World News

EU invests €122 million in innovative projects to decarbonise the economy

For the first time since the creation of the Innovation Fund, the European Union is investing €118 million into 32 small innovative projects located in 14 EU Member States, Iceland…

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EU Commission opens infringement procedure against 12 states for failing to implement rules banning unfair trading

The European Commission has today opened infringement procedures against Malta 12 Member States for failing to transpose EU rules banning unfair trading practices in the agri-food sector. The Directive on unfair trading…

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Could the European Union kick out Hungary?

Relations between Hungarian president Viktor Orban and other European leaders seem to have reached a nadir. For years, Orban has pursued a right-wing agenda that has often contradicted the bloc’s…

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Northern Ireland set to lose access to 2,000 medicines – FT

About 2,000 medicines currently offered to patients in Northern Ireland and made in Great Britain are set to be withdrawn as drugs manufacturers grapple with onerous post-Brexit red tape, the…

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EU rejects UK demand for new post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland

LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - Britain demanded on Wednesday that the European Union agree to rewrite a deal overseeing problematic post-Brexit trade involving Northern Ireland just a year after it…

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EU wants reforms before approving Hungary’s recovery plan

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - The European Commission won't approve Hungary's recovery plan until it carries out judicial reform and guarantees that corruption cases are investigated, justice commissioner Didier Reynders said in…

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UK tells EU to think again over bloc’s plan for Gibraltar talks

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain told the European Union to "think again" after the bloc published a plan for post-Brexit negotiations over the future of Gibraltar that London said seeks to…

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EU lists rule-of-law concerns for Hungary, Poland, could withhold funds

The European Commission listed on Tuesday serious concerns about the rule of law in Poland and Hungary in a report that could help determine whether they receive billions of euros…

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Germany hopes for EU money to rebuild infrastructure

The German government aims to rebuild government-owned infrastructure damaged by the floods in the western part of the country as quickly as possible and hopes for contributions to the cost from the…

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Rule of law dispute deepens as rulings by Polish and EU courts clash

WARSAW, July 14 (Reuters) - Interim measures imposed on the Polish judicial system by the top European court are against the Polish constitution, Poland's Constitutional Tribunal said on Wednesday, accelerating…

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EU undecided on mix-and-match, boosters for COVID-19 shots

Europe's drug regulator on Wednesday refrained from making any recommendations on mixing shots of COVID-19 vaccines from different drugmakers and said it was too early to confirm if and when an…

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EU set to propose aviation fuel tax

The European Commission has drafted plans to set an EU-wide minimum tax rate for polluting aviation fuels, as it seeks to meet more ambitious targets to fight climate change, a document seen by Reuters…

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Market share of illicit cigarettes in the EU increases, but declines in Malta

The KPMG 2020 Annual Report reveals that, while total cigarette consumption across the EU, UK, Norway and Switzerland continued to decline, the market share of illicit cigarettes increased by 0.5%…

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12 EU countries to have recovery plans approved today

European finance ministers are set to adopt the recovery plans of 12 EU states on Tuesday, including those of Italy, Spain and France, paving the way for the first disbursements…

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After U.S. push, EU pauses tax plan, but Ireland sticks to its guns

The European Union has agreed to delay a corporate tax plan for the bloc following pressure from the U.S. administration and in a bid to facilitate a broader global tax…

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EU delivers enough doses to vaccinate 70% of adults, von der Leyen says

BRUSSELS, July 10 (Reuters) - The European Union has delivered enough coronavirus vaccine doses to member states to reach a target to fully vaccinate at least70% of adults in the bloc, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement on Saturday. Von der Leyen,…

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EU Commission President wants Italy to win Euro 2020

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union chief executive Ursula von der Leyen is rooting for Italy to beat England on Sunday in the Euro 2020 soccer final, a European Commission spokesperson…

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European Parliament calls for stronger EU-NATO relations

MEPs called for a stronger strategic partnership between the EU and the Atlantic Alliance. “A reinvigorated strategic partnership between the EU and NATO is essential to meet the security challenges…

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Rescue boat with hundreds of migrants picked from Maltese waters asks EU to find it a port

A charity group asked the European Union on Tuesday to find a port where it can dock to disembark hundreds of migrants it has rescued in the central Mediterranean over recent days. Some…

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EU says will step up legal action if UK does not respect agreement

