European Union

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has designated Serbia as a high-risk country for the appearance of African swine fever, agency representatives said on Thursday (8 October). The EFSA has said that the virus is not dangerous to humans but...

While natural gas pipelines can be used to carry hydrogen, the cost of retrofitting infrastructure combined with end-user requirements at the local level, will determine whether blended or pure hydrogen is delivered to the final consumer, industry experts say.

The new economic and investment plan of the EU for the Western Balkans would be worth nothing if it is not accompanied by quick reforms. Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said in Belgrade on Thursday (8 October). “All investments are worth...

The Romanian and US governments will sign an agreement for a project of $8 billion on the nuclear power plant in Cernavoda. The project could be financed by an American bank, a US diplomat said on Thursday (8 October). The...

A new opinion poll suggests that Croatia’s governing party enjoys the biggest public support, with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković the most popular politician. A new poll found out that the leading party, HDZ (EPP) has the biggest support, 30.4%. But...

Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya visited Bratislava on Thursday (8 October) where she met with President Zuzana Čaputová and Prime Minister Igor Matovič. The Belarus leader also took part at the GLOBSEC security conference, a high-level international forum that was allowed...

Dozens of Czech scientists have signed a petition criticising the government’s decision to approve the construction of a canal connecting the Danube-Oder-Elbe rivers. The government approved the first phase of construction on Monday (5 October), arguing that a canal to...

After a lengthy captivity by Islamist insurgents, freed Malian politician Soumaila Cisse, French aid worker Sophie Petronin and two Italians arrived in Bamako on Thursday aboard a Malian military transport plane, Reuters reports. French president Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter that with this the last French hostage in the world was freed.

Belgium's ambassador to the EU noted, during Brexit talks in Brussels Wednesday, that British king Charles II had granted 50 Flemish fishermen from Bruges "eternal rights" to use British fishing waters some 350 years ago in 1666, The Guardian reports. The ambassador said it to make the point Belgian-British relations had long roots. Charles II had sheltered in Belgium after a civil war in the UK.

MEPs are requesting additional, new funding of €39bn for 15 EU programs. The German presidency argues that budget ceilings, agreed by EU leaders at a marathon summit in July, will be impossible to change without a new leaders' meeting.

The German EU presidency is striving to sort a political agreement on the migration and asylum pact before the end of the year. In reality, it means two months when factoring Christmas holidays.

A group of 86 MEPs wrote on Thursday to the European Commission urging a ban on all cages for farmed animals, highlighting that over 300 million farmed animals in Europe spend all, or a significant part, of their lives in such captivity. They said many EU countries have introduced national laws going beyond EU standards, while calling on the commission to create a level playing-field for farmers.

Two Belgian regional governments, the Brussels regional government and the government of the region of Wallonia have gone into quarantine after a minister in each tested positive for Covid-19. The minister-president of the Brussels region, Rudi Vervoort, announced on Thursday that he had also tested positive. On Wednesday the Brussels government decided to close all bars for at least one month as corona numbers are rising in the Belgian capital.

A Madrid court on Thursday struck down a government order imposing a partial lockdown on the city and nine surrounding towns, Reuters reported. The court sided with regional government chief Isabel Diaz Ayuso, who had opposed the order, saying it would ravage the region's economy. The court said the restrictions are an "interference by public authorities in citizens' fundamental rights without the legal mandate to support it."

A Paris appeals court on Thursday upheld an order for Google to negotiate with media groups in a dispute over revenues from online news, AFP reported. The ruling came as the US internet giant said it was close to a deal on compensating French media groups for news shown in Google search. Google has so far refused to comply with new EU rules giving more copyright protection to media firms.

Germany recorded more than 4,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, with health minister Jens Spahn calling the latest numbers "alarming", according to DPA newswire. Top health officials warned of a second wave that could be more severe than the one in the spring. The numbers showed 4,058 new infections, compared to 2,828 on Wednesday.

A crossparty group of British MPs urged the government to consider removing Huawei from the country's 5G networks as soon as 2025 saying there is "clear evidence of collusion" between Huawei and the Chinese state.

According to the World Health Organisation, poor mental health claims the lives of 140,000 people per year by suicide in the European region. Their lives could be saved if mental health care and support were properly funded.

While the leaders of Greece's Golden Dawn facing lengthy jail terms, the atmosphere remains tense in Athens and some other parts of Greece. Depending on the exact sentencing, further clashes between anarchist-leftists and remnants of the extreme-right may ensue.

AMENDMENTS 1 - 585 - Draft report on the foreign policy consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Hilde Vautmans

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP