European Union

MEPs on the Parliament’s foreign policy committee known as AFET adopted on Tuesday a set of harmonised amendments to a report on Serbia drafted by Slovak MEP and rapporteur Vladimir Bilčik. In the amendments, MEPs called for solutions to the...

More than 68% of Croatian businesses have more than 21 billion kunas (€2,8 billion) worth of projects or investment plans ready to be implemented in the next financial period, the Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP) has said. According to the survey,...

Investments in sustainable energy are increasing hugely worldwide and the EU must stimulate that development, European Commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans told an online energy summit held in Bucharest. And although investment in fossil fuels is still massive, investors are...

As Bulgaria recorded the largest number of infections since the start of the year on Tuesday, with 1,925 new daily COVID-19 infections and 14% positive tests, the country is now heading towards a third coronavirus wave just after it loosened...

Slovakia will introduce a so-called redistributive payment, which should redirect part of the EU’s agricultural subsidy from large farmers to small ones, Slovakia’s Agriculture Minister, Ján Mičovský, announced on Tuesday. Large farmers and coalition partners have already criticised the move....

The Polish foreign minister and the US secretary of state in a telephone conversation on Tuesday confirmed their will to strengthen the bilateral partnership and oppose Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline. “Minister Zbigniew Rau and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed in...

The Czech Republic received 5,000 jabs of the Moderna vaccine as a donation from Israel on Tuesday, a day after the Czech government decided to open its new diplomatic office in Jerusalem.

Four Greek fighter jets allegedly “harassed” the Turkish research vessel Cesme while it was sailing in international waters in the broader area of Northern Aegean, according to Turkey’s defence ministry sources on Tuesday. According to the Turkish state-run news agency...

Moving troops between Africa and Europe more efficiently during a crisis is expected to be streamlined and allow better synchronisation between European NATO allies and Africa, US generals said on Tuesday (23 February).

A group of MEPs on Tuesday (23 February) have asked European Council President Charles Michel to use his upcoming visit to Georgia to mediate between the government and the opposition, in a bid to appease the “rapidly deteriorating political situation” in the country.

Portugal’s airline association commonly known as RENA insisted on Tuesday on the implementation of rapid COVID-19 tests at airports, stressing the urgent need for relaxing restrictions in a harmonised way and ending quarantines. “These rapid tests give passengers and the...

An increasing number of areas in Italy are going into local lockdowns due to the increase in coronavirus cases. On Tuesday in particular, some municipalities in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, found themselves in the “enhanced orange” zone, which...

Lithuania has ended direct talks with Russia without reaching a deal on radio frequency used by its military, which remains an obstacle to the country’s 5G development. The Russian armed forces are using the 3.5 GHz frequency for its radars...

Vale, a mining firm subcontracted by Finnish steel giant Outokumpu, has increased deforestation, polluted the Cateté river, and deteriorated the well-being of the Amazon’s indigenous tribe known as the Xikrin, according to NGO Finnwatch’s report investigating the global impact of...

UK lawmakers will have to reconvene for their next battle of parliamentary ping pong after the House of Lords on Tuesday again amended the Johnson government’s Trade Bill, seeking to tighten the rules to prevent UK governments from agreeing on...

Germany recorded 477 new suspected cases of right-wing extremism in 2020, compared to the 363 discovered in 2019, according to the annual report on the status of Germany’s armed forces presented on Tuesday by the parliament’s Armed Forces Commissioner Eva...

Five EU leaders have sent a letter, seen by EURACTIV, to EU Council chief Charles Michel, calling for immediate action and support to European-based vaccines manufacturers to address the ongoing vaccines’ shortage. The letter, signed by the prime ministers of...

Once a childcare mainstay for many working parents, Britain's au pair system is under threat after Brexit – piling pressure on families and forcing some mothers to consider quitting their jobs.

Online sellers of dangerous and counterfeit goods could be further targeted under the European Parliament's Internal Market committee report on the Digital Services Act, the lead MEP on the text said on Tuesday (23 February).

For four years, trade irritants mounted as we lived under the threat of a fully-fledged transatlantic trade war – never more than a late-night tweet away. A rare moment is here at last to rejuvenate the way global trade operates, writes Cathy Novelli.