Europe Explained

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…

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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…

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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…

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New European Bauhaus: Commission launches design phase

Today, the Commission launched the design phase of the New European Bauhaus initiative, announced by President von der Leyen in her 2020 State of the Union address. The New European…

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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…

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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…

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EIB and Egypt work together to support private businesses and speed up the recovery of SMEs from COVID-19

The European Investment Bank is providing Banque Misr with a €425 million credit line to support Egyptian private small and medium-sized enterprises that have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, and boost their ability…

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EU allocates additional €3.5 million to support vulnerable refugees and migrants

The European Commission has announced today an additional €3.5 million in humanitarian aid to help vulnerable refugees and migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina facing a humanitarian disaster. More than 1,700 refugees and…

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Just over 20% of energy used for heating and cooling is renewable

In 2019, renewable energy accounted for 22.1% of total energy use for heating and cooling in the EU, according to figures released by Eurostat. At 25%, Malta's rate was slightly…

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Italy business lobbies urge EU to ease credit default rules

Italy's main banking and industry associations have urged European Union authorities to temporarily ease EU bank rules on loan defaults and credit provisioning to help businesses cope with the impact…

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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…

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‘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…

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Europe crosses 500,000 COVID-19 deaths as new variant spreads

Europe became the first region worldwide to cross 500,000 COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, according to a Reuters tally, as a new variant of the coronavirus discovered in Britain threatened the…

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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…

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Coronavirus hits Christmas holiday plans across Europe

Governments across Europe are trying to navigate between avoiding the spread of the coronavirus over the Christmas holiday season and allowing people to celebrate with family and friends. Here are…

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Asylum: more solidarity among EU member states and funds for frontline countries

According to MEPs, the 2013 Dublin III Regulation puts a “disproportionate responsibility on a minority of member states, in particular when high numbers of arrivals occur”. The plenary resolution assesses the law…

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Rule of law mechanism should apply by January, MEPs insist

In yesterday's resolution, MEPs insisted that the Rule of Law mechanism should apply as of January 1. The European Council had issued a declaration to suspend the Rule of Law…

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Parliament approves seven-year EU budget 2021-2027

Parliament gave its consent on Wednesday to the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) so that EU support can get to citizens as from the start of next year. On Wednesday,…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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EU Agenda

14 December – 18 December Monday 14 December – 17 December: the European Parliament meets for a plenary session Monday 14 December – Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmit has an…

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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…

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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…

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Erasmus+: European Parliament secures better deal for students

Would-be Erasmus students Europe-wide stand to benefit from €23.4 billion in funds for the next seven years if agreement is reached on the next EU long-term budget. The new budget…

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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…

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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…

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EP wants stronger safeguards against online child abuse

The European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee has appealed for stronger safeguards to ensure that tools used to detect and remove online child sexual abuse respect people’s fundamental rights. Online material…

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Italy wants heads of state to attend May G20 health summit -sources

ROME (Reuters) - Italy will stage a health summit in Rome next May during its presidency of the Group of 20 major economies and hopes world leaders, including U.S. President-elect…

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Only PM should present Poland’s EU stance, says president’s top aide

WARSAW (Reuters) - Nobody other than the prime minister should communicate Poland's position on its European Union budget veto, the president's chief of staff said in an interview published on…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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Euro zone economy suffering even as infections ease – ECB’s Lagarde

A second wave of coronavirus cases may be slowing down in Europe but the economy is stil bearing the brunt of the containment measures taken to address it, European Central…

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Coronavirus response: €183.5 million to support Greek economy

The Coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic presents a major challenge to the entire European Union. National, regional and local communities are on the front line in countering the disease and its…

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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…

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MEPs to grill Frontex director on agency’s role in pushbacks of asylum-seekers

MEPs are set to demand answers from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency’s Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri regarding the incidents revealed by media in which Greek coastguards -with the…

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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…

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‘This EU budget started in Brexit’s shadow and will end in Covid’s shadow’- EP office head

This EU budget started in the shadow of Brexit and will end in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic, European Parliament Office in Malta head Mario Sammut said. The EU…

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Italian PM’s closest aid says ECB should consider wiping out pandemic debt

The European Central Bank should consider cancelling out or holding forever the government debt it buys during the current crisis to help nations recover and restructure, a top Italian government…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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In COVID-hit Europe, even Santa told to keep his distance at Christmas

With restrictions on family gatherings, instructions not to hug and a polite request to St Nicholas to keep his distance and wear a mask, Europe is preparing for its first COVID-19 Christmas. Governments across the continent, which accounts for a…

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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…

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Euro zone corporate vulnerability at levels seen in debt crisis: ECB

Euro zone firms are increasingly vulnerable amid a pandemic-induced recession but public support, including cheap cash from the European Central Bank, have limited the damage so far, a new ECB…

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WHO warns of COVID-19 third wave, says Europe failed to learn from Asia

The World Health Organization's special COVID-19 envoy David Nabarro told the Solothurner Zeitung in Switzerland that Europe was likely to see a third wave of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic in…

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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…

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EU approves Malta Budget but forecasts lower growth than Govt for 2021

The European Commission has green-lighted Malta's budget for 2021, noting that it was largely in line with Council recommendations made earlier this year, with most initiatives intended to supporting economic…

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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…

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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.…

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Europe’s economies race to open for Xmas – should they bother?

By Mark John (Reuters) Is the Christmas economy worth salvaging? Unless you're in retail, the answer is: Possibly not. Across Europe, governments have imposed lockdowns through November into early December…

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ECB’s Weidmann calls on central banks to address climate-related financial risks

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann on Thursday called on the Eurosystem, which includes the European Central Bank (ECB) and the euro zone's 19 central banks, to consider climate-related financial risks before…

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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.…

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UPDATED: Presenting gloomy outlook, Lagarde calls for unlocking EU aid

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde called on European Union leaders on Thursday to end a potentially damaging budget impasse and unlock aid for a region that is facing a…

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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…

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European new car sales register drop in October – ACEA

European car registrations dropped in October after rising slightly a month earlier, industry data showed on Wednesday, as social restrictions to curb a second wave of coronavirus across Europe took…

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