Euobserver.com

The coronavirus crisis has not created an unambiguous political momentum for the mainstream or populist parties, while many think the EU has been irrelvant, a new study revealed.

Inspired by France's Legion of Honour, the EU Parliament's internal bodies are considering a proposal to create an annual award for services to the EU, including a 'Grand Cross', and 'Kinights'. But not all are convinced it is needed.

More than 500 political, civil leaders, Nobel Laureates and pro-democracy institutions sign an open letter to defend democracy, warning that the freedoms we cherish are under threat from governments that are using the crisis to tighten their grip on power.

Belgium's national security council on Wednesday made several new decisions on relaxing coronavirus measures from 1 July. From then, public pools can re-open, plus cinemas, casinos, theme parks and conference centres. Indoor events can have a public of up to 200 people, outdoor events of 400 people. People will be able to meet with 15 people. Face masks remain recommended but not mandatory.

A group of 34 NGOs say the new strategy from the European Investment Bank (EIB), which details steps to for its Climate Roadmap, falls short of aligning operations with a 1.5 degree global-warming scenario. In a open letter, the NGOs urge the EIB to exclude high-carbon activities "starting from an immediate ban on any investment in capacity increase for motorways or airports".

US nationals are likely to be excluded from the EU's reopening of international borders on 1 July, along with Brazilians and Russians, according to draft EU white-lists seen by The New York Times. The potential decision comes amid an upsurge in infections in the US, even as the pandemic eases in Europe. The US recently said Europeans would also be excluded from America until "reciprocal" freedoms were restored.

The EU was "irrelevant" to how countries handled the pandemic, most people in France and Portugal and almost half of them in Germany, Italy, Poland, and Spain said in a new European Commission survey. In Italy, 25 percent were more grateful for Chinese than EU aid. But at the same time, 63 percent overall believed there ought to be further EU cohesion, despite the bloc's poor performance on coronavirus.

Jihadist and extreme far-right groups were the most dangerous, but Irish nationalists also posed a threat, according to a new EU report on terrorism.

Eight EU countries on Tuesday called on the European Commission to strengthen the Green Deal, while central and eastern Europe remain cautious - citing different starting positions and deepen inequalities.

Twenty years ago the most dominant foreign influence in Iceland was the United States, as it had been throughout the Cold War. Nowadays it is China.

Regrettably, it is no longer a matter of if, but when Israel will begin to annex big parts of Palestine, including the Jordan Valley and all its 131 settlements.

EU commissioner for the economy Valdis Dombrovskis said on Tuesday "strong regulation and supervision are key to preserving trust in finance, whether for traditional or new players," while addressing the challenges of financial stability that these assets will bring if globally adopted. Dombrovskis said that the lack of legal certainty is often cited as one the main barrier to develop a crypto-asset market in the EU.

Cyprus will host the next trilateral meeting with Israel and Greece, the Cypriot foreign ministry said on Tuesday, after a meeting between foreign minister Nicos Christodoulides and Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi in Tel Aviv, Greek newspaper Ekathimerini reports. They will discuss developments in the eastern Mediterranean, the situation in Libya, Syria, and Turkey's activities in the Mediterranean.

A new report by Corporate Europe Observatory and LobbyControl on Tuesday indicated that large lobbying associations have a strong influence on the German government, voicing concern that this might influence its EU rotating presidency starting next week. The report showed how Germany protects its car industry from adapting to climate change, and secures fossil-fuel energy supplies to support its most energy-intensive industries.

Turkey hit back on Tuesday at French criticism of its intervention in Libya, saying president Emmanuel Macron must have suffered an "eclipse of the mind" to oppose Ankara's support for the internationally-recognised Tripoli government, Ekathimerini reports. On Monday, Macron accused Turkey of playing "a dangerous game" in Libya. "The current troubles in Libya are caused by the attacks of putschist Haftar, whom (Macron) supports," a Turkish foreign ministry spokesperson said.

A cross-party group of more than 100 MEPS, national EU lawmakers, and the Israeli Knesset on Tuesday called on the EU foreign relations chief Josep Borrell to take immediate steps to reconvene the EU-Israel Association Council - which has not taken place since 2012. Following the establishment of a new coalition government in Israel, they urge the EU to relaunch an "effective forum for close dialogue and consultation".

The western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia on Tuesday put two municipalities back into lockdown until June 30, after an outbreak of the coronavirus at a meatpacking plant, Reuters reports. More than 1,500 workers at the meat-processing plant have tested positive for Covid-19, as well as some of their family members and 24 people with no connection to the plant, state governor Armin Laschet said.

EU leaders will meet in Brussels on 17-18 July to discuss the long-term EU budget and the recovery package, the EU Council president's spokesperson announced on Tuesday. It will be the leaders' first physical meeting since the coronavirus outbreak. Leaders discussed the EU Commission's €1.1 trillion budget and the €750bn recovery proposal last week, but governments' positions remain far apart on the size, distribution and conditions attached to the fund.

German finance minister Olaf Scholz and French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said the EU ought to agree its pandemic bailout deal at its next summit in July, after meeting in Berlin on Monday. "It's time to decide ... and the quicker the better," Le Maire said, Reuters reports. French president Emmanuel Macron also aims to visit the Netherlands Tuesday to push for a separate EU budget deal in July.

EU-brokered Kosovo-Serbia peace talks will resume July, after having stalled in 2018, Europe's special envoy, Miroslav Lajčák, has said after meeting Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić in Belgrade on Monday. "Serbia is a part of Europe, your problems are our problems," Lajčák said. He spoke after Vučić's political party won recent elections amid accusations of fraud by the opposition. He also spoke amid rival US efforts to broker a Kosovo-Serbia deal.