European Union

"As of tomorrow noon, external borders of the European Union and the [passport-free] Schengen area will be closed. All travel between non-EU countries and the European Union will be suspended for 30 days," French president Emmanuel Macron said on TV on Monday. EU leaders are holding a video-summit on Tuesday to formally agree the anti-coronavirus measure, proposed by the European Commission. French nationals will be allowed to return home.

US tech firm Apple has been penalised €1.1bn by French anti-trust regulator, the Autorité de la Concurrence, in the biggest such fine in French history. "Apple and its two wholesalers [French firms Tech Data and Ingram Micro] agreed to not compete against each other," it said. Apple denied wrongdoing and pledged to appeal. The move comes after EU regulators also levied record fines against US tech firms in recent years.

The European Commission has put forward a plan - which it says has strong support among member states - to deny non-essential travellers entry into the European Union for up to 30 days.

Malta has let the Libyan coastguard drag a boat of migrants from Maltese waters back to Libya, violating international law, a UN agency said.

What are Italy's mistakes and achievements in the fight against Covid-19? What are the biggest challenges? What are the citizens' greatest concerns? And how are people reacting?

EU industry commissioner Thierry Breton said "We are at war with the virus. An economic war."

Spain's lockdown involves never-before-seen measures, such as nationalisation of private health providers and closure of non-essential shops, but crowds on Monday morning showed teleworking was being only partly implemented.

Unprecedented scenes in the Romanian parliament, where interim prime minister Ludovic Orban was reinstated amidst a full medical lockdown.

Belgium's King Philip has given interim prime minister Sophie Wilmès the task of forming a government, after seven opposition parties agreed to support it. The agreement came after a political drama - and there are doubts if it will hold.

Far fewer people have been trying to cross the Greek border than in the last few weeks - but Turkey says migrants are still welcome to have a go.

Gender equality is a core value of the European Union. There is empirical evidence that this serves sustainable corporate governance. However, the representation of women in corporate (supervisory) boards varies from country to country. A Europe-wide equality strategy is therefore...

Poland has cancelled a hearing by its new disciplinary board on whether it can jail a government-critical judge called Igor Tuleya, citing coronavirus. The hearing, originally due Friday, was to be held behind closed doors, but was also expected to draw a large group of street protesters. The EU court is currently deliberating an injunction on the Polish disciplinary board, amid fears it is being used for political purposes.

Spain on Monday closed its borders to contain the coronavirus. "We are concerned about the health of citizens who are in Spain, with no distinctions made based on ethnicity or religion," said interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who explained that the measure will last for 30 days. The Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia have also closed borders. Germany and others have partly closed them.

European leaders are set to ban non-essential travel into the continent on Tuesday (17 March), the latest drastic attempt to curb the coronavirus pandemic that has upended society, battered markets and killed thousands around the world.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson performed a dramatic U-turn on Monday (16 March) and put the UK on lockdown to curb the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, dropping his controversial 'herd immunity' approach and following the lead of continental Europe.

Certified new diagnostic test kits for novel coronavirus, COVID-19, will soon be made available in the EU, Curetis N.V., a developer of molecular diagnostic solutions, announced on Monday (16 March).

German flag-carrier Lufthansa announced on Monday (16 March) that it would curb its long-haul flight operations by 90% because of the coronavirus outbreak. Subsidiary Austrian Airlines has ceased services completely.

Boris Johnson's obsession with obtaining a Brexit deal in June has over-ridden the need to act decisively in response to Coronavirus. But the signs of panic are emerging, writes Denis MacShane.

The European Commission proposed on Monday (16 March) an unprecedented 30-day ban on travel for foreigners going to the bloc in an effort to contain the spread of coronavirus, which has already put most of the EU on lockdown.

The EU Commission will propose to member states a temporary ban on all non-essential travel from third countries into the EU for initially a period of 30-days due to coronavirus, commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Monday said. EU leaders, who will hold crisis talks on Tuesday, will have to agree on the measure. EU officials will be urging the UK and other non-member states to join.