European Union

EU policymakers should put forward provisions as part of the forthcoming Digital Services Act that would permit platforms to screen uploaded content for both illegal and harmful content, a paper published by an international startup association has said.

In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about Lithuania's new conservative-liberal party to be, how domestic violence increased by 50% in Croatia during the pandemic, and so much more.

Participants in the third Western Balkan Digital Summit currently taking place online from 26 to 28 October and hosted by the government of Albania, have highlighted the importance of digital transformation and connectivity for the countries in the region, especially...

Behind Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to the Balkans lies Moscow’s intention to maintain its influence in the region, relying largely on special relations with Serbia and Republika Srpska, Moscow’s Kommersant daily reported on Monday (26 October). The newspaper explains...

North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev confirmed on Monday he was ready to sign an annex to the Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation Treaty with Bulgaria. Although the prime minister considers the existing treaty to be excellent, he believes an...

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi recently warned the leaders of Greece and Cyprus about a potential “wave of jihadists” in the wider region of the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as about the way Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has engaged...

The Spanish government plans to claim the entire €140 billion available for Spain under the EU Recovery Fund, and not only the “non-refundable tranche”, as suggested by some Spanish media last week, socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez confirmed in a...

Italy’s new coronavirus decree that entered into force on Monday (26 October) and will last until 24 November has attracted criticism from politicians, associations and citizens alike. Though former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s Italy Alive party, currently sitting in the...

Ukraine’s foreign ministry summoned Budapest’s ambassador after Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó campaigned on social media for Hungarian Cultural Federation in Transcarpathia (KMKSZ) candidates during Sunday’s municipal elections (25 October), Hungarian news agency MTI reported via Evropeyskaya Pravda. The foreign...

The United States, Russia, France and many other countries are setting records for coronavirus infections as a tidal wave of cases washes over parts of the Northern Hemisphere, forcing some countries to impose new curbs.

The Czech government introduced new restrictions in order to slow down the coronavirus epidemic. As of Wednesday (28 October), night-time curfew will have to be observed and all essential shops that are still open will have to close at 8...

World Trade Organisation members gave the green light Monday (26 October) for Brussels to slap tariffs on $4.0 billion in US imports annually in retaliation for illegal American aid to plane maker Boeing.

The second and final round of parliamentary elections in Lithuania concluded in the early hours of Monday. The conservative Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) came in first, followed by the Farmers and Greens from the current ruling block....

Establishing a comprehensive picture of Finland’s arms export policies is difficult because the system is too dispersed, according to independent and security think tank Safer Globe’s annual report published on Monday. While the police board, together with the defence and...

The Irish government is coming under pressure from industry members to adopt a critical stance on the EU’s forthcoming Digital Services Act (DSA), the bloc’s most ambitious attempt to regulate the web for which the Commission will put forth the...

A group of 50 Conservative MPs in northern England have called on UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to offer a “clear roadmap” out of lockdown and have complained that the pandemic “has exposed in sharp relief the deep structural and...

Health Minister Paulette Lenert detailed the country’s new coronavirus measures after they were discussed in parliament on Monday. While households will only be able to host four people instead of 10, the same number of people will be able to...

A lawyer and a science philosopher from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel will appeal to the Council of State to challenge the curfew in court, in the name of respect for the Constitution, Belgian media reported on Monday. The appeal of...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday (26 October) of leading a “hate campaign” against Muslims. In a very virulent speech, the Ankara strongman said France is conducting “a lynching campaign similar to that against...

The Christian Democrat CDU has postponed the party conference due to the coronavirus and with it, the vote for a new party leader and likely chancellor candidate. Originally planned for 4 December, the decision has been moved into 2021, leaving...