The European Union will have no choice but to step up its legal proceedings against Britain if London does not fall in line with its obligations on Northern Ireland under the Brexit agreement, European Commissioner…

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Merkel sees strategic case for Balkan states joining EU

Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday she sees the six Western Balkan states as future members of the European Union for strategic reasons. "It is in the European Union's very own interests to drive…

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Cyprus seeks aid from EU and Israel as huge forest fire rages

NICOSIA, July 3 (Reuters) - Cyprus appealed for aid from its EU partners and Israel on Saturday as a huge forest fire raged north of the cities of Limassol and…

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EU agrees ‘ceasefire’ with Britain in post-Brexit trade dispute dubbed as ‘sausage war’

The European Union agreed on Wednesday to a ceasefire with Britain in a post-Brexit dispute dubbed the "sausage war" by extending a grace period for shipments of certain meat products…

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Senior EU official questions Wembley hosting of Euro semis, final

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European soccer body UEFA needs to consider "very carefully" whether the semi-finals and final of the European Championship should be held in Britain, which is experiencing a surge…

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EU picks antibody treatments, arthritis drug as preferred COVID-19 therapies

June 29 (Reuters) - The European Commission on Tuesday picked four antibody treatments and a repurposed rheumatoid arthritis drug by Eli Lilly for an initial portfolio of preferred drugs to…

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Britain expects agreement soon to ease EU ‘sausage row’

LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) - Britain expects to reach agreement soon with the European Union on extending exemptions on customs checks on chilled meat shipments to Northern Ireland, a spokesman…

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Telecoms execs call for overhaul of European regulation

Top telecoms executives called for a total overhaul of Europe's regulatory framework on Monday, using the platform of the Mobile World Congress to amplify their demands for unified oversight across the 27-nation bloc. "The European regulatory framework…

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Half of the Covid-19 recovery budget to be allocated to green projects / Malta News Briefing – Tuesday 29 June 2021

Updated 0835 - Newspaper Review L-Orizzont reports that the Cabinet approved a €320 million recovery plan, part of the EU Covid-19 allocation. The government will now present the plan in…

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Belarus tells EU envoy to go, withdraws migration help in sanctions row

Belarus on Monday told the European Union's representative in Minsk to return to Brussels for consultations and said it would stop helping the 27-nation bloc combat illegal migration as retaliation against…

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EU airlines, airports warn digital COVID certificate roll-out risks chaos

DUBLIN, June 28 (Reuters) - Groups representing Europe's largest airlines and airports have warned of chaos and hours-long queues unless countries better coordinate the roll-out of the EU's digital COVID-19…

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Malta’s cabinet approve EU recovery plan – report

Malta's cabinet approved the national plan of how intends to allocate and spend the €320 million EU funding recovery plan. 37 per cent of funds must be spent on green…

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EU plans new safety rules for the workplace wherever it is

BRUSSELS, June 28 (Reuters) - The European Commission plans to update its rules on worker safety to reflect the shift millions employees made to working from home during the COVID-19…

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EU countries approve deal to overhaul farming subsidies

European Union countries on Monday gave the green light to reforms of the bloc's huge farming subsidy programme, after a three-year battle over rules to make it greener and support…

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Germany seeks to ban British travellers from EU on COVID-19 variant worries: The Times

Germany will attempt to ban British travellers from the European Union regardless of whether or not they have had a COVID-19 vaccine, The Times reported https://bit.ly/35Tg3YZ on Monday. The German…

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EU countries approve landmark climate change law

BRUSSELS, June 28 (Reuters) - European Union countries on Monday gave the final seal of approval to a law to make the bloc's greenhouse gas emissions targets legally binding, as EU policymakers prepare a huge new package…

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MEPs adopt greener funds for regional development and cooperation

Parliament adopted three EU funds to strengthen the EU’s economic, social and territorial cohesion with a total of 243 billion euro. The so-called “cohesion package” comprises the European Territorial Cooperation…

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Brexit: five years after the referendum, here are five things we’ve learned

On June 23 2016 the UK went to the polls to decide the future of the country’s EU membership. The vote to leave the EU – decided by a slim…

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EU’s top health lawmaker urges UEFA to move Euro final from London

The final of the Euro 2020 football tournament should not be played in London due to safety concerns over the faster spread of the coronavirus in Britain, the European Union's…

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EU liberals push for safer vehicles, roads in bid to reduce traffic fatalities

