World News

Delta variant to represent 90% of infections in EU by September, says EU disease agency

The European centre for disease control her warned that by the end of August the Delta strain will represent 90% of all SARS-CoV-2 viruses circulating in the EU, and that…

Read More Here

Top EU lawyer says Poland is pressuring lawyers illegally

Polish government pressure on lawyers is incompatible with EU law, an adviser to the European Union’s top court said in an opinion that follows earlier condemnation of Warsaw by the…

Read More Here

Google loosens its search engine grip on Android devices in Europe

Google has bowed to pressure from rivals and will let them compete for free to be the default search engines on Android devices in Europe, widening a pledge to EU…

Read More Here

Amazon wins court fight against $303 million EU tax order

Amazon on Thursday won its fight against an EU order to pay about 250 million euros ($303 million) in back taxes to Luxembourg as Europe's second highest court dealt a blow…

Read More Here

EU countries want emissons target to remain linked to wealth

European Union countries will ask the European Commission to keep national emissions targets linked to their levels of wealth as it crafts plans to overhaul EU climate policies, according to a draft document. The…

Read More Here

AstraZeneca reaches vaccine shipping milestone as EU sues again

AstraZeneca Plc has delivered 50 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to European Union countries, according to EU supply data, a milestone the company had originally been expected to hit in January. The…

Read More Here

EU negotiator Barnier spills Brexit secrets in new book

The EU's pointman on Brexit, Michel Barnier, releases a book Thursday recounting the insider track on Britain's acrimonious departure and teasing his ambition to become France's next president. Written with…

Read More Here

At least 12 EU countries confident of July vaccine target -EU’s Breton

At least 12 of the European Union's 27 member states have said they are confident of being able to vaccinate 70% of their adult population by mid-July, the EU executive's vaccine task…

Read More Here

European countries may have to mix COVID-19 shots amid AstraZeneca crisis

Several European countries are considering mixing up COVID-19 vaccines for citizens who received a first dose of AstraZeneca’s shot, an unprecedented move that highlights challenges for governments struggling to tame…

Read More Here

EU Council adopts new rules to strengthen administrative cooperation and include sales through digital platforms

The EU Council has adopted new rules to improve administrative cooperation in the field of taxation and address the challenges posed by the digital platform economy. A large and growing…

Read More Here

EU sets research and innovation priorities for a sustainable future

The European Commission has adopted the first strategic plan for Horizon Europe, the new EU research and innovation programme worth €95.5 billion in current prices. The strategic plan is a novelty…

Read More Here

AstraZeneca further cuts target for supply to EU in first quarter to 30 million vaccines: document

AstraZeneca cut its supply forecast of COVID-19 vaccine to the European Union in the first quarter to about 30 million doses, a third of its contractual obligations and a 25%…

Read More Here

Malta has lowest share of female Ministers, MPs

Malta ranked last in the European Union with regard to the share of female participation in the country's decision-making institution, with the lowest shares for both Cabinet and House representation.…

Read More Here

Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine developers question neutrality of EU regulator, want apology

The developers of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 on Tuesday questioned the neutrality of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) after an EMA official urged EU members to refrain from approving the…

Read More Here

16 EU countries, including Malta opt against ordering more Moderna vaccines

Malta has opted against topping up its orders for more Moderna vaccines, according to documents revealed by the Hungarian Government. The documents were released as the Hungarian Government sought to…

Read More Here

Euro zone in double-dip recession but optimism soared in Feb -PMI

The euro zone economy is almost certainly in a double-dip recession as pandemic-linked lockdowns continue to hammer the services industry, a survey showed on Wednesday, but hopes for a wider…

Read More Here

Gorbachev tells EU and Russia to ‘not be afraid of negotiations’

Moscow (dpa) - Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has expressed hope for an improvement in relations between Russia and the European Union, Russia's Interfax news agency reported on Saturday. Ties between the powers…

Read More Here

Four in five Oxford Covid jabs delivered to EU not yet used

Four out of five of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine doses delivered to EU countries are yet to be used, a Guardian investigation has found, as Angela Merkel admitted to an “acceptance…

Read More Here

ECB wants veto power on stablecoins in the euro zone

The European Central Bank wants veto power on the launch of stablecoins such as Facebook's Diem in the euro zone and a greater role in their supervision, it has told European Union lawmakers. Central…

Read More Here

EU to set up new European Partnerships and invest nearly €10 billion for the green and digital transition

The Commission proposed today to set up 10 new European Partnerships between the European Union, Member States and/or the industry. The goal is to speed up the transition towards a green, climate…

Read More Here

EU may impose more sanctions on Belarus, says Polish foreign minister

The European Union may impose further sanctions on Belarus after Minsk jailed two journalists for filming protests, Poland's state news agency PAP quoted Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau as saying…

Read More Here

Epic Games takes Apple fight to EU antitrust regulators

Fortnite creator Epic Games has taken its fight against Apple to European Union antitrust regulators after failing to make headway in a U.S. court in a dispute over the iPhone…

Read More Here

EU Agenda

16 February - Frans Timmermans holds a videoconference call with Mr Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Mr Josep Borrell participates via videoconference in the meeting…

Read More Here

EU to launch study programme for COVID-19 variants: von der Leyen

The European Union will this week kick off a new programme to study mutations in the COVID-19 virus, in a bid to prepare for the next generation of vaccines that…

Read More Here

MEPs call for tighter EU consumption and recycling rules

The European Parliament adopted comprehensive policy recommendations to achieve a carbon-neutral, sustainable, toxic-free and fully circular economy by 2050 at the latest. The report, adopted today with 574 votes in…

Read More Here

EU awaits U.S. trade chief for real tariff talks to start

The European Union has had positive, early contact with the Biden administration on trade, but will need to wait for a new U.S. trade representative to be in place for…

Read More Here

Four EU states urge EU to safeguard Johnson & Johnson vaccine supply

The leaders of Denmark, Austria, the Czech Republic and Greece have urged the European Commission to act quickly to secure supplies of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by U.S. drugmaker Johnson…

Read More Here

EU’s von der Leyen defends vaccine strategy

EU chief executive Ursula von der Leyen vigorously defended the European Commission's record on vaccines on Tuesday and described a proposal that would have set up border checks on the island of Ireland as the…

Read More Here

GDP down by 0.7% in the euro area and by 0.5% in the EU

In the fourth quarter 2020, seasonally adjusted GDP decreased by 0.7% in the euro area and by 0.5% in the EU, compared with the previous quarter, according to a preliminary…

Read More Here

EU Agenda: 2-5 February

Here is what’s on the EU agenda for the week (02 February- 05 February 2021): Tuesday 02 February: Mr Josep Borrell co-chairs via videoconference the meeting of the International Contact…

Read More Here

EU agrees ‘dark red’ COVID-19 zones with stricter travel limits

Hotspots of COVID-19 infection in the European Union will be labelled "dark red" zones to discourage all but essential travel, EU governments agreed on Friday. The EU has already set up…

Read More Here

German regulator expects EU approval of AstraZeneca with no age restrictions

The head of Germany's vaccine regulator expects that the European Union will approve AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine without any age restrictions, he told a news conference on Friday. The bloc's drugs regulator,…

Read More Here

EU Cohesion funds support creation of a vital tool for special people

The digital age, an era which until a few decades ago was unimaginable, is now an integral part of our lives. The more we age, the more we must get…

Read More Here

EU Council adopts conclusions on climate and energy diplomacy

EU Foreign Ministers have reached agreement on a numebr of Climate and Energy Diplomacy targets, with the intended objective of delivering on the external dimension of the European Green Deal. The Council recognised…

Read More Here

Brussels targets vaccinating at least 70% of EU adults by summer

The European Commission recommended on Tuesday to vaccinate against COVID-19 at least 70% of the European Union's adult population by this summer, in an attempt to curb the coronavirus pandemic. Vaccination campaigns are conducted by the…

Read More Here

EU Agenda: 19 January-22 January

Tuesday 19 January: European Parliament debate on the EU global strategy on Covid-19 vaccinations Wednesday 20 January: Commissioner Sinkevičius holds a virtual meeting with Mr Costel Alexe, Minister of Environment…

Read More Here

Malta reiterates its continued support for EU-wide coordination on COVID19 matters

During a video conference meeting of the General Affairs Council of the European Union, Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi Government has reiterated Malta’s support for continued EU-wide…

Read More Here

EU kicks off debate on vaccine travel certificates

European Union countries kicked off a debate on Monday on whether people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine should have greater freedom to travel in the summer than those not…

Read More Here

EU Agenda

05 January- 09 January 05 January-07 January: European Parliament Committee meetings 06 January: meeting of the Committee on Budgetary Control at the European Parliament 07 January: Public hearing on the…

Read More Here

Malta among EU nations with lowest overcrowding in homes

In the European Union 17.2% of the population were living in overcrowded households in 2019, meaning they did not have enough rooms compared to the size of the household. Malta stands…

Read More Here

UK PM Johnson says trade deal is new starting point for EU relationship

Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomed Britain's trade deal with the European Union as a new starting point for relations with the bloc in a call with the President of the European Council Charles Michel on Monday. "Just spoken with @eucopresident Charles…

Read More Here