European Union

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

‘The beginning of the end’: Europe rolls out vaccines to see off pandemic

Europe launched a massive vaccination drive on Sunday with pensioners and medics lining up to take the first shots to see off the COVID-19 pandemic that has crippled economies and…

Read More Here

Facebook warns on changes to messaging services in Europe

Facebook announced that starting today, the data privacy and security protections in the 2002 Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive (ePrivacy Directive) will apply to more communications services across the EU. The laws…

Read More Here

Euro zone economy exceeded expectations in Dec but still shrank -PMI

Euro zone economic performance far exceeded expectations this month - although it still contracted slightly - as a second wave of coronavirus infections and renewed lockdowns had less of an…

Read More Here

EU set to approve vaccine on 23 December

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is set to approve its first COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 23, a German government source told Reuters on Tuesday, putting EU countries on track to start to…

Read More Here

15.5% of employees in Malta are low wage earners

In 2018, 15.3% of employees in the European Union (EU) were low-wage earners (this means that they earned two-thirds or less of their national median gross hourly earnings) compared to…

Read More Here

Germany pushes EU to approve vaccine before Christmas

Germany continued to pile pressure on the EU's regulatory agency, asking it to approve a coronavirus vaccine before Christmas, The Guardian reported this morning. “Our goal is an approval before…

Read More Here

Blocking EU-UK trade deal: the level playing field

Britain and the European Union are at odds over safeguarding corporate fair play after seven months of negotiations that have yet to yield a deal for tariff- and quota-free trade…

Read More Here

EU leaders reach historic deal on climate targets

European Union countries struck a deal on the bloc's new climate target on Friday after haggling through the night at a summit in Brussels, pulling the political trigger on a…

Read More Here

UPDATE: Hungary sees chance of EU budget deal being approved on Thursday

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's cabinet chief said on Thursday there is a chance for an agreement on the European Union's next budget and recovery fund as the bloc's leaders…

Read More Here

Euro zone business activity shrank sharply in November

Euro zone business activity contracted sharply last month as governments across the bloc reimposed strict lockdown measures to try to quell a second wave of coronavirus infections, a survey showed…

Read More Here

Hungary cannot accept EU budget proposal in current form – PM’s chief of staff

Hungary cannot accept the European Union budget in its present form, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff said on Thursday, underlining the right of each EU member state to…

Read More Here

Poland, Hungary have to behave responsibly on EU recovery fund, Spain’s Foreign minister says

Poland and Hungary should behave responsibly and reach an agreement on EU recovery fund, Spain's foreign minister, Arancha Gonzalez Laya, said on Thursday. "Spain wants Poland, Hungary to behave responsibly…

Read More Here

Germany’s Scholz: No EU country would be “so unwise” as to block recovery plan

European Union member states will soon agree on a disputed rule-of-law mechanism linked to the bloc's recovery plan as all countries, including Poland and Hungary, would benefit from its approval, German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said on…

Read More Here

EU greenhouse gas emissions fell in 2019 to the lowest level in three decades

The EU has registered important progress in cutting greenhouse gas emissions in 2019. Greenhouse gas emissions in the EU-27 decreased by 3.7 % year-on-year, while GDP grew by 1.5%. This…

Read More Here

Hungary, Poland double down to try to eject rule-of-law condition from EU budget

Hungary and Poland said on Thursday the EU could not attach rule-of-law conditions to funds unless the bloc changed its founding treaty, digging in their heels after vetoing the EU…

Read More Here

Hungary to uphold its veto of EU budget over rule of law provisions – PM aide

Hungary's government will uphold its veto of the next European Union budget over because the budget links payments to democratic standards, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff said on…

Read More Here

UK-EU trade deal would avoid years of acrimony, says funds industry

A trade deal between Britain and the European Union would help open the door to cross-border financial services from January and avoid years of acrimony, industry officials said on Monday. Financial services are not…

Read More Here

Euro zone business activity shrink sharply in November as lockdowns bite

Euro zone business activity has contracted sharply this month as renewed restrictions to try to quell the spread of the coronavirus forced many firms in the bloc's dominant service industry…

Read More Here

Turkey sees itself an inseparable part of Europe

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that his country, an official candidate for European Union membership, sees itself as an inseparable part of Europe but will not give in…

Read More Here

Covid-19 has a devastating human cost – Charles Michel

"COVID-19 has a devastating human cost. There are family and friends behind all the numbers and statistics. Let's never forget that. That is why we are working 24/7 to defeat…

Read More Here

EU survey confirms citizens’ call for EU to have more powers to tackle pandemic

In the grip of the second wave of coronavirus, two thirds of EU citizens call for more EU competence and an EU budget with sufficient means to tackle the crisis.…

Read More Here

Hungary reiterates it cannot back EU budget in its present form

Hungary cannot accept the European Union's budget and post-COVID recovery package in its present form as it amounts to "blackmail", Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff reiterated on Thursday.…

Read More Here

France says countries could move ahead on EU budget without Poland, Hungary

European leaders could push ahead with a post-coronavirus recovery fund and European Union budget without Hungary and Poland as a last resort should they continue to block the adoption of…

