European Union

Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal PMs to hold meeting on Friday

The prime ministers of Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece will meet in Rome on Friday ahead of a regular summit of European Union leaders, the Italian government said. A Greek…

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EU tourism surges back in December, Malta and Hungary were the most impacted by the pandemic – Eurostat

Tourists in the European Union more than tripled the nights they spent in short-stay accommodation in December compared with a year earlier, the EU's statistics office said on Monday, though…

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Recovery and Resilience Facility puts EU in stronger position to meet challenges of war – MEPs

The EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility better equips the continent to meet the new challenges brought about by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to Dragos Pislaru, a Romanian MEP,…

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EU plans to buy measles, polio vaccines for Ukraine refugees

The European Union is planning to buy and distribute vaccines against measles, polio, tuberculosis and COVID-19 to immunise Ukrainian children and other unvaccinated Ukrainian refugees, EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides…

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UPDATED: Drugmakers condemn plan for COVID vaccine patent waiver

March 16 (Reuters) - Global drugmakers condemned on Wednesday an initiative by four World Trade Organization members to introduce an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines, saying it could undermine the industry's…

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EU Finance Ministers seek common ground on energy strategy

European Union finance ministers on Tuesday (March 15) met to define a common EU strategy in a context of spiking energy prices due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Global energy market…

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EU digs deep with more Russia sanctions targeting energy, steel, defence sectors

The European Union formally approved on Tuesday a new barrage of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, which include bans on investments in the Russian energy sector, luxury goods exports and…

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EP agrees new rules of supervision of cryptocurrencies

MEPs agreed on draft rules on supervision, consumer protection and environmental sustainability of crypto-assets, including cryptocurrencies such as bitcoins. Tthe Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee adopted, with 31 votes to…

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Commission approves €2 billion of pre-financing for 12 Member States

The Commission has approved the disbursement of more than €2 billion under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve to a group of 12 Member States. This decision will make available a total…

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EU members should keep budgets ‘reactive’ over Ukraine crisis – France

PARIS, March 14 (Reuters) - EU governments need to keep their fiscal stances "reactive" in the face of the current Ukraine crisis with targetted measures for households and firms, French Finance Minister…

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EU gives initial agreement to board quotas for women, more talks needed

BRUSSELS, March 14 (Reuters) - European Union states have given initial approval to pushing firms to appoint women to at least 40% of non-executive director roles or 33% of all board jobs…

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EU agrees to freeze Roman Abramovich’s assets – diplomats

BRUSSELS, March 14 (Reuters) - Top European Union diplomats have agreed to add Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich to the EU list of Russian billionaires sanctioned after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, two diplomatic…

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Euthanasia pushed among proposals on Future of Europe

CDE News - Strasbourg A proposal on euthanasia made its way among the recommendations brought forward by citizens' panels from accross Europe debated today at a plenary session on the…

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UPDATED: Germany’s Scholz, France’s Macron demand Ukraine ceasefire in call with Russia’s Putin

UPDATE - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron called for an immediate ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict during a 75-minute phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin…

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Russia warns EU of soaring energy prices

March 12 (Reuters) - The European Union faces soaring energy prices in the wake of sanctions imposed against Moscow over events in Ukraine, Interfax quoted a Russian foreign ministry official as saying…

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EU to ban steel imports from Russia, luxury goods exports to Moscow

The European Union will suspend Moscow's privileged trade and economic treatment, crack down on its use of crypto-assets and ban exports to Russia of EU luxury goods and imports of…

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UPDATED: EU wants less dependence on imported chips, food, raw materials, as Ukraine war rages

VERSAILLES, France, March 11 (Reuters) - European Union leaders will say on Friday they want to cut their dependence on global suppliers of food, microprocessors, drugs, raw materials and digital technologies, as…

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A balanced distribution of migrants should be legally binding, CoFoE told

The creation of a legally-binding treaty ensuring the balanced and proportionate distribution of asylum seekers in the EU on the basis of solidarity and justice was one of the main…

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UPDATED: EU leaders to offer stronger bonds, deeper partnership to Ukraine -draft

VERSAILLES, France, March 10 (Reuters) - European Union leaders will offer to strengthen the bloc's bonds with Ukraine and deepen its partnership as the European Commission assesses if Kyiv is ready to…

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Germany’s Baerbock stresses need to bring Bosnia closer to Europe

SARAJEVO, March 10 (Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Germany and Bosnia-Herzegovina needed to work most closely and intensively on the issue of bringing the Balkan country closer…

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EP calls on Commission to stop EU funding for countries failing on rule of law

The European Parliament strongly called on the European Commission to apply the Rule of Law Conditionality Mechanism by notifying the member states concerned in writing, a move which will raise…

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European Socialists support phasing out of passport sales, want lists of beneficiaries to be published

European Socialists are supporting a proposal to phase out citizenship-by-investment schemes, also known as golden passports, calling on the Commission to come forward with legislation that would phase them out…

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Dramatic Zelenskiy call prompted EU move to provide arms

Early on Saturday morning, some 48 hours after Russian military forces had pushed into his country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy put in a call from Kyiv to Brussels with a…

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UPDATED: EU will take more steps against Russia if conflict worsens – von der Leyen

The European Union is waiting to see the impact of a slew of sanctions on Russia before imposing any more, but it is working on further steps that could include…

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UPDATED: EU checking if cryptoassets being used to bust Russian sanctions, Bans RT, Sputnik over Ukraine disinformation

