Euractiv.com

Lithuania's ambassador to China says she has been asked to leave the country, one day after Beijing demanded that Vilnius recall its envoy over allowing Taiwan to set up an office under its own name in the EU member state.

Iraq has repatriated 370 of its nationals from the Belarus border with Lithuania, a government source said Wednesday (11 August), after accusations that Minsk has been encouraging unauthorised arrivals of migrants to the EU.

Latvian border guards turned back dozens of migrants into Belarus overnight under a new state of emergency designed to stem a flow of arrivals the European Union says is orchestrated by Minsk.

The European Union is not in a position to deal with a repeat of the migration crisis in 2015 and must try to keep people from fleeing the growing conflict in Afghanistan, Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi said.

Belarus has told the United States to reduce its embassy staff in Minsk and revoked its consent to the appointment of Julie Fisher as the ambassador in response to the latest sanctions by Washington, the Foreign Ministry said.

The Netherlands and Germany on Wednesday abruptly reversed course and said they would not for the time being deport Afghan citizens who are seeking asylum, given the rapidly escalating conflict in their homeland.

Spain's medicines agency has authorized the first round of clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Spanish company Hipra, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday.

The European Union on Wednesday decried the jailing of Canadian businessman Michael Spavor for 11 years in China for spying, saying he had been denied a "fair trial".

Germany's coronavirus vaccination drive has slowed and those people who have not taken up the opportunity to have shots will have to take COVID-19 tests to take a full part in public life, Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

Taliban insurgents tightened their grip on captured Afghan territory on Tuesday (10 August), now controlling 65% of the country, as US President Joe Biden urged the nation's leaders to fight for their homeland.

Latvia on Tuesday (10 August) declared a local state of emergency along its border with Belarus, as Lithuanian lawmakers approved the construction of a fence to stem an influx of illegal migrants.

Poland's prime minister dismissed the head of a junior coalition partner from government on Tuesday (10 August), creating uncertainty over the future of an administration that has set Warsaw on a collision course with the European Union.

Six EU countries have called on the European Commission not to halt the deportation of Afghan migrants despite an accelerating Taliban advance, officials said on Tuesday (10 August).

The European Union on Tuesday said there had been a "significant decrease" in migrants crossing the border from Belarus into Lithuania after Iraq halted flights to Minsk.

The European Commission will analyse Poland's decision to scrap a disciplinary system for judges which critics say is a tool to pressure judges, the European Commission said on Tuesday.

Power and gas exporter Norway should seek to reclaim authority over energy regulation from the European Union as a first step towards renegotiating its wider ties with the bloc, the leader of the eurosceptic opposition Centre Party told Reuters.

The Czech government delayed appointing a new head of its BIS counterintelligence agency on Monday (9 August) in a move seen as allowing Prime Minister Andrej Babis to keep the country's president on his side going into an October election.

The United States said it was up to Afghan security forces to defend the country after Taliban militants captured a sixth provincial capital on Monday (9 August), along with border towns and trade routes.

US President Joe Biden signed an executive order imposing new measures aimed at punishing Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko as the United States steps up pressure against his government in coordinated action with the United Kingdom and Canada.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis apologised on Monday (9 August) for failures in tackling the devastating wildfires that have burned across Greece for the past week as the country counted the cost in lost homes and livelihoods.