European Union

More than 300 scientists mostly from EU countries published on Saturday (19 December) in the prestigious general medical journal The Lancet a proposal for a joint European strategy for the COVID-19 pandemic. EURACTIV re-publishes the full text.

A new strain of coronavirus has been discovered in over 1,000 people in the UK. According to initial findings, the mutation VUI2020/12/01 could be up to 70 percent more contagious. London has imposed a lockdown on the south of England where most cases of the new strain have been registered, and a growing number of countries are stopping traffic to and from Britain. What does this new situation mean for the British and for Europe?

The European Medicines Agency is due to reach a decision on approving the Biontech/Pfizer vaccine today. Once the agency has given the green light, the necessary approval by the EU Commission is considered certain and an EU-wide vaccination campaign could start before the end of the year. Commentators ask what Europe has learned on the long road to vaccine approval.

The US government has imposed sanctions against Turkey. It has banned cooperation with Turkey's defence industry with immediate effect in response to Ankara's purchase of Russian air defence systems. At its last summit the EU refrained from imposing tough sanctions on Turkey over its policy in the Mediterranean. What will happen now?

The abuse scandals and the recent constitutional court ruling on abortion have also sparked a discussion in Poland about the ties between the Catholic Church and politics. The rapid approach of Christmas prompts commentators to reflect on the place of the Church in society and politics today.

In a TV interview, Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf has described his country's coronavirus strategy as a failure. Sweden's independent coronavirus commission had previously issued a harsh judgment with its first report, saying that Sweden had not sufficiently protected the elderly and that the areas of responsibility had not been clarified. Commentators for the most part agree.