Euobserver.com

EU countries, in collaboration with the European Commission, agreed on Tuesday on a set of technical specifications to ensure the exchange of information between different contact-tracing apps, based on a decentralised architecture. The information shared between apps will be encrypted to prevent the identification of a person - meaning that no geo-location data will be used. The commission is also working to advance interoperability of centralised tracing apps.

The European Commission opened on Tuesday an antitrust investigation to assess whether Apple rules for the distribution of apps via its App Store are aligned with EU competition rules. This inquiry follows separate complaints by Spotify and an e-book distributor about the playing field of the Apple Store. "It appears that Apple obtained a 'gatekeeper' role when it comes to the distribution of apps," commission vice-president Margrethe Vestager said.

Russia's nuclear threat to Europe is so alarming the US might deploy new weapons, but the Libya crisis has divided Western allies.

Hungarian MPs voted to call on the Viktor Orban government to end the emergency measures granted him under the coronavirus pandemic. However, critics say special powers could remain - with little oversight.

Top economists and civil society have called on EU Commission and states to add stronger green conditions on how the EU spends its corona-bailout billions.

European leaders have a historic choice on Friday when they dial-in to discuss how to stop a health crisis turning into a social one: will they learn the lessons of 2008, or opt again for austerity and short-term self-preservation?

Practically nobody in Germany knows of Mercedes Kierpacz. The 35-year old mother of two was working in a kiosk in the German city of Hanau on the evening of 19 February when a man shot her dead.

Despite concerns about civil liberties and activities of companies like Clearview AI and Palantir, EU authorities are shaping a new industrial policy around artificial intelligence.

The total number of Covid-19 cases around the world has passed eight million, as infections continue to rise in Latin America, the United States, and South Asia. Over 3,800,000 people have recovered, and 435,619 have died, according to the latest data from the Johns Hopkins University, Deutsche Welle reports.

EU foreign ministers asked secretary of state Mike Pompeo in video-talks Monday for help to revive Arab-Israeli peace negotiations. "For us, there is no other way than to resume talks," EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said. "A multilateral format could certainly be the right framework," the German minister said. Israel, backed by the US, aims to annex more land, instead. But Borrell said that threat had created new "momentum".

Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi and Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić are to meet for peace talks in the White House on 27 June, US special envoy Richard Grenell said on Twitter Monday. "If either side is unsatisfied with the ... discussions then they will go back to the status quo after they leave Washington," Grenell said. EU-sponsored peace talks stalled in 2018, but Europe also recently tried to revive them.

The European Union says bilateral relations are improving - because Eritrea's totalitarian dictatorship asked for EU money to help fight the pandemic in the country. Around €6.6m in EU funds was given to the WHO for Eritrea's pandemic response.

British and EU leaders agreed that talks need to intensify to avoid an cliff-edge to the "economic Brexit", but there is little common ground yet in talks on how future relations should look like.

MEPs, journalists, publishers and broadcasters urge "much stronger measures" on the European Commission to tackle fake news related to the pandemic, including sanctions and the regulation of algorithms.

If half of European Covid-19-related deaths happened in care facilities, it is largely the result of a long-term suffocation of the sector and a lack of consideration from political leaders to design the world we want to age in.

Germany's contribution to the EU budget would rise by 42 percent, or €13bn annually in the coming years, based on proposals from Brussels, according to Die Welt, citing government calculations. Die Welt also said the proposal required member states to pay around 1.075% of their GDP into the budget over the next seven years. EU leaders will meet online on Friday to discuss the EU commission proposal.

Russian gas giant Gazprom will reimburse Poland's state-owned energy company, PGNiG, around €1.5 billion by July 1 for overcharging it for its supplies for years, the Polish company said on Monday following a court battle, according to The Moscow Times. On March 30, PGNiG won a case against Gazprom over its long-term contract for gas imports at an international arbitration tribunal in Stockholm.

The Spanish government unveiled on Monday a €3.75bn stimulus package for a "sustainable and connected" car industry, including funding for hydrogen and plans for electric cars. Spain wants to have 50,000 electric charging points by 2023 and 800,000 by 2040. According to Spanish prime minister socialist Pedro Sanchez, €1.5bn will be deployed in 2020 and the rest will be unlocked in mid-2021.

Germany's interior ministry has confirmed that the Brandenburg branch of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been put under surveillance by the intelligence agency, after the branch voted to keep Andreas Kalbitz as its leader, despite his expulsion from the national party due to his membership in an extremist group, Deutsche Welle reports. The ministry said the decision was made after much deliberation.

Italian deputy health minister Pierpaolo Sileri said on Monday that there were no signs of a second wave of coronavirus after Italy ended its lockdown and opened borders to tourism from member states, Italian news agency ANSA reported. "Even after the reopening [of activities following the lockdown], the feared second wave of the virus does not seem to be materialising," he said, adding that "the situation is improving".