European Union

“Certain sectors of the Irish economy have seen a significant growth in exports to Canada since 2016, including dairy, baked goods, textiles, beverages, Irish whiskey and spirits,” Suzanne Drisdelle, chargé d’affaires at the Canadian embassy, will tell the Irish parliament...

Brexit and Boris Johnson’s status as a prime minister “who only speaks for England” have increased the chances of the break up of the United Kingdom, according to a new report by the UK’s former top Brexit civil servant. Philip...

Germany’s ruling conservative parties disagreed publicly on Monday over who should be their candidate for chancellor in the 26 September federal election. What could follow is a power struggle for the position. Leader of the Christian Democrats (CDU), Armin Laschet,...

Bulgarian Health Minister Kostadin Angelov announced on Monday that the country’s roll-out of the AstraZeneca vaccine may be discontinued due to lack of interest. In the last 24 hours, only 154 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been administered throughout...

The Slovenian Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has been summoned to the country's foreign ministry to explain recent rumours about alleged plans by Ljubljana for the dissolution of the country hosting her and a redrawing of borders across the Western Balkans.

Iran's foreign ministry said Monday (12 April) it is suspending cooperation with the European Union in various fields following the bloc's decision to blacklist several Iranian security officials over a 2019 protest crackdown.

Women are more likely to live in energy poverty, something that needs to be reflected in EU policy as it rolls out its renovation wave, writes Michaela Kauer.

After Russia criticised Slovak researchers for having “damaged the reputation” of the Sputnik V vaccine following its withdrawal from the contract with Slovakia last week, President Zuzana Čaputová on Monday expressed her support for the researchers

Ukraine has accused the Kremlin of ignoring its request for talks between the two countries' presidents over a build-up of Russian troops near its border, but Moscow said its soldiers were on its own territory, unlike US forces in the region, Reuters writes. Kiev and Moscow have traded blame over the worsening situation in the eastern Donbas region, where Ukrainian troops have battled Russian-proxy forces in a conflict since 2014.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) in Luxembourg is to manage €5bn of the €32bn that Greece is set to get in grants and loans from the EU's pandemic recovery fund, with a focus on green and digital-sector investments, Reuters reports. "It's in fact the first EIB cooperation to implement investments by the recovery and resilience facility anywhere in Europe," the bank's vice president Christian Kettel Thomsen said on Monday.

The recession set to hit Europe after the pandemic will help organised crime penetrate legitimate business and recruit out-of-work specialists, the EU's joint police agency, Europol, has warned.

A series of minor human-induced earthquakes in the area of Strasbourg, eastern France, last December has reminded local inhabitants about the safety of geothermal energy, highlighting the challenges faced by deep drilling technology.

The pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson on Monday started delivering its single-dose Covid-19 vaccine to EU countries, a European Commission spokesperson said. Under existing contracts, the American company has committed to delivering 55 million doses to the EU by the end of June and further 120 million in the third quarter, from July to September. In 2021, the company will supply 200 million doses to the EU, Norway and Iceland.

The EU has imposed sanctions on eight Iranian militia commanders and police chiefs, including the head of the elite Revolutionary Guards, over a deadly crackdown in November 2019, Reuters reports. "[Revolutionary Guard commander] Hossein Salami took part in the sessions that resulted in the orders to use lethal force to suppress the November 2019 protests. Salami therefore bears responsibility for serious human rights violations in Iran," the EU said.

The UK government opened an independent investigation after former prime minister minister David Cameron's activities on behalf of finance firm Greensill Capital raised questions, Reuters reported. The Financial Times first reported that Cameron contacted ministers directly to lobby on behalf of Greensill Capital, including sending texts and setting up private drinks. Cameron said he had not broken any rules, but admitted communications with the government should be completely formal.

EU-UK talks on how to resolve post-Brexit trade rules on Northern Ireland have been constructive, but "significant differences" still remain, according to a UK spokesman. British negotiator David Frost talked with EU Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič on Friday on the issue. Northern Ireland has seen over a week of violence, partly due to unionist disapproval of new trade barriers between the province and mainland Great Britain.

Concern over the low efficiency of Chinese-made vaccines has been mounting since China's top official said existing vaccines offer low protection against Covid-19 - raising questions for those nations relying heavily on the Chinese jabs. That includes Hungary and Serbia.

While Markus Söder, leader of CDU's Bavarian sister party, the CSU, also threw his hat into the race to replace chancellor Angela Merkel, the CDU's choice is likely to be decisive.

Bulgarian prime minister Boyko Borissov has revealed that the major new vaccine supply contract the EU is seeking from Pfizer-BioNTech from 2022 will be at a significantly increased price, Reuters writes. "Pfizer's (price) was €12, then increased to €15.50. Now for 2022 and 2023 the European Union contracts are being signed for 900 million vaccines, but already at a price of €19.50" Borissov said.

Montenegro had requested the EU help pay off a loan from China, reported the Financial Times. But the European Commission says that is not going to happen.