In 2019, the last known statistical year, the EU suffered 23,000 deaths in road accidents, and 120,000 injuries. For the liberal grouping in the European Parliament, Renew Europe, this slaughter…

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EU privacy watchdogs call for ban on facial recognition in public spaces

Europe's two privacy watchdogs teamed up on Monday to call for a ban on the use of facial recognition in public spaces, going against draft European Union rules which would…

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EU and Canada set up a strategic partnership on raw materials

Today, the framework setting the ground for the EU-Canada strategic partnership on raw materials was formally adopted, following political endorsement at the EU-Canada Summit on 15 June. The partnership will allow both sides…

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Parties to Iran nuclear deal to meet on Sunday – EU

Parties negotiating a revival of the Iran nuclear deal will hold a formal meeting in Vienna on Sunday, the European Union said on Saturday. Iran and six world powers have…

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UPDATE – First plenary session of the Conference on the Future of Europe

The EP Plenary Sessions on Conference on the Future of Europe, an unprecedented, open and inclusive European democratic exercise, kicked off today. During his opening statement, Parliament’s Co-Chair of the…

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EU states back personal data flows with ex-member Britain

European Union member states have agreed that British standards for the protection of personal data are sufficently high that such information can continue to flow between the EU and its…

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Austria seeks to build coalition against softening EU budget rules

Austria is seeking to build a coalition of EU countries that would prevent a softening of EU budget rules when they come under review later this year and in 2022,…

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Euro zone trade surplus surges, but less than expected, in April

The euro zone's unadjusted trade surplus was almost five times higher in April than a year earlier, mainly thanks to a strong rebound in exports of machinery and cars, but…

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Quoting Irish poet, Biden ends EU trade war in renewal of transatlantic ties

U.S. President Joe Biden ended one front in a Trump-era trade war when he met European Union leaders on Tuesday by agreeing a truce in a transatlantic dispute over aircraft subsidies that has dragged on for 17 years.…

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After NATO, Biden turns to EU for renewal of transatlantic ties

U.S. President Joe Biden will intensify his post-Trump push to renew transatlantic relations on Tuesday, meeting with European Union leaders to cool trade tensions and join forces to beat COVID-19, uphold democracy and…

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UPDATE – ‘Whatever it takes’, UK’s Johnson warns EU over post-Brexit trade

Britain will do "whatever it takes" to protect its territorial integrity in a trade dispute with the European Union, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday, threatening emergency measures if…

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EU adds another rare blood condition as side effect of AstraZeneca shot

Europe's drug regulator on Friday identified another very rare blood condition as a potential side effect of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine and said it was looking into cases of heart inflammation…

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EU leaders to threaten UK’s Johnson with trade war over Northern Ireland – The Times

European Union leaders will threaten British Prime Minister Boris Johnson with a trade war over Northern Ireland, The Times reported on Friday, without citing sources. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron will use one-to-one meetings with Johnson on Saturday to demand that…

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First bond sale backing EU recovery fund imminent – EU Commission

The first bond sale to finance the European Union's coronavirus recovery fund is expected "imminently", the European Commission said in an investor meeting on Tuesday. The EU last week sent a request to 11…

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Big vs Small – How bigger countries’ tax deal will reveal rift in Europe

A global deal on corporate tax looks set to bring to a climax a deep-seated European Union battle, pitting large members Germany, France and Italy against Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Although the smaller EU…

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UK urges EU to help find “urgent solution” to trade to N.Ireland

Britain urged the European Union on Tuesday to help find an urgent solution to trade difficulties with Northern Ireland before the end of this month, saying there was no case…

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EU veto ‘hostage’-taking on foreign policy must end -Germany’s Maas

Germany's foreign minister said on Monday the European Union should abolish the right of individual member states to veto foreign policy measures as the 27-nation bloc could not allow itself to be "held hostage". His comments, which…

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EU patience wearing thin with UK on N.Ireland, weighing options

The European Union's patience towards Britain over Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland is wearing thin and the bloc will consider its options should Britain continue its "confrontational path", an EU official said on Monday. The European Commission and Britain meet on Wednesday…

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“America is back”: EU upbeat on eve of Biden’s Europe trip

U.S. President Joe Biden's trip to Europe this week will signal that multilateralism has survived the Trump years, and set the stage for transatlantic cooperation on challenges from China and…

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