European Union

Europe’s highest court has concluded that member states have the right to ban pesticides even if they are permitted at the EU level, provided they officially inform the European Commission. The ruling, issued on Thursday (8 October), was taken after...

EU foreign ministers have agreed to blacklist four individuals and one entity over Russia's alleged poisoning of opposition figure Alexei Navalny, diplomatic sources said. The political accord, spearheaded by France and Germany, is to be legally implemented "as soon as possible", and, in any case, before the upcoming EU summit, one diplomat said. Poland had pushed, but failed, for Germany to also stop building the Nord Stream Russia gas pipeline.

EU foreign ministers on Monday (12 October) agreed to impose sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and move forward with a sanctions framework against the culprits involved in the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The European Semester will play a key role in the implementation of the National Recovery Plans, to be submitted by mid-October. The reform of the Semester process was already in the pipeline but it is now essential to raise expectations and transform this coordination tool into a useful instrument able to grasp the changes affecting vital aspects of our daily life: health, education and work, writes Maria João Rodrigues and others.

The recent Vienna election was a great victory for Social Democrats while the far-right FPÖ suffered a massive crash, losing two-thirds of support. The final result will be available Tuesday evening (13 October), but coalition options are already clear. EURACTIV Germany reports.

With youth unemployment on the rise across the EU, and aggravated further by the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, EU lawmakers called upon the European Commission and member states last week to increase their support for young people in precarious working conditions.

The Nobel Committee has awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). The Committee said it was honouring the programme for its efforts in the fight against hunger and its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict areas. A good decision, some say. Others argue that it was too tame.

The conflicting parties in Nagorno-Karabakh have agreed on a ceasefire and the resumption of peace talks. This was announced by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday after a meeting with his counterparts from Armenia and Azerbaijan. Military attacks continued over the weekend nonetheless. Commentators see little hope of real peace.

Infection numbers are rising rapidly across Europe and breaking previous records in many countries. Politicians warn that without more discipline new lockdowns are inevitable. The WHO's special envoy on Covid-19, David Nabarro, has now explicitly warned against this, saying that governments would do better to use other means to combat the pandemic. Europe's press discusses the dilemma.