European Union

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.

The French morning ritual of a coffee and croissant became more complicated as people had to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test before taking a seat at their favourite cafe, though numerous eateries ignored the new rules.

World leaders, green groups and influencers reacted Monday to a "terrifying" UN climate science report with a mix of horror and hopefulness as the scale of the emergency dawned on many.

EU countries are stepping up their help to Greece to fight forest fires devastating its mainland and some islands, the European Commission said on Monday as it coordinated the assistance.

President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday a Belarusian sprinter who defected at the Olympic Games in Tokyo had been "manipulated" by outside forces and would not have fled abroad otherwise.

EU antitrust regulators have extended the deadline for a decision on Facebook's acquisition of U.S. customer service startup Kustomer by a week to Dec. 15, a European Commission filing showed on Monday.

Poland said it would introduce changes in September. Kaczyński said the move would test if the EU had a "semblance of goodwill".

Protesters took to the streets in France and Italy in opposition to Covid-19 measures that they say infringe on their civil liberties but which officials argue are needed to curb the coronavirus pandemic, Deutsche Welle reported. The protests come as European countries double down on efforts to get wide portions of their populations vaccinated in the face of the spreading Delta variant.

Officials on Greece's second-largest island of Evia have urged for more firefighting support as blazes prompt locals and tourists to flee, Deutsche Welle reported. The fires ripped through Evia's dense forests, cutting off escape routes on land and prompting rescues via sea. Air turbulence and surging wind from the fires on Evia are making it difficult for water-bombing planes and helicopters, said Civil Protection chief Nikos Hardalias.

Italy's former prime minister Giuseppe Conte has been officially elected leader of the 5-Star Movement, ending months of uncertainty and division since he was first asked to lead the troubled party in February, Reuters reports. 5-Star is the largest group in Italy's parliament following the 2018 elections when it took 32 percent of the vote. Its support has since ebbed due to infighting and policy U-turns.

Hungary ordered shops on Friday to sell products, including books, seen as "promoting homosexuality" in "closed wrapping", spelling out restrictions that have set prime minister Viktor Orban on a collision course with the EU, Reuters reported. The decree, issued last Friday included books seen as promoting gender change and containing "explicit" depictions of sexuality. It also banned any sale of them within 200 metres of a school or a church.

No one believes Ukrainian activist Vitaly Shishov killed himself in Ukraine, so who benefitted from his murder?

The EU has blamed Iran for a drone attack on a merchant ship off Oman in July that killed a Romanian and a UK national. "All available evidence clearly points to Iran," EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said Sunday, adding: "Such reckless and unilateral actions ... need to stop". The attack took place amid EU-led talks on an Iran nuclear non-proliferation deal, but Borrell did not link the two.

A truly sustainable economy will need to re-align the financial system around planetary boundaries, not ‘green growth’, writes Lily Tomson, head of networks at ShareAction. The European Environment Agency recently joined the growing list of organisations to acknowledge that there...

Europe has threatened further sanctions against Lukashenko after a year of intensifying brutality, which has begun to spill across the EU border.

Thousands of people have fled their homes on the Greek island of Evia as wildfires burned uncontrolled for a sixth day on Sunday (8 August), and ferries were on standby for more evacuations after taking many to safety by sea.

Iran's new ultraconservative President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday (8 August) named the chairman of a powerful state-owned foundation sanctioned by the United States as his first vice-president, the president's official website said.

More than 250 migrants disembarked in Sicily on Saturday (7 August) from an NGO rescue ship, while another vessel carrying around 550 people was given permission to land on the Italian island.

Poland will do away with a disciplinary system for judges which the EU's top court has ruled violates EU law, the head of the ruling PiS party said, in a bid to diffuse a row that could result in financial penalties against the country.