European Union

Microsoft teams up with EU publishers amid Facebook’s Australian spat

Microsoft and European media groups this week urged EU regulators to require online platforms to seek arbitration in disagreements over how to share revenues with news publishers, a sticking point…

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EU to keep COVID-19 curbs on non-essential travel

European Union government leaders will agree on Thursday to maintain curbs on non-essential travel within the EU despite the bloc’s executive asking six countries to ease border restrictions on Tuesday.…

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EU allocates €39 million for the most vulnerable in Bangladesh and Myanmar

The European Commission has announced today €39 million in humanitarian aid to address the needs of displaced and conflict-affected communities in Bangladesh and Myanmar, in particular in the context of…

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EU Agenda

23 February: Mr Josep Borrell holds a videoconference call with Ms Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Norway 24 February: Mr Frans Timmermans participates via videoconference call in the…

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European Commission looks to drones, space communication to get ahead in tech race

The European Commission on Monday announced three flagship projects - in drone technologies, space communication and space traffic management - aimed at giving the 27-country bloc a competitive edge in…

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UPDATED: EU to decide on extending suspension of Stability Pact in coming weeks

Europe will decide whether to extend the suspension of its rules limiting budget deficits and debt, known as the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), in coming weeks, the Commissioner for…

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Europe braces for pandemic reality to hit banks

Unpaid debt from pandemic-stricken borrowers has ravaged profits at Europe's big banks and kick-started a debate among politicians about whether they may ultimately need state help. Reflecting on the pandemic…

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EU plans eco ranking for planes, flights

The European Union is planning to create a new system to rank flights and aircraft according to their carbon footprint, German weekly Welt am Sonntag reported. The paper, citing documents,…

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EU to allow continued data flows to UK following Brexit

BRUSSELS, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Friday Britain's data protection laws were in line with the European Union's and that it would start a process to…

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U.S. ready to accept EU invitation for talks with Iran

The United States would be ready to hold talks with Iran if the European Union extended an invitation, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday, sketching out a possible diplomatic…

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Nagorno-Karabakh: EU allocates additional €3 million in humanitarian aid for conflict-affected civilians

The Commission has announced today €3 million in humanitarian aid to assist those affected by the recent large scale hostilities in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, including a significant number of displaced people.…

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U.S. Treasury’s Yellen vows to boost transatlantic cooperation

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stressed the importance of cooperation with the European Union in a call this week with the European Commission's vice president for the economy, Valdis Dombrovskis, on…

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EU civil rights groups want ban on biometric surveillance ahead of new laws

Civil and digital rights groups on Wednesday launched a petition seeking the support of one million Europeans to help pressure the European Union to ban biometric mass surveillance ahead of…

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EU proposes new Agenda for the Mediterranean

To relaunch and strengthen the strategic partnership between the European Union and its Southern Neighbourhood partners, the European Commission and the High Representative today adopted a joint communication proposing an…

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Strong EU trade enforcement rules enter into force

Robust new trade enforcement rules have entered into force that will further strengthen the EU's toolbox in defending its interests. With the update of the EU's Trade Enforcement Regulation, the…

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EU Agenda

16 February - Frans Timmermans holds a videoconference call with Mr Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Mr Josep Borrell participates via videoconference in the meeting…

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EU to launch study programme for COVID-19 variants: von der Leyen

The European Union will this week kick off a new programme to study mutations in the COVID-19 virus, in a bid to prepare for the next generation of vaccines that…

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EU calls on China to reverse ban on BBC World News channel

The European Union called on China to reverse its ban on the BBC World News television, the Associated Press reported on Saturday. China barred Britain's BBC World News from its…

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Worried by ‘systemic irregularities’, EU ties recovery funds to Hungary procurement reform

The European Union’s executive wants Hungary to reform its public procurement laws to curb what it calls “systemic irregularities” before billions of euros from the EU pandemic recovery fund become…

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EU drugs regulator plans to fast track variant-modified COVID vaccines

Europe’s medicines regulator is planning to speed up assessments of any COVID-19 vaccines that are modified to protect against variants of the virus, the head of the agency’s COVID-19 task-force…

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EU eyes spending first recovery funds before the end of summer

The European Union hopes to start giving out money from its 750 billion euros coronavirus economic recovery fund before the end of September, the bloc's top officials said on Friday…

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UPDATED: Russia says it is ready to cut EU ties if hit with painful sanctions

Russia said on Friday it would be ready to sever ties with the European Union if the bloc hit it with painful economic sanctions, a statement that Germany described as…

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EU, WHO team up to help with COVID-19 vaccinations in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine

The European Union and the World Health Organization said they would spend 40 million euros ($48.48 million) over three years to ensure better access to COVID-19 vaccines in Armenia, Azerbaijan,…

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EC sees a challenging winter, but light at the end of the tunnel

Europe remains in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic. The resurgence in the number of cases, together with the appearance of new, more contagious strains of the coronavirus, have forced…

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MEPs call for tighter EU consumption and recycling rules

The European Parliament adopted comprehensive policy recommendations to achieve a carbon-neutral, sustainable, toxic-free and fully circular economy by 2050 at the latest. The report, adopted today with 574 votes in…

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Exclusive Reuters report reveals EU faces bankruptcies and bad loans as COVID-19 help for firms ends

The European Union is facing a surge in bankruptcies and bad loans once the post-pandemic economic recovery starts to take hold and governments begin withdrawing state schemes that are keeping…

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Maltese economic recovery dependent on tourism says EC in Winter forecast

The Maltese economy registered a severe contraction in 2020 with limitations on air traffic, tourism and social activities being mainly to blame for an expected fall in real GDP of…