BRUSSELS, March 2 (Reuters) - Russian state-controlled media outlets RT and Sputnik will be banned in the European Union with immediate effect for systematic disinformation over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the 27-country…

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UPDATED: EU Commission proposes temporary residence rights for Ukraine refugees

BRUSSELS, March 2 (Reuters) - The European Commission on Wednesday proposed to grant temporary protection to people fleeing war in Ukraine, including a residence permit and access to employment and social welfare.…

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MEPs demand tougher sanctions, no more golden visas to Russians

In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, MEPs demaned tougher sanctions on Russia and new efforts to grant Ukraine EU candidate status. In a resolution adopted on Tuesday, Parliament…

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LIVE: Metsola: “This is a whatever it takes moment” / Ukrainian President Zelenskyy addressing European Parliament Plenary

Update 1246 Whatever it takes: Metsola welcomes Ukraine's EU application, insists passport sales to Russians should stop "This is an outrageous invasion of a sovereign state. On behalf of the…

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Kremlin defends logic for actions in Ukraine, berates ‘hostile’ EU

MOSCOW, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Russia on Monday doubled down on the logic for sending its forces into Ukraine, saying Western arms supplies to Kyiv showed that Moscow was right to try…

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UPDATED: Czech PM, Polish President support Ukraine efforts on EU entry

The Czech Republic supports Ukraine's efforts to join the European Union, Prime Minister Petr Fiala was cited as saying by the CTK news agency on Monday. Fiala said it was…

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EU plans to grant Ukrainians right to stay for up to 3 years

BRUSSELS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The European Union is preparing to grant Ukrainians who flee the war the right to stay and work in the 27-nation bloc for up to…

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UPDATED: EU’s arms finance plan will deliver defensive weapons to Ukraine

BRUSSELS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - EU defence ministers will discuss plans on Monday to jointly finance deliveries of weapons worth 500 million euros to Ukraine, and these will include a range of…

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EU says expects more than 7 million displaced Ukrainians – Update

BRUSSELS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The EU's executive said on Sunday that Europe was facing its biggest humanitarian crisis in many years following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the number of Ukrainians…

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Italy backs EU measures against Russia, Italy’s PM says

ROME, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Italy gave its full support to the measures announced by the European Commission on Sunday against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said. …

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EU draft law would require firms to check suppliers for human rights, environmental ethics

The European Commission will unveil on Wednesday a proposal to make large companies operating in the European Union check that their suppliers from around the world do not use slave…

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EU vows sanctions for Russia’s recognition of Luhansk, Donetsk

The leaders of the three major European institutions were united in their condemnation of Russia's recognition of the breakaway Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk. The European Union said it will…

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UPDATED: EU tells Ukraine now is not yet time for sanctions on Russia

BRUSSELS, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The European Union will not impose sanctions on Russia just yet, its foreign policy chief said on Monday, rebuffing a call from Kyiv to take such steps now to avert…

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Russia could lose financial markets access, advanced goods if it invades Ukraine -EU chief

BERLIN (Reuters) - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen disclosed some details of the sanctions Moscow would face if it invaded Ukraine, saying Russia would be cut off from international financial…

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MEPs call for a ban on ‘golden passports’ and EU rules for ‘golden visas’

The draft legislative initiative report sets out an array of measures to address problems linked to ‘citizenship and residence by investment schemes’. The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home…

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Reports EU, China set to hold April 1 summit

European Union and Chinese leaders are set to hold a virtual summit on April 1 after repeated delays, senior EU diplomats told POLITICO. The meeting is widely seen as a…

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SWIFT off Russia sanctions list, state banks likely target -U.S., EU officials

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and European officials are finalizing an extensive package of sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine that targets major Russian banks, but does not include banning Russia from…

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EU, Gates Foundation to support African medicines agency

BRUSSELS, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The European Union and the Gates Foundation are set to announce a package of financial support for the nascent African Medicines Agency (AMA) in a…

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MEP David Casa’s Social Climate Fund Report formally presented to Parliament

The report on the Social Climate Fund has been presented to the European Parliament, as progress ramps up on the new €72.2 billion initiative. “I am proud of the brisk…

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Taiwan sees ‘enormous’ room for chip cooperation with EU

TAIPEI, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Taiwan's government believes there is "enormous" room for cooperation with the European Union on semiconductors, responding to plans from the bloc to boost its chip…

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EU wants pandemic treaty to ban wildlife markets, reward virus detection

BRUSSELS, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The European Union is pushing for a global deal aimed at preventing new pandemics that could include a ban on wildlife markets and incentives for…

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Ukraine: clouds on the horizon for Europe’s economy

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has warned of "geopolitical clouds" over the European economy due to possible fall-out from further escalation of tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine. From rising…

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EU membership retains widespread support around continent

The perception of the European Union among European citizens remains close to its highest level since 2008. According to fresh data presented today in the latest Eurobarometer survey, just under…

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Pope denounces “concentration camps” in Libya, urges EU to find solution to migration

VATICAN CITY - Dumping plastic in waterways is "criminal" and must end if humanity wants to save the planet for future generations, Pope Francis said in a television interview on…

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Switzerland aims for new EU talks on improving troubled ties

ZURICH, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Swiss President Ignazio Cassis wants to thaw frosty ties with the European Union by seeking a new package of bilateral agreements and believes his country…

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Fossil fuel subsidies to face tighter EU scrutiny

The European Commission wants to increase scrutiny of whether countries are phasing out fossil fuel subsidies fast enough to meet climate goals, under EU rules due this year. EU countries spent 56 billion euros on fossil fuel subsidies in 2019, with 15 states spending more…

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