European Union

EU nationals will not be able to travel to the UK using their identity cards from October 2021 under new measures announced by the UK government on Thursday (8 October).

A leaked version of the EU-Mercosur treaty negotiation text, published by Greenpeace Germany, has no provisions to ensure the Paris climate agreement is enforced, leaving the door open to further deforestation in the Amazon, campaigners say.

In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about EU travellers travelling to the UK can no longer present their identity cards, as well as so much more.

Kyrgyzstan’s President Sooronbai Jeenbekov said he was ready to resign once a new cabinet was appointed to end the power vacuum in the Central Asian nation gripped by unrest since opposition supporters seized government buildings on Tuesday.

The ​Media Freedom Rapid Response​ partners and media freedom organisations strongly condemn the decision by the High Court of Montenegro to sentence investigative journalist Jovo Martinović​ to one year in prison for participating in drug trafficking. “The court refused to...

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.