European Union

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.

The EU COVID certificate is “entirely secure”,  the European Commission has stressed after reports of false health passes in France being used to circumvent the country’s COVID measures.

EU member states on Friday (3 September) laid out their conditions for stepping up engagement with the Taliban, agreeing to establish a joint European–Kabul civilian presence.

The agreement between the EU and UK-Swedish drug-maker AstraZeneca, which has agreed to deliver 200 million doses of its promised vaccine by March 2022, brings to a close one of the messiest and politically charged disputes of the COVID pandemic.

In this week's edition:

Renew Europe has denied that its Romanian member, the party of the group’s parliamentary leader, has entered into a pact with far-right political forces in an effort to bring down the government in Bucharest. Romanian media reported on Thursday (2...

Welcome to EURACTIV’s AgriFood Brief, your weekly update on all things Agriculture & Food in the EU. You can subscribe here if you haven’t done so yet.PLEASE NOTE: PLEASE NOTE: We’ll be back next week with our EURACTIV agrifood podcast,...

A senior European Commission official insisted on delivering “a message of calm” during a EURACTIV event on Thursday (2 September), as CO2 prices rose for the first time above the €60 threshold on the EU carbon market.

Just a few days after the final withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban is continuing to establish its rule despite humanitarian problems and grim economic forecasts. The new government is to be presented after today's Friday prayers. Beijing has already announced that it is ready to strengthen its ties with Kabul. Commentators stress that the question of the Taliban's future financial sources is crucial.

In many European countries the new school year began on September 1. Hopes were high that after 18 months of closed schools, homeschooling, compulsory Covid tests and face masks there would be a return to normality. But the Delta variant is driving up infection rates, especially among children, most of whom are unvaccinated. Today's commentaries reflect disgruntlement and perplexity - and concerns over even bigger problems.

During Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the White House on Wednesday, Joe Biden promised Ukraine 60 million dollars in military aid to defend itself against Russian aggression. In a final statement, both presidents described the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as a "threat to Europe's energy security". However Biden said calls to halt construction were unrealistic. Zelensky can nonetheless be satisfied, according to the Ukrainian press.