European Union

Hundreds of Hungarians took the streets of Budapest on Monday to protest against the alleged surveillance carried out by their government with the Israeli-made Pegasus spyware, according to Reuters. Journalists, businessmen, lawyers and critics of the Viktor Orban government were among those targeted for surveillance. Hungarian prosecutors have opened an inquiry into the allegations. During the protests, some chanted "Victator" - referring to the prime minister.

Energy poverty could be exacerbated ad prices rise under the European Commission's proposed revamped emissions trading scheme, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has warned, with other stakeholders raising similar misgivings. 

China said on Monday that the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), unveiled by the European Commission earlier this month, violates international trade rules and undermines global prosperity, Reuters reported. "CBAM is essentially a unilateral measure to extend the climate change issue to the trade sector," a ministry of ecology and environment spokesman said. As the world's main manufacturer of steel and cement, China could face high border tariffs.

Russian authorities have blocked access to the website of opposition figure Alexei Navalny, and his allies, ahead of the country's parliamentary election in September, The Guardian reported. Russia's state communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, argued the internet sites were being "used for propaganda" of extremist groups. Russian president Vladimir Putin introduced constitutional changes in 2020 to stay in power until 2036. Navalny was arrested in January, after recovering from a poisoning attempt.

A draft of a new report from the European Parliament's beating cancer committee does not distinguish between cigarettes and novel tobacco products on key points, signalling a tighter position on tobacco control, but some EU lawmakers are already mobilising to challenge this.

In today's edition of The Capitals, find out more about Poland considering making the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for healthcare workers, Macron discussing the Pegasus spyware case with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, and so much more.

Parliament’s former speaker, Trajko Veljanoski, two former ministers Mile Janakieski i Spiro Ristovski and the former head of the intelligence service Vladimir Atanasovski, all from right centre opposition VMRO-DPMNE Party, were sentenced on Monday to prison terms of up to...

The majority of Serbian citizens are in favour of joining the EU and see it as the leading donor and trade and investment partner, an opinion poll unveiled Monday and conducted by Ninamedia for the EU Delegation in Serbia shows....

Bulgaria is pushing for an end to “discrimination” against the Bulgarian minority in North Macedonia, with Bulgarian Rumen Radev discussing the topic with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Van der Belen on Monday in Vienna. Until now, Sofia has insisted on...

Most Slovak MEPs are consistently critical of Russia and China and supportive of EU foreign and disinformation policy, a new study by the Political Capital Institute that analyses voting patterns has found. “The spectre of authoritarian regimes is haunting Europe”,...

South and North Korea have restored hotlines that Pyongyang severed a year ago when ties deteriorated sharply, with renewed efforts by the two countries' leaders to rebuild relations, the South's presidential Blue House said on Tuesday (27 July).

The Czech government approved on Monday a memorandum between the state and energy company ČEZ on a future gigafactory project, which would produce batteries for electric vehicles, at a €2 billion investment from the state budget. According to news site...

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki admitted on Monday that the government is considering obligatory COVID-19 vaccinations for healthcare workers. “If the fourth wave of the pandemic is a serious threat, we do not rule out further steps”, Morawiecki said. Poland’s...

The Portuguese island of Madeira will maintain its curfew even if the mainland government decides otherwise following its meeting of the national drug authority to discuss the epidemiological situation on Tuesday, the president of the regional government has insisted. “I...

Wild fires have been devastating the Montiferru region of central-western Sardinia for the last three days, burning 20,000 hectares of land, destroying several farms and forcing thousands of people to flee. Following a devastating weekend, the situation appears to have...

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and the foreign affairs ministry are locked in a blame game over the last-minute cancellation of an award to be presented to a humanitarian worker who rescued migrants from the sea, with leftist MEP Stelios Kouloglou...

The quintessential French pate delicacy of foie gras cannot be called as such if it is grown in a lab, an association said Monday (26 July), after a start-up launched a high-profile bid to grow the food from duck cells.

Health experts have been told to exclude patients with COVID-19 from daily case figures if they are not admitted to hospital because of the virus, the Irish Independent has reported. Patients with appendicitis, for example, but who happen to test...

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Belgium is being fuelled by a fear of side effects and a distrust in media information, according to a new study, which found that only 33% of those unvaccinated plan to get the jab in the...

French President Emmanuel Macron called Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to express his concerns over the recent revelations that his phone was allegedly targeted by the Pegasus spyware – made and licensed by Israeli company NSO, Israeli television reported. Bennett...