European Union

The European Commission, insurance regulator EIOPA, and the industry have started discussing options to better ensure the protection of businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as the withdrawal of state support measures is expected to reveal the real damage caused by the crisis in the private sector. 

Over the past few weeks, all eyes have been on France where farmers are scrambling to save their crops after a catastrophic frost swept through the country in what French agriculture minister Julien Denormandie has called “probably the greatest agronomic...

Brexit is done, VDL is still narked over not getting a chair and it’s official Eu press releases are too much to bear.

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) must recognise that buildings are a crucial energy infrastructure for Europe, writes Monica Frassoni. By being highly efficient, they can reduce energy demand but also manage, store, and generate renewable energy, she argues.

In today's edition of the capitals, find out more about France easing their COVID-19 restrictions, Italy, Poland and Croatia's final recovery plan submissions, and much more.

The Estonian island of Saaremaa plans to unveil a monument to mark the island as the “geographic centre of Europe”, along with at least five Central and Eastern European countries Lithuania, Ukraine, Slovakia, Belarus, and Poland which lay claim to...

Online streaming platform Netflix has added Kosovo to its list of countries when people sign up, something local media has characterised as recognition of the state of Kosovo. However, the platform still does not recognise Kosovo in its located sections....

The  Russian Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina said on Thursday it closely followed the statements by US ambassador Eric Nelson and special envoy for the Western Balkans Matthew Palmer who, according to the embassy, blamed Russia for all the troubles...

Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selaković and his Hungarian counterpart, Péter Szijjártó on Thursday agreed to accept and recognise all vaccine certificates, regardless of which vaccine was received. According to the Serbian ministry of foreign affairs, Selaković pointed out that the...

“The national recovery and resilience plan is important for developing resilience to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and the government will implement it relying on its experience and political will,” Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković told reporters on Thursday....

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev will give the mandate for the formation of the government to the Bulgarian socialists on Saturday (1 May), his office announced on Thursday. The two previous attempts to form a cabinet following the 4 April general...

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday (29 April) welcomed the adoption by the European Parliament of its negotiating position on plans for a digital pass proving COVID-19 testing, recovery or vaccination to facilitate travel, pending negotiations with the Portuguese EU Council presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The US government does not need to fear for democracy in Hungary, the country’s foreign affairs and trade minister Péter Szijjártó told RTL on Thursday (30 April) in reaction to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s comments on the deterioration...

Poland's climate ministry has extended a mining concession for the open-pit coal mine in Turów until 2044, outraging environmental campaigners, who said the move would worsen the climate crisis.

Slovakia is to get a new Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal worth €40 million aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants in inland waterway transport on the Danube river, the state-owned investor Public Ports company has said. The LNG terminal would...

The European Parliament passed a resolution on Thursday calling on EU countries to coordinate the expulsion of Russian diplomats in reaction to the 2014 Vrbetice ammunition depot explosion in the Czech Republic. According to Czech secret services, Russian GRU agents...

Poland will submit its national recovery plan to the European Commission on Friday despite the document still dividing the Polish political scene. The plan was adopted because of an agreement between the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party and the...

No common ground was found to restart the negotiations on the Cyprus issue, after an unofficial five-way meeting held in Geneva which ended in deadlock after three days of talks, the UN announced on Thursday. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told...

For seven decades the United States and Europe have been moving in different directions on the right to privacy, and these days a major clash on the issue is now very much in prospect, writes Dick Roche.

Finland and Estonia’s aim to improve infrastructure and connections both inside the region and to destinations in Central Europe took a significant step forward on Monday with the signing of a new memorandum proposing a railway tunnel between Helsinki and...