
A total of 1.5 million French healthcare workers will receive an “unprecedented and well-deserved” pay rise of €183 per month in the framework of the “Ségur de la santé”, a major national consultation, the French government announced on Tuesday. The...
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas rejected a request for weapons on Tuesday from Ukraine, which has been fighting Russian-backed separatist rebels in the east of the country since 2014. Speaking ahead of a NATO meeting, Maas reiterated Germany’s commitment to...
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to announce on Wednesday (2 June) the details of a project which aims to transform the island of Astypalaia in the southeastern Aegean Sea into Europe’s “Green Island”. The objective is to have...
Across Europe, 50 million households struggle with energy poverty stemming from low incomes, high energy bills, poor energy efficiency, as well as inadequate housing. The EU’s Renovation Wave, a ‘flagship’ of the European Green Deal, provides a unique opportunity to tackle Europe’s inadequate housing while contributing to EU climate targets, writes Anna Kompatscher.
Samples from a study suggesting the coronavirus was circulating outside China by October 2019 have been re-tested at the World Health Organization's (WTO) request, two scientists who led the Italian research said.
The European Commission is set to borrow about €80 billion ($97.76 billion) this year in long-term bonds to finance the European Union's plan for economic revival after the pandemic, the EU executive said on Tuesday (1 June).
EU states should first donate vaccines to poor countries with vulnerable people, instead of vaccinating their teenagers, who were less at risk of getting sick from Covid-19, the European Centre for Disease prevention and Control, an EU agency in Stockholm, recommended on Tuesday. "The wider context of a global vaccine supply shortage should be taken into account," it said. Africa had had just 1% of total world vaccinations by mid-May.
Germany and 10 other EU states are pushing for the EU to end funding for cross-border natural gas projects over climate change. "TEN-E must not facilitate investments in fossil fuel infrastructure nor blending of hydrogen with fossil fuels," the group, also including Austria, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Ireland, Luxembourg, Latvia, the Netherlands, and Sweden, said in an informal paper seen by Reuters, referring to 'TEN-E' rules on cross-border funding.
A recent deal stands out because it is the first fully privately financed project in the Uzbek energy sector and also the largest EU private sector investment in Uzbekistan, writes Alberto Turkstra.
Western allies reiterated plans to punish Belarus for a recent air hijack after Nato foreign ministers held video-talks on Tuesday
The World Health Organization (WHO) approved on Tuesday China's Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine, Reuters reported. This is the second Chinese-developed shot to get its approval, after the endorsement of Sinopharm. The WHO's expert group previously said vaccine efficacy in the last phase of clinical trials in multiple countries ranged from 51 percent to 84 percent. Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, Mexico, and Turkey, among others, are using Sinovac in their vaccination campaigns.
Opposition mayors in Budapest have renamed streets after the Dalai Lama, "Free Hong Kong", "Uyghur Martyrs" and a Chinese bishop around a site where prime minister Viktor Orbán's government plans to build a campus for China's Fudan University, local media reported. The snub came as the controversial project - which is opposed by the mayors - has added to deepening concerns over Hungary's close ties to Beijing.
The Financial Times newspaper
reports the European Commission on Wednesday is set to unveil a proposal for a 'digital wallet'. The aim is to allow EU citizens to access public and private services online with a single online ID. It will also store payment details and passwords, says the paper. The wallet should be ready in about a year.
Poland will start offering Covid-19 vaccines to children from next week, Reuters reported. "Due to the decisions of the European Medicines Agency and the recommendation of the [Polish] Medical Council, we have made a decision that from June 7, vaccinations of children aged 12 to 15 will begin. This is 2.5 million students," Michał Dworczyk, the minister responsible for the country's vaccination campaign, told a news conference on Tuesday.
The European Environment Agency (EEA) has ranked Cyprus with the cleanest bathing water in the EU, receiving a perfect 100 percent score at over 100 swimming spots on the island. Austria, Greece and Malta followed close behind. "The quality of European bathing waters remains high after four decades of action," said the head of EEA, Hans Bruyninckx. An interactive map of EU state quality can
be found here.
A
new study suggests the EU could collect some €170bn in corporate taxes annually, pending such an international agreement. "We find that such a 25 percent minimum tax would increase corporate income tax revenues in the European Union by about €170bn in 2021," notes the report, published Tuesday (1 June) by the Brussels-based EU Tax Observatory. The tax rate is currently being discussed by the OECD.
With 22 participating EU countries, the EU chief prosecutor's office begins its operations by keeping a close eye on the €800bn recovery fund - considered to be a "high risk" in terms of corruption and fraud.
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