European Union

Bulgaria has said it will not change its opposition to North Macedonia’s accession to the EU following a meeting between Bulgaria’s new caretaker Foreign Minister Svetlan Stoev and Deputy Prime Minister for Judicial Reform Ekaterina Zaharieva.  Bulgaria is blocking Skopje...

Hungary handed in its revised recovery plan to the European Commission on Wednesday, under which the country will request €7.2 billion in grants, forgoing claiming €9.6 billion in cheap loans, after press reported that the initial plans of the government...

A quarter of EU citizens living in the UK do not feel they are treated equally to UK citizens, according to the first survey of EU citizens by the watchdog set to protect their rights published on Thursday (13 May).

The two opposition coalitions in the Czech parliament’s lower house said on Wednesday they want to initiate a vote of no-confidence in the minority government of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, with a possible date at the beginning of June, due...

The Polish government has brought forward by eight days the reopening date for cinemas, theatres, philharmonics and opera houses, allowing these establishments to operate at 50% capacity from 21 May as the country’s daily new coronavirus case numbers continue to...

“There is no question that the European budget rules have to change,” Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi told deputies during a Question Time session in parliament Wednesday. “My line on this issue, not from today, but for some time is...

The Greek authorities are currently discussing potential “benefits” for those citizens who have been vaccinated using the so-called vaccination certificate. Vana Papaevangelou, a member of the committee of experts of the ministry of health, said these are not incentives and disincentives....

Parliament was not able to vote on the EU’s €750 billion recovery fund as planned Wednesday as its debate continued after two EU officials made remarks that the arrangement could become a regular and even permanent mechanism to boost growth....

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has “apologised unreservedly on behalf of the UK government for the events that took place in Ballymurphy” on a call with Northern Ireland’s First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill on Wednesday,...

The Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption has begun its investigation of Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz for allegedly giving false testimonies on multiple occasions to the parliament’s investigation committee set up in the wake of the “Ibiza-gate” scandal and...

Five more countries will be added to France’s mandatory 10-day quarantine list, French government spokesman Gabriel Attal announced on Wednesday (May 12th). The list of countries will be released shortly, adding to the seven countries – Turkey, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,...

Germany’s governing coalition of the conservative Union of CDU/CSU and the Social Democrats (SPD) met in Berlin Wednesday to agree on a revision to the climate protection law as demanded by the country’s constitutional court, with new, ambitious goals, including...

The Russian Fund for Direct Investment (RFDI) has asked Slovak newspaper Denník N to withdraw a story, citing the Slovak authorities’ assessment of the Sputnik V vaccine, which it stated is “misleading.” The Slovak newspaper said it would not adhere...

A bill proposing the decriminalisation of abortion in Malta was tabled Wednesday (12 May) in parliament, a first for the Mediterranean nation.

Three years after the EU's flagship GDPR data protection regulation came into force, confusion over international data transfers following the landmark Schrems II ruling is hampering new technologies and jeopardising the bloc's digital agenda.

A senior EU official on Tuesday (11 May) defended European Commission plans to extend the bloc's carbon market to road transport, arguing that revenues generated could be used to offset the effects of higher fuel prices on the poorest in society.

An expert panel on Wednesday (12 May) blamed bad coordination as well as dithering by national governments and international organisations for the failure to tackle Covid-19 before it became a full-blown pandemic, as India's death toll topped 250,000.

Portugal's minister of foreign affairs has said that he would like Portugal’s EU Presidency to be remembered as the “one that rebalanced the relationship with Asia”.

Italy is pushing EU partners to revive migrant burden-sharing deals as it seeks to stave off a summertime surge in landings from North Africa, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said Wednesday (12 May).

A new regional election could be a possible way to unblock the political crisis in Catalonia after separatist parties were unable to reach an agreement and form a pro-independence executive, the Spanish government has said. EURACTIV’s partner EFE reports.