Read More Here

Majority in the EU approved of bloc’s handling of first coronavirus wave

The majority of people in the EU approved of the bloc's response to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new Pew Research Centre study carried out…

Read More Here

Privacy activist files complaints against Apple’s tracking tool

A group led by privacy activist Max Schrems filed complaints on Monday with German and Spanish data protection authorities over Apple's online tracking tool, saying it breached European law by…

Read More Here

Macron: Europe needs its own sovereignty in defence, even with new U.S. government

Europe still needs its own independent and sovereign defence strategy, even if it is dealing with a new U.S. government which may result in friendlier ties, French President Emmanuel Macron…

Read More Here

Euro zone investor morale worsens in November but beats forecast

Investor morale in the euro zone fell for a second consecutive month in November but the drop was not as bad as feared because lockdowns imposed to curb the spread…

Read More Here

European leaders to discuss initiative against Islamist extremism: sources

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will take part in a phone call with other European leaders to discuss an initiative against Islamist extremism on Tuesday, two participants in a call with…

Read More Here

EU ministers agree to set up EU anti money laundering body

European Union finance ministers agreed on Tuesday to set up an EU body that would fight money laundering across the 27-nation bloc, supporting a European Commission proposal from May. The Council of Finance ministers…

Read More Here

Bulgaria says North Macedonia must address historical issues or face delay on EU path

Bulgaria has threatened to block North Macedonia’s path towards European Union membership and said it should recognise that both its national identity and language have Bulgarian roots, its foreign minister…

Read More Here

Belgium becomes EU nation with highest rate of COVID-19 infections

The Belgian government will convene on Friday to decide on a potential new national lockdown with the country now suffering the highest rate of coronavirus infections per 100,000 citizens, according…

Read More Here

Trust in EU remains stable during pandemic

Trust in the European Union has remained stable since autumn 2019 at 43%, despite variations of public perceptions during the pandemic. Trust in national governments and parliaments has increased (40%, +6 percentage…

Read More Here

European carmarkers seek support to UK concessions

The EU's auto car manufacturing lobbies are pushing Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier to open up to the possibility of some concessions to the UK with regard to rules governing the…

Read More Here

Almost 170 000 additional deaths in the EU from March to June

In 2020, among the 26 EU Member States for which data is available, there were 168 000 more deaths during weeks 10-26 (March – June) than the average number of…

Read More Here

France says EU should press ahead with digital tax plans

The European Union should press ahead with plans for a bloc-wide digital tax in case global talks at the OECD to rewrite international tax rules fail, French Finance Minister Bruno…

Read More Here

New Swiss chief negotiator seeks “good will” to resolve EU impasse

Switzerland swapped out its chief negotiator with the European Union on Wednesday, aiming for what Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis called "new elan" in talks over a stalled bilateral treaty with…

Read More Here

UK sees 66% chance of Brexit trade deal but tells EU to hurry up

Britain said on Wednesday there was a 66% chance of a Brexit trade deal but sought to use Prime Minister Boris Johnson's deadline of Oct. 15 to hurry the bloc's…

Read More Here

EU member states urged to agree on Rule-of-Law to safeguard trust among member states

Vera Jourova, European Commission vice-president for values and transparency, was reported on the Financial Times urging the 27 countries and EU parliament now debating the new rule aimed at protecting…

Read More Here

Germany expects EU to impose new sanctions against Russia over Navalny’s poisoning

Germany expects the European Union to impose new sanctions against Russia over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny with an internationally banned nerve agent, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said…

Read More Here

Europe lays ground for fast-tracking COVID-19 vaccine reviews

The European health regulator has started reviewing data on AstraZeneca and Oxford University's potential COVID-19 vaccine in real time, the first of such moves aimed at speeding up any approval…

Read More Here

EU leaders to press Cyprus to lift veto over Belarus sanctions

European Union leaders will try to break a stalemate over Belarus on Thursday by untangling a separate standoff with Turkey that has exposed the paralysis in the bloc's decision-making. Meeting…

Read More Here

Turkey expects concrete steps from EU summit – foreign minister

Turkey expects concrete steps to be taken at a European Union summit on Oct. 1-2 regarding issues including the updating of a 2016 migrant deal and customs union with the…

Read More Here

Financial Services: EU seeks to boost Capital Markets Union

The European Commission has published a new, ambitious Action Plan to boost the European Union's Capital Markets Union (CMU) over the coming years. Developing the EU's capital markets, and ensuring…

Read More Here

AstraZeneca gets partial immunity in low-cost EU vaccine deal

European governments will pay claims above an agreed limit against AstraZeneca over side-effects from its potential COVID-19 vaccine, under different terms to a deal struck with Sanofi, an EU official…

Read More Here

UPDATED: EU says Belarus’ Lukashenko not legitimate president

President Alexander Lukashenko is not the legitimate president of Belarus, the European Union said on Thursday, saying his abrupt swearing-in on Wednesday went directly against the will of the people.…

Read More Here