European Union

Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday morning to decide on new measures to halt the rise of infections and hospitalisations, Le Soir writes. On the table is a strict lockdown of three weeks, with the closure of schools, non-essentials shops and malls. Bars and restaurants are already closed, with a curfew of 10PM in Brussels and midnight in the rest of the country.

More than 250 MEPs and national parliamentarians on Tuesday urged the EU to support the temporary waiver of certain obligations under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). India and South Africa first call for a temporal patents waiver. Increasing the accessibility and availability of vaccines would "require wider sharing of proprietary technology and know-how…especially with low- and middle-income countries," they said in a statement.

Spain on 30 March will be lifting a travel ban from the UK, the Spanish government said. The move comes amid a relatively rapid vaccination rollout in the UK. However, the UK has for the moment imposed a travel ban to all foreign destinations but is set to review the policy in April. A Spanish government spokesperson said flight restrictions from Brazil and South Africa would be lifted 13 April.

Both France and Germany summoned China's ambassadors to their respective countries over recent sanctions against EU officials imposed by Beijing. In a statement, Germany's foreign ministry described the sanctions as "an inappropriate escalation that unnecessarily strains ties between the EU and China." An unnamed French official made similar remarks to Reuters news agency amid a brewing Twitter spat and insult slinging with China's ambassador in Paris.

"We are not seeking an outright ban on vaccine exports but we expect manufacturers to live up to their contractual obligations," EU Commission vice president Maroš Šefčovič said.

The 'super trialogue' on the knotty issue of Common Agriculture Policy reform later this week aims to give a rough approximation of the different institutions positions. However, there are still big differences between national capitals and the European Parliament.

Cyprus has rejected a draft prepared by EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell for a summit of EU leaders this week, which seeks to deepen trade ties with Turkey, describing it as "totally unacceptable," Ekathimerini writes. The offer of closer economic links, mixed with threats, reflects the complex relationship between Turkey, an EU candidate, and the world's largest trading bloc, which have drifted apart but are now seeking improved ties.

German federal and state leaders have agreed on a even-tighter shutdown over the Easter holidays, Deutsche Welle reports. "We are in a new pandemic" due to the spread of coronavirus variants, chancellor Angela Merkel said. Germany is extending its current lockdown through to April 18, and will impose an even stricter lockdown from April 1 to April 5 when shops, including grocery stores, will largely have to close.

The one key question that needs to be asked is – will this proposed new legislation aid the required economic recovery or could it have an actual negative effect?

President of the Portuguese Business Confederation, António Saraiva, is at the heart of an apparent conflict of interests.

 Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger today shared an exciting update, accelerating investment in Europe and supporting the EU’s ambition of having 20% of the world's cutting-edge chips manufactured locally. This investment is designed to bring Intel’s latest generation 7nm process technology to the region, expanding our manufacturing operations in Europe.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday (23 March) the Nord Stream 2 pipeline being built from Russia to Germany ran counter to the European Union's own interests and could undermine Ukraine.

China is using its economic and technological force to attack the vital interests of the United States and its main strategic partner, the European Union, writes Vladimir Krulj.

President Joe Biden will join the European Union summit by video link on Thursday (25 March), as the new US leader looks to "revitalise" ties that frayed under predecessor Donald Trump.

The Portuguese presidency of the Council and the European Commission today indicated that it wants citizens to start participating in the Conference on the Future of Europe now, even before the formal launch planned for 9 May.

The members of the European Council will hold their meeting by video conference. They agreed to discuss COVID, international relations, as well as EU economic and digital agenda.

The Council of the European Union (EU), currently chaired by Portugal, on Monday (22 March) adopted new rules to improve administrative cooperation in the field of taxation by obliging digital platform operators to report the income earned by sellers.

The Council of the European Union (EU), currently chaired by Portugal, on Monday (22 March) adopted conclusions on the EU cybersecurity strategy, particularly about fifth-generation mobile networks (5G), aimed at protecting against cyber threats.

MEPs on the Economic and Monetary Affairs and Legal Affairs committees exchanged views with experts on lessons learned from the Wirecard collapse and shortcomings in supervision.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
Committee on Legal Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

MEPs on the Economic and Monetary Affairs and Legal Affairs committees exchanged views with experts on lessons learned from the Wirecard collapse and shortcomings in supervision.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
Committee on Legal Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP