European Union

Hundreds of European lawmakers and staff travel to Strasbourg next week for the European Parliament's first session since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, though many think it is too early to return.

Commission unveils the European Semester, the EU is not the sound canon tester and Viktor Orban finds that he’s the court jester.

"For the first time, the offenses against the financial interest of the EU will be investigated in an integrated strategic manner by a prosecutorial body with supranational jurisdiction," EU chief prosecutor Laura Kövesi said.

Investigative journalism in Europe needed "legal" protection from the growing problem of malicious law suits, the European Commission and MEPs have said.

A Czech prosecutor said Thursday (3 June) that the case of the billionaire prime minister's conflict of interest as an entrepreneur and politician has been forwarded to the new EU prosecutor's office.

Greece has drawn criticism and scrutiny for alleged widespread pushbacks of migrants in the Aegean Sea, along with the reported complicity of the EU's border agency Frontex. Critics say the agency should pull out of Greece.

Greek authorities have begun rolling out vaccinations to asylum seekers in migrant camps, Ekathimerini writes. The government, which began vaccinating the general public in January, had been criticised by rights groups for being slow to include asylum-seekers, at risk in overcrowded camps where sanitary conditions are poor and social-distancing impossible. Of the 12,100 asylum-seekers on the Greek islands, about 9,400 live in official camps, according to the UNHCR.

Germany persistently violated EU limits on air pollution, the European Court of Justice said, in a ruling that could see the country face financial penalties if it fails to improve air quality in several big cities, Reuters reports. Air pollution in Europe has eased in the last decade, but remains the continent's biggest environmental health risk. Prolonged exposure to dirty air can cause diabetes, lung disease and cancer.

A study from the European Commission on Thursday revealed an increase of antisemitic online content during the pandemic. Comparing the first two months of 2020 and 2021, the study show a seven-fold increase in antisemitic content on Twitter, Facebook and Telegram in French, and over a thirteen-fold increase in German. On Twitter, for example, one such content in French received over three million retweets and likes.

An Irish subsidiary of Microsoft made a profit of €260bn last year but paid no corporation tax, as it is "resident" for tax purposes in Bermuda, The Guardian reports. The company, Microsoft Round Island One, posted profits last year equal to nearly 75 percent of Ireland's entire GDP – despite having no employees.

The European Commission unveiled its plans for an EU 'digital identity wallet' - an app that will allow citizens to store their national digital identification or driver licence on their phones to access public and private services across the EU.

Hungary has lost a legal challenge against a European Parliament vote that opened the way for the Article 7 sanctions probe into the erosion of democratic standards under prime minister Viktor Orbán's rule in the country. Budapest queried the abstentions.

Europeans' support in their national governments has plummeted since the pandemic began, while the image of the EU and trust in the 27-nations bloc remains strong and steadily increasing, according to two new surveys.

Denmark has passed legislation outsourcing asylum claims to countries outside Europe. The European Commission says it is illegal under EU - but notes Denmark also has a special opt-out on justice and home affairs issues.

The Covid-19 crisis has revealed that the current European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has neither the funding, the staff or – perhaps most importantly – the authority to lead an effective response to a pandemic in Europe.

The top European Union court dismissed on Thursday (2 June) Hungary's challenge against the opening in 2018 of a disciplinary procedure against Budapest for undermining democracy in the formerly communist country.

Spain plans to reopen nightlife venues in regions with fewer COVID-19 cases in time for the summer season as the country eyes an international tourism sector badly hit by the pandemic, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reported. 

Romania will exit coal by 2032 at the latest and pass a law by mid-2022 to address the closure of mines and adopt socio-economic measures to support coal communities and reskilling of worers, according to the country's official recovery plan.

Greek police on Thursday (3 June) said they plan to send out a high decibel message designed to deter would-be migrants after setting up two controversial "sound cannons" at the Evros border post with Turkey.

Denmark on Thursday (3 June) passed a law enabling it to process asylum seekers outside Europe, drawing anger from human rights advocates, the United Nations and the European Commission.