European Union

Despite still relatively high infection rates (the 7-day incidence rate on 14 May was 156), the strict lockdown in Greece has for the most part been lifted after around six months. The country also officially reopened its doors to tourists on Saturday. Greek media take stock of the general mood in the country.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday (15 May) rejected calls to bring forward the country's exit date for coal in power generation, currently set at 2038.

On Tuesday at 10.30, leading MEPs on the EU’s culture, education and youth programmes will brief the media ahead of the final approval of these flagship programmes for 2021-2027.
Committee on Culture and Education

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about Finnish football fans asked to stay home and not travel to games in Denmark and Russia, Czechia ending up on Russia's list of "unfriendly states", and so much more.

The European Commission press service has come up with a number of “ideas” about the future of press briefings in Brussels, seeking to make online events introduced during the pandemic a new norm and open to journalists across Europe. The...

The integration of all Western Balkan states with the EU would secure peace and stability in the region, said Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Slovenian counterpart Borut Pahor in Belgrade on Friday. “The EU must have the entire Western Balkan...

The European Commission is concerned about the situation in Slovenia although it has never treated Slovenia as a problematic member state since the country joined the EU in 2004, European Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič told daily Dnevnik in an...

The Green-left coalition of the We Can!, Zagreb is Ours, New Left, ORaH and For the City parties were projected as the biggest winners of local elections held Sunday, according to exit polls. The Green-left coalition’s mayoral candidate Tomislav Tomašević...

After a business trip to Pittsburg, Slovak Finance Minister and former PM, Igor Matovič, unveiled a €1.5 billion plan to decarbonise Slovakia’s U.S. Steel Košice steel mill, which aims to reduce the steelwork’s emissions by 80%. “There’s no other way...

Russia has published a new official list of “unfriendly states” featuring just two countries – Czechia and the US. According to the decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Czech diplomatic mission in Russia can employ a maximum of...

Poland’s ruling coalition announced a New Deal project for the post-pandemic era on Saturday, foreseeing a boost for the healthcare sector equivalent to 7% of the country’s GDP, with 6% to be reached by 2023. The 160-page document contains proposals...

The Hungarian capital’s mayor Gergely Karácsony has confirmed his widely expected candidacy for the pre-election of opposition parties for the prime ministerial post. “We have one life and one country,” said Karácsony, speaking in his hometown of Nyírtass, putting the...

Turkish coastguard vessels acquired with EU funding entered Greek territorial waters off the island of Chios on 26 and 27 April and tried to ram two Frontex vessels, in violation of international law and rules, Cypriot MEP Costas Mavrides (S&D...

The majority of people in Italy below the age of 35 earn less than €10,000 a year, with half of them still living with their parents, according to a survey carried out by EURES and the National Youth Council presented...

The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) is making a plea to the supporters of the country’s national football team Eagle-Owls to support them from home rather than travel abroad to attend the game, and this despite it being...

Newly-elected DUP leader Edwin Poots has accused the Irish government of damaging cross-border relations over their backing of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the Irish Times has reported. Poots, who has been chosen to take over from Arlene Foster as DUP...

Restaurants and pubs in the UK will start serving customers indoors and some foreign travel returns on Monday as part of the latest stage of easing COVID-19 restrictions. Sport stadiums will also start to allow spectators, albeit with social distancing...

Greenpeace says the formula used by Germany in 2020 to calculate the compensation it awarded to energy companies as part of its plan to phase out coal by 2038 contained favourable assumptions for energy companies, resulting in a miscalculated sum for...