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EU told 1 million public EV charging stations needed by 2024

The European Union should set binding targets for one million public charging points for electric vehicles by 2024, and three million by 2029, to give consumers the confidence to switch…

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EU lawmakers back green conditions for COVID-19 cash, critics eye fossil fuel loopholes

Funds from the European Union's COVID-19 economic recovery fund could end up being spent on certain fossil fuels despite rules to ensure they are not invested in climate-damaging activities, officials…

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UK has more EU citizens than some member states, Gove says

The United Kingdom has granted settled status to 4.3 million European Union citizens, more than the population of some of the bloc's member states, indicating that Brexit has not led…

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Infringement procedures against Malta for not transposing new EU telecom rules

The Commission opened infringement procedures against Malta and another 23 Member States for failing to enact new EU telecom rules. The European Electronic Communications Code modernises the European regulatory framework for electronic…

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EU rebuffs UK demand to soften N.Ireland Brexit trade terms

DUBLIN/LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The European Union on Wednesday rebuffed a British demand to extend a grace period for checks on goods going from Britain to Northern Ireland, saying…

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Increase in business registrations and bankruptcies in the EU

In the third quarter of 2020, the quarter when COVID-19 containment measures were somewhat relaxed in many Member States, the number of registrations of new businesses in the EU saw…

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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…

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Malta: Country lagging in national and European waste management targets – Auditor General

The Auditor General Charles Deguara has said that Malta is lagging behind in attaining national and European waste management targets. Deguara’s findings were presented in a performance audit report tabled…

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Von Der Leyen says Astrazeneca will deliver 9 million more vaccine doses – UPDATE

Jan 31 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca will deliver nine million more doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to the European Union in the first quarter of this year, making a total of…

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Malta joins calls for changes to the proposal on adequate minimum wages in the EU

Together with a number of other European Union members states, the Maltese Government signed a letter in order to turn the proposal by the European Commission for the Directive on…

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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…

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EU pushes for access to AstraZeneca COVID vaccines from UK plants

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is pushing AstraZeneca to supply the bloc with more doses of its COVID-19 vaccine from plants in Europe and Britain after the company announced…

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European Union calendar

Here is the calendar for this week's events: 26 January: Ms Stella Kyriakides participates via videoconference in a virtual high-level stakeholder event for the launch of the ‘Code of Conduct…

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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…

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EU Commission proposes harsher travel restrictions

The European Commission is pushing for further travel restrictions both within its borders as well as for passengers coming from third countries. This plan builds on proposals announced by President…

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EU warns it may block COVID-19 vaccine exports over AstraZeneca dispute

The EU warned that it will block exports of COVID-19 vaccines outside of the EU over the AstraZeneca's announcement that deliveries will be reduced for a few weeks. On Friday…

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EXCLUSIVE-AstraZeneca to cut EU’s COVID-19 vaccine deliveries by 60% in Q1 -EU source

BRUSSELS, Jan 22 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca told European Union officials on Friday it would cut deliveries of its COVID-19 vaccine to the bloc by 60% to 31 million doses in…

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Pfizer cuts vaccine deliveries by as much as half to some EU countries

Pfizer has slashed in half the volume of COVID-19 vaccines it will deliver to some EU countries this week, government officials said, as frustration over the U.S. drugmaker’s unexpected cut…

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EU to tighten travel curbs for virus hot spots as third wave fears mount

The European Commission proposed to EU leaders on Thursday identifying "dark red" coronavirus hot spots from which all but essential travel would be discouraged after a meeting to discuss the…

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Malta: PM says time has come to create European vaccine certificate

In a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, PM Robert Abela said that the time has come to create a European vaccine certificate. Dr…

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European firms improve diversity scores in pandemic year, study finds

The number of major European companies with high participation of women in leadership positions has doubled over the past year, but there was less progress on top jobs, a study…

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EU reports nearly 300,000 excess deaths in 8 months of 2020

Around 297,500 more people died in the European Union between March and October last year compared with the same period in 2016 to 2019, according to EU data published on…

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Turkey-EU ties on better footing, EU’s Borrell says

Turkey and the European Union have started the year positively and steps to restart talks with Greece over hydrocarbons in the Mediterranean are welcome, but the EU remains concerned about…

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Spain pushes for vaccine certificates to ease travel resumption

Spain is pushing the European Union and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development for the creation of a COVID-19 vaccine certification that would ease travel, Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez…

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More than 230 rural roads built through European funds

Around 230 roads in Malta's countryside were built through the support of European funds. Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects Ian Borg and Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds Stefan…

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EU leaders convene amid vaccine delays, virus variant fears

European Union leaders will on Thursday seek to address the coronavirus pandemic’s mounting challenges, from containing more infectious variants to the threat of border closures and the slow roll-out of…

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UPDATED: British to face ban on entering EU under German plan to shut borders

European governments would be allowed to ban all UK residents from entering their countries and cut all passenger transport links with Britain under a German proposal to the European Union,…

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Russia applies for registration of COVID-19 vaccine in Europe

Russia's sovereign wealth fund has filed for registration of Sputnik V in the European Union and expects it to be reviewed in February, the official account promoting the COVID-19 vaccine…

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Commission takes further steps to foster the openness, strength and resilience of Europe’s economic and financial system

The European Commission today presented a new strategy to stimulate the openness, strength and resilience of the EU's economic and financial system for the years to come. This strategy aims to better…

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Toxic air seen cutting thousands of lives short each year in Europe’s cities

Tens of thousands of European city dwellers die prematurely each year due to air pollution, researchers said on Wednesday in a study ranking more than 800 cities according to the…

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