European Union

“The vaccine is the only weapon we currently have against COVID, and we can only contain the infection by vaccinating a large majority of the population”, Regional Affairs Minister Mariastella Gelmini said. No other European country has made a health...

Appearing before a government health committee, Dr Tony Holohan said that while he couldn’t absolutely rule out the return of restrictions, “in broad terms, we are optimistic about the trajectory of the disease at this point in time.” Ireland is...

The virtual party conference of the Greens was expected to be all about climate. But two votes can make all the difference. Somewhat unexpectedly, the party approved by a margin of 183 and 181 the initiative to decriminalise the manufacture,...

Ahead of a Consultative Committee meeting on Friday, The Flemish hospitality sector has called on the Belgian government to lift the obligation to wear face masks in restaurants and bars. “We are asking for the abolition of the face mask...

With the trial for the November-13 terrorist attack in Paris currently underway, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin warned about the ongoing high level of terrorist threat in France. “Anything can happen,” he told the French news channel RTL on Wednesday (15...

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech was met with mixed reactions in Austria. While the governing conservative ÖVP praised the speech, the opposition criticised the lack of ambition and of a “grand European narrative.” Conservative...

CDU candidate Armin Laschet on Wednesday warned of economic consequences of an SPD-Greens-Linke government, after the potential coalition option had gained traction in the past weeks. “The whole of Europe is looking to keep this country stable. If we start...

The European Commission wants a clear plan from Bulgaria to close its coal-fired power plants and ensure that European funding for the regions does not go only to the capital, Sofia. These are the two conditions set by Brussels for...

The pandemic has deepened the unemployment crisis among young people, especially in Europe's south. A new work placement scheme is now meant to counter youth unemployment across the bloc, the European Commission has said.

French government is considering extending the benefit of energy vouchers to more households to ease the cost of rising energy bills, the government's spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday (15 September).

Trillions is needed for the deep building renovations required to meet Europe's climate targets.  To make this happen, EU institutions need to use the network of banks across Europe and incentivise loans for home renovation, argue finance campaigners.

A rapid startup of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany could help calm record-high gas prices in Europe, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, as Moscow awaits for regulatory clearance for gas flows to begin.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Wednesday (15 September) a Cyber Resilience Act aimed at setting common cybersecurity standards for connected devices.

Bulgarian president Rumen Radev re-appointed incumbent caretaker premier Stefan Yanev to lead an interim administration until a new government is formed, the official state gazette showed, Reuters reports. Radev has called for Bulgaria's third parliamentary election this year on 14 November, after inconclusive polls in April and July failed to produce a government in what is the EU's poorest country.

Jailed Russian dissident Alexei Navalny became favourite to win the European Parliament's 2021 'Sakharov prize' for human rights after the largest group, the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), on Wednesday, joined the liberal Renew group in putting his name forward. The EPP decision means Afghan women will lag in second place, despite calls by the Greens and centre-left Socialists & Democrats to honour them in the face of Taliban repression.

The leader of Poland's ruling Law and Justice party, Jaroslaw Kaczyński, said his country will not seek to leave the European Union, in comments made to state news agency PAP. "There will be no Polexit. It's a propaganda invention that has been used many times against us," he said, noting that Poland's future remains in the EU. The statement follows tensions between the EU and Warsaw over rule of law.

The cost of labour in the eurozone has fallen for the first time in a decade, dropping 0.1 percent since June last year. This should be set against the backdrop of a sharp rise in wages in the second quarter of 2020 compared with the year before, when they rose 4.3 percent. The means a wage growth of around two percent since 2019, the average over the last decade.

Israel has joined the EU's digital Covid certificate programme. "Europe recognises Israel's vaccination certificate and we recognise the vaccination certificates from European countries. This will allow significant relief for aviation, tourism and economic relations," Israel's health minister Nitzan Horowitz was quoted as saying in the Jerusalem Post. Some 42 countries have signed up to the EU pass.

British prime minister Boris Johnson has laid the groundwork for the next general election with a ruthless cabinet reshuffle, designed to clear out failing ministers and hand Michael Gove the key job of making "levelling up" a reality for sceptical voters, The Guardian writes. Johnson sacked three cabinet ministers and shifted Dominic Raab from the foreign office to the ministry of justice. Liz Truss will replace Raab as foreign secretary.

France's president announced the death of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara's leader, calling Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi's killing "a major success" for the French military after more than eight years fighting extremists in the Sahel, Associated Press reports. French president Emmanuel Macron tweeted that al-Sahrawi "was neutralised by French forces" but gave no further details. The Islamic State group is active along the border between Mali and Niger.