European Union

UPDATED: EU sets up training mission so Ukraine can continue its “courageous fight”

BRUSSELS, Oct 17 (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers agreed to set up a mission to train some 15,000 Ukrainian troops from next month and to provide an extra 500…

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UPDATED: EU’s plans to cut funds for Poland “clearly illegal”, justice minister says

WARSAW, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Poland's Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro said on Monday the European Commission's plans to cut European funds for Poland unless it fixes its judiciary were "clearly…

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UPDATED: EU Commission set to propose potential ‘dynamic’ gas price cap

BRUSSELS, Oct 17 (Reuters) - The European Commission is set to propose this week a last-resort "dynamic" price cap for natural gas in the European Union and mandatory limits on…

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UPDATED: EU is leaving “naivety” behind with China, Dutch foreign minister says

BRUSSELS, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Dutch foreign minister Wopke Hoekstra said on Monday that the EU is leaving behind naivety when it comes to its relations with China. "There is…

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Five EU countries propose two options to cap gas prices

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece and four other EU countries made a joint request to the European Commission to explore two options to cap soaring gas prices and propose possible solutions…

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Europe’s centre-left urges majority voting in some EU foreign policy -paper

BERLIN, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Europe's main centre-left parties believe the European Union should gradually transition to majority voting in some areas of foreign policy, according to a draft paper…

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Billions of euros of EU funds misspent in error, fraud cases up – auditors

BRUSSELS, Oct 13 (Reuters) - More than 5 billion euros ($4.85 billion) of European Union funds were misspent last year, the bloc's auditors said on Thursday, as national authorities often…

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UPDATED: Irish energy minister does not expect EU gas price cap next week

DUBLIN, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Ireland's energy minister said on Thursday he did not expect a price cap on gas used in power generation to be agreed by the European…

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Latvian PM calls on EU to end all tourist visas for Russians

Latvia’s prime minister, Krisjanis Karins, has called on EU leaders to stop all tourist visas for Russians, reigniting the debate about further tightening sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Speaking to…

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EU housing prices rose by 48% since 2010, Eurostat says

(Reuters) - House prices in the European Union rose by 48% between 2010 and the second quarter of this year, the bloc's statistics office said this week. From the first…

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Europeans face big mental health issues despite COVID easing – survey

(Reuters) - The number of Europeans reporting "bad" or "very bad" mental health soared during the COVID-19 pandemic, even beyond the end of lockdowns, new polling showed. European Union agency…

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EU takes step to ease proposed curbs on foreign banks, document shows

LONDON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Foreign bank branches in the European Union would not automatically become a costlier subsidiary if their business reached a certain "systemic" size, the Czech EU…

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Ukraine to recognize 5 EU school education systems

Ukraine has agreed in principle to recognize the education systems of five EU countries, including Estonia, so thousands of refugee children studying in these countries will not have to repeat…

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Biden signs order to implement EU-U.S. data privacy framework

WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order to implement a European Union-United States data transfer framework announced in March that adopts new American intelligence gathering privacy…

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EU leaders squabble over energy crunch response

PRAGUE, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Divisions between European Union leaders over capping gas prices and national rescue packages resurfaced on Friday as they met at Prague Castle to discuss how…

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EU needs to provide more money to pay for military aid to Ukraine – EU foreign policy chief Borrell

PRAGUE, Oct 7 (Reuters) - EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell pushed the 27-nation bloc on Friday to earmark more money to pay for the military support of Ukraine. "I…

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‘Almost a luxury’: EU coffee prices up 16.9% in August

Oct 6 (Reuters) - Starting the day with a cup of coffee has become more expensive, the European Union's statistics office said on Thursday, highlighting a jump in the price…

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MEPs call for “massive increase” of military assistance to Ukraine

(English, Maltese below) Депутати Європарламенту закликають суттєво збільшити військову допомогу Україні Євродепутати закликали всі країни та міжнародні організації однозначно засудити фіктивні референдуми в Україні та спробу Росії заволодіти територією насильно.…

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EU eyes extending easier state aid rules as Ukraine war rages

BRUSSELS, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The European Union's executive branch started consultations with member governments on Thursday on a proposal to prolong more relaxed state aid rules and amend them…

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UPDATED: EU’s von der Leyen to press EU leaders on gas price cap

BRUSSELS, Oct 5 (Reuters) - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will impress upon EU leaders meeting this week the need for a gas price cap and to ensure…

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UPDATED: EU countries approve energy windfall levies, turn to gas price cap

BRUSSELS, Sept 30 (Reuters) - European Union countries agreed on Friday to impose emergency levies on energy firms' windfall profits, and began talks on their next move to tackle Europe's…

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Agreement on EU sanctions against Russia expected before summit – EU official

BRUSSELS, Sept 29 (Reuters) - An agreement on the next sanctions package against Russia is expected before next week's EU summit, or at least major parts of the package, an…

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NATO calls Nord Stream leaks acts of sabotage

BRUSSELS, Sept 28 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday attributed the leaks on the Nord Stream pipelines to acts of sabotage and said he had discussed the protection…

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Group of countries to push EU for gas price cap -letter

BRUSSELS, Sept 26 (Reuters) - A group of European Union countries want to push Brussels to produce plans this week for a bloc-wide cap on the price of gas, according…

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EU’s green shift depends on mammoth investment in energy grid – draft

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Investments of more than half a trillion euros will be needed to modernise Europe's energy grid this decade, if countries are to succeed in ramping up wind…

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Hungary submits new anti-graft bills to avoid loss of EU funds

BUDAPEST, (Reuters) - Hungary's government submitted a second batch of anti-corruption bills to the country's parliament on Friday as Budapest ramps up efforts to avoid a loss of vital European…

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EU considers more action to tame energy prices, fix liquidity squeeze

BRUSSELS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The European Commission is working on more measures to tame sky-high gas prices and support energy firms facing a liquidity crunch, and may lay out…

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EU ministers agree to press ahead with new Russia sanctions

UNITED NATIONS, (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers agreed on Wednesday to prepare new sanctions on Russia and increase weapons' deliveries to Kyiv after President Vladimir Putin ordered the country's…

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European governments spend half a trillion euros on energy crisis – Bruegel report

BRUSSELS, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Governments in Europe have earmarked nearly 500 billion euros in the last year to cushion citizens and companies from soaring gas and power prices, according…

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EU says support for Ukraine steadfast in face of Russian aggression

BRUSSELS, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The European Union's support for Kyiv will remain steadfast in the face of Russian aggression, the president of the council representing the bloc's 27 member…

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Hungarian government says it will submit first anti-corruption bill on Monday to avoid losing EU funds

BUDAPEST, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The Hungarian government will submit the first of several anti-corruption bills to parliament on Monday, its spokesman said, as Budapest scrambles to avoid losing billions…

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Norway seeks to help EU cope with gas price pain after Russia cuts

OSLO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Norway said on Thursday that sky-high gas prices were not in its interest and it would work with the EU to steady the market, although…

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Von der Leyen visits Kyiv to discuss bringing Ukraine closer to EU

Fresh from her state of the union speech, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has travelled to Kyiv to reinforce the bloc's support for Ukraine. She is due to meet…

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Poland against EU-wide tax on energy firms, climate minister says

WARSAW, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Poland is against introducing an EU-wide windfall tax on energy companies but may introduce a similar solution independently, Polish Climate Minister Anna Moskwa said on…

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U.S., EU step up pressure on Turkey over Russia sanctions – FT

Sept 15 (Reuters) - The United States and European Union are stepping up pressure on Turkey to enforce Russian sanctions, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. The United States is…

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Von der Leyen proposes crisis measures to curb energy price spike

The European Union will propose measures to cap revenues from low-cost electricity generators and force fossil fuel firms to share the profits they make from soaring energy prices, European Commission…

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EU eyes levy on fossil fuel firms to help consumers survive energy crisis

Fossil fuel firms may have to share their excess profits to help European households and industries cope with red-hot energy bills, a draft European Union plan showed on Monday as…

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WATCH: European Parliament “firmly behind” Ukraine’s EU candidate bid -President Metsola

The European Union's parliament supports Ukraine's bid to achieve candidate status to join the European Union, the parliament's president Roberta Metsola said on Friday at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit. "The…

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Hungary to set up anti-corruption body in bid to unlock EU funds

Hungary will create an anti-corruption authority and a working group involving non-government organisations to oversee the spending of European Union funds, the government said in a decree in its official…

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EU power industry urges governments to step in to avoid cash squeeze

BRUSSELS, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Europe's electricity industry body has urged governments to provide emergency credit to energy companies facing a liquidity squeeze from soaring collateral needs as power prices…

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EU energy ministers to discuss gas price cap, emergency liquidity help

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union countries' energy ministers will discuss options to rein in soaring energy prices including gas price caps and emergency credit lines for energy market participants, a…

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Europe to receive Omicron vaccines within days of approval, says MEP

Omicron-adapted vaccines will be delivered to the European Union within days of regulatory approval, European member of parliament Peter Liese said on Wednesday. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is expected to make a decision this week on…

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High energy prices should be tackled at European level, Czech leader says

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Monday that high energy prices afflicting Europeans must be dealt with at the level of the European Union (EU) as his nation prepared…

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EU chief plans overhaul of electricity market as prices skyrocket

"Skyrocketing" energy prices expose the limits of the European Union's electricity market design, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday, announcing plans for a structural reform. The market "was developed under…

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Russia burns gas into the atmosphere while cutting supplies to EU

Russia is wasting large volumes of natural gas by burning it in a huge orange flare near the Finnish border at a time when it has sharply cut deliveries to…

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Ukraine: 1,000 Ukrainian patients transferred to European hospitals

The EU has successfully coordinated 1,000 medical evacuations of Ukrainian patients via its Civil Protection Mechanism to provide them with specialised healthcare in hospitals across Europe. As the number of wounded people…

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Czechs mulling using EU presidency to call summit over energy prices

The Czech Republic, which holds the European Union's rotating presidency, is considering whether to call an emergency energy summit for the bloc to tackle soaring power prices, including discussing price…

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Most countries part of nuclear talks with Iran agree with EU proposal – Borrell

Most countries involved in nuclear talks with Iran agree with a European Union proposal that aims to save a 2015 nuclear deal, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Tuesday. "Most…

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Europe on course for new wildfire record this year: EU monitor

The European Union is on track for a record wildfire season, the bloc's fire monitoring service warned. Successive heat waves — part of a warming trend driven by climate change — and…

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Iran says EU proposal to revive nuclear deal could be ‘acceptable’

A European Union proposal to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal “can be acceptable if it provides assurances" on Tehran's key demands, the state news agency IRNA said on Friday, quoting…

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Poland to get recovery cash after meeting agreed milestones – Commission

Poland will get money from the European Union recovery fund only after it reaches the milestones and targets that the Polish government has jointly agreed with the EU in many months of negotiations, the European Commission said on Thursday. Poland is eligible for 24…

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