European Union

Expectations are high that 2021 will turn out to be better than 2020 - at least as far as the Covid pandemic is concerned. But not all commentators believe these hopes are justified, and some are already focusing on what comes after the pandemic.

Portugal took over the rotating Council Presidency on 1 January 2021, amidst a health and economic crisis. But what are the Portuguese MEPs’ expectations?

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Portugal took over the rotating Council Presidency on 1 January 2021, amidst a health and economic crisis. But what are the Portuguese MEPs’ expectations?

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

To bring you up to speed with what's coming up in EU policy this year, EURACTIV’s news team has put together a series of lookaheads for the most important issues in various policy areas, from economy and foreign affairs to energy, digital, and transport.

Nancy Pelosi was narrowly re-elected speaker of the US House of Representatives on Sunday (3 January), as a new Congress took office amid political uncertainty, with Senate control undecided and a Republican fight looming over presidential election results.

Another Scottish independence referendum should not take place for a generation, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Sunday (3 January), as Scotland's leader renewed calls for a fresh vote in the wake of Brexit.

As the EU continues to deal with the impact of the pandemic, while delivering on priorities such as fighting climate change, here’s what to look out for in 2021.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

As the EU continues to deal with the impact of the pandemic, while delivering on priorities such as fighting climate change, here’s what to look out for in 2021.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Britain faced the first true test of its Brexit preparations on Monday (4 January), with thousands of lorries expected to make the Channel crossing for the first time since the country left the EU's single market and customs union.

Europe will see its biggest transfer of share trading in more than two decades when stock exchanges open for business in 2021, with Brexit shifting its centre of gravity away from London.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a decree abolishing the death penalty in Kazakhstan, according to a statement released by his office on Saturday (2 January).

Hungary is unlikely to use Russia's coronavirus vaccine due to its limited production capacity, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Sunday (3 January) while criticising the EU's vaccine acquisition approach.

The German government approved a total of €1.16 billion in arms exports during 2020 to countries involved in both the Yemen and Libya conflicts, reported news agency DPA. Germany, by 17 December, had signed off on permits to export weapons and military equipment worth €752m to Egypt, €305.1m to Qatar, over €51m to the United Arab Emirates, €23.4m to Kuwait, and around €22.9m to Turkey.

Iran has notified UN weapons inspectors it plans to enrich uranium to 20 percent - just below weapons grade - at its underground Fordow facility after the US, in 2017, abandoned an EU-brokered nuclear non-proliferation deal. It also accused the US and Israel of planning a false-flag strike on US assets in Iraq in order to justify US air-raids on Iran in the final days of the Donald Trump presidency.

The Conservative party in the UK would lose 80 seats if an election was held, wiping out its majority and putting it almost neck-and-neck with the opposition Labour, according to pollster Focaldata. The Scottish National Party, who want a second independence referendum, would win 57 out of 59 seats in Scotland. The next election is in 2024. The poll was seen as a public verdict on Brexit and pandemic-handling.

The pandemic death toll in the United States passed 350,000 on Sunday and experts warned of another surge in infections and deaths arising from gatherings at Christmas and New Year, the Guardian writes. Data from Johns Hopkins University shows more than 20 million have been infected, while the vaccination program is running slowly. President Donald Trump claimed on Sunday on Twitter the numbers were exaggerated.

Bosnia must do more to help the 10,000 or so migrants stuck there, after hundreds were left homeless in freezing weather when their so-called 'Lipa' camp burned down last month, the EU has said. "The situation is completely unacceptable. Lives and basic human rights ... are jeopardised," Johann Sattler, an EU special envoy, said Saturday, Deutsche Welle reports. Bosnia has received €85.5m from the EU for migrant assistance.

The shareholders of France's PSA and US-Italian rival Fiat Chrysler are expected to approve their merger on Monday (4 January), creating the world's fourth-biggest automaker by volume, Stellantis.