European Union

Poland was among the leading EU destinations for Chinese investment in 2020, the Polish Economic Institute (PIE) announced on Thursday. According to the institute, the total value of Chinese investment projects in Poland last year could be estimated at approximately...

Czech directors Ondřej Provazník and Martin Dušek filmed a short video message to be shown before the screening of their movie Old-Timers on Thursday (April 15) at the Czech Film Carnival in Budapest, writes Parameter.sk via Respekt.cz. One of the directors wrote “Ban Orbán” on a board while the other...

Fake offers of 1.1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines from supposed intermediaries to EU governments are currently in the market, said Ville Itälä, Director General of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). In an interview with Greek journal Ta Nea, Itälä...

Former Portuguese prime minister and leader of the Socialist Party, José Sócrates, will stand trial in the Operation Marquês case for money laundering and falsifying documents. Six years after he was arrested at Lisbon airport, 63-year-old José Sócrates is the...

The Turkish government has suspended contracts from Italian companies based in Turkey in response to the comments made by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi at a press conference Friday regarding the so-called ‘sofa-gate’ affair, calling Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan...

The UK lifted its coronavirus lockdown on Monday, reopening non-essential shops and gyms, and letting people go back to bars and restaurants, but only by appointment and while wearing masks and keeping their distance. The government was on track to reach its target two days early to offer vaccinations to 32m people in priority groups by 15 April, The Times reported, as the third wave continued to rage in Europe.

Libyan prime minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh and a delegation of ministers will shortly make their first visit to Turkey to meet president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan since taking office last month, the Turkish presidency said, Ekathimerini writes. Turkey had backed the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) against the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), which was supported by Russia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and France.

The EU has proposed extending a freeze on tariffs worth several billions of euros, imposed in a long-running dispute on aircraft subsidies with the US, from four to six months in order to help reach a "negotiated solution". "This would create a necessary breathing space for industries and workers on both sides of the Atlantic," EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis told German news magazine Der Spiegel on Saturday.

An incident at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility on Sunday was caused by an act of "nuclear terrorism", the country's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said, adding that Tehran reserves the right to take action against the perpetrators, Reuters reports. Israel's Kan public radio cited intelligence sources, whose nationality it did not disclose, as saying that Israel's Mossad spy agency had carried out a cyber attack at the site.

Merkel loyalist Armin Laschet (CDU) and Bavarian leader Markus Söder (CSU) have both said they are ready to run for Germany's chancellorship in September elections. The conservative Christian Democrat-Christian Social Union bloc must now decide. The CDU and CSU are part of a grand coalition with the left-leaning Social Democrats (SPD). Merkel - who has been chancellor since 2005 - said she would not stand again.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken will return to Brussels this week for discussions on Iran, Afghanistan and Russian activities directed at Ukraine, a US official said, Reuters reports. Blinken will join US defence secretary Lloyd Austin in Brussels. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity on Saturday, did not release additional details on the trip.

Less regionalised than Spain but more than France, Italy's institutional set-up is based on a complex patchwork of regions, autonomous regions, and autonomous provinces.

France, Germany, and the US have voiced "regret" that Russia declined to attend a meeting of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe to reassure the West that its military build up around Ukraine was not a preparation for full-scale war. "This approach does not help in dispelling concerns about the massing of Russian troops along the Ukraine border and in occupied Crimea," Poland also said.

On Thursday, MEPs in the Democracy, Rule of Law, and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group meeting will hear from Polish judges, prosecutors, and government representatives on the situation of the judiciary in Poland.

The European Commission has spent €252m of its farming advertising budget for 2016-2020 to promote meat and dairy products - raising concerns over the compatibility of EU agri-food promotion policy with the bloc's climate ambitions.

Russia has reassured the EU that its anti-coronavirus vaccines have not caused a single death, following EUobserver's report on potential side-effects.

MEPs start discussions on proposed rules for travel certificates and consider speeding up approval of vaccines adapted against Covid-19 variants.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

MEPs start discussions on proposed rules for travel certificates and consider speeding up approval of vaccines adapted against Covid-19 variants.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

On 13 April Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee will welcome Othman Jerandi, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad. Just two months after the launch of the new Agenda for the Mediterranean, the debate will allow to review the strategic partnership between the EU and Tunisia.
It will also be an opportunity to look forward to the value of enhancing cooperation and joining forces in the fight against climate change, addressing forced displacement and migration, and promoting peace and security in the Mediterranean region. The exchange of views will equally provide the opportunity to discuss Tunisia's strong commitment to reforms and to close dialogue and cooperation with the European Union on its reform process.
Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP