European Union

The European Court of Justice ruled on Thursday (17 December) that it had been illegal for car companies to install devices to defeat emissions tests and mislead motorists about diesel pollution levels.

The EU prestige suffered immensely as a consequence of its absence from any attempt to manage the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, write Borut Grgic and Bernhard Knoll-Tudor.

A look back on the highlights of 2020 - and the tweets that came out of it.

Belgian budget state secretary Eva De Bleeker tweeted EU-negotiated prices for coronavirus vaccines on Thursday, which were meant to be a commercial secret. The tweet was deleted and called "a mistake on the part of the communications team". But Belgian media, such as HLN, republished the figures: Oxford/AstraZeneca: €1.78. Johnson & Johnson: $8.50. Sanofi/GSK: €7.56. BioNTech/Pfizer: €12. CureVac: €10. Moderna: $18. Meanwhile, Belgium said it was spending €279m on vaccines.

A group of 86 refugee children, most of whom had previously been staying on Greek islands, flew to Hannover, Germany on Thursday as part of a resettlement program of 1,024 asylum seekers which began last July, Ekathimerini reports. The group that left on Thursday consisted of children with serious health problems, along with family members. In total, more than 1,500 people have already left for Germany.

The EU has blacklisted Minsk-based real estate firm Dana Holdings, saying president Alexander Lukashenko's daughter-in-law, Lilya, "has a high-ranking position in the company" and, "as such Dana Holdings/Dana Astra is benefiting from and supporting the Lukashenko regime". It also listed six other companies, two business tycoons - Aliaksandr Shakutsin and Mikalai Varabei - and over 20 regime officials. An EUobserver investigation earlier revealed Lilya's role in Dana Astra.

The United States on Thursday (17 December) reiterated a proposal already rejected by Moscow for extending their last strategic arms limitation treaty, appearing to close the door to talks in the final weeks of the Trump administration.

German car maker Volkswagen deliberately cheated EU emissions tests by installing "defeat devices", the EU top court has ruled, in a blow to industry in the 'Dieselgate' affair.

"On 27, 28, and 29 December vaccination will start across the EU," European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen tweeted Thursday, referring to the roll-out of a Pfizer/BioNTech anti-corona drug. All 27 EU states would get access from 27 December, whether they were rich or poor EU members, German health minister Jens Spahn also said Thursday in an online meeting, in what he called an "important signal of European solidarity".

Paul Rusesabagina, a Rwandan man portrayed heroically in US film Hotel Rwanda, who had lived in exile in Belgium and the US, has sued a Greek airline, GainJet, for helping Rwanda to kidnap him in August. He was meant to fly from Dubai to Burundi, but landed in Rwanda "bound and gagged", his US lawyers said. Rusesabagina, a government critic, is now in prison in Rwanda on terrorism charges.

Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar has freed a group of 18 Italian fishermen who had been held for over 100 days, the Guardian reports, with Italian prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, and foreign minister, Luigi Di Maio, due to fly out and meet them in Benghazi, eastern Libya. Haftar's gunboats had seized the men 80km out at sea on 1 September, amid a civil war involving EU states on opposing sides.

Spain lower house of parliament approved on Thursday a bill legalising euthanasia, despite opposition from right-wing political and religious groups. The law would enable those with "serious and incurable" or "unbearable suffering" to request euthanasia. The bill now needs to be approved by the senate, which can set amendments. If passed, Spain would be among the few EU countries that allow the practices - namely Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Eurostar has said EU travellers will have to declare excess amounts of alcohol, tobacco, cash, or luxury items when entering the UK after the Brexit transition on 1 January, with British and Belgian customs officers to patrol trains for checks. EU travellers will also get their passports stamped for the first time in decades. And customers were advised to check if their health insurance providers would cover cross-border costs.

The Spanish parliament (Congreso de los Diputados) approved on Thursday with a large majority a controversial bill to regulate euthanasia in the country, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reports.

EU tribunal said Hungary's legislation made it "virtually impossible" to make an asylum application. Restricting access to international protection procedure is a violation of EU rules.

EU minister for fisheries have agreed on fishing opportunities for 2021, with provisional quotas for the fish stocks shared with the UK. However, experts warned that some of these quotas will lead to overfishing "with detrimental effects on fish populations".

The EU is eager to claim that this step means that one of the 14 key conditions from the May 2019 European Commission Avis to achieve candidate status has been met. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from truth.

The European Court of Justice ruled Thursday (17 December) that authorities can order that animals be stunned before slaughter in a move decried by Israel and religious groups as attacking their traditions.

The green transition needs to happen at a local level, with citizens engaged in climate activism and policy, the European Commission said at the launch of the Climate Pact on Wednesday (16 December).

Norway should not try to renegotiate the terms of its membership of the European single market as some opposition parties argue, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said on Wednesday (16 December), citing Britain’s difficulties in negotiating its departure from the bloc....