European Union

Britain's GCHQ spy agency is launching "offensive" cyber-operations designed to disrupt Russian disinformation on coronavirus. "GCHQ has been told to take out antivaxers online and on social media," a British government source told The Times newspaper. The same methods have already been used to "monitor and disrupt terrorist propaganda", the source said. Russia stands accused of spreading lies about the pandemic and vaccination projects to sow disorder in the West.

"I've always been a great enthusiast for a trade deal with our European friends and partners," British prime minister Boris Johnson told the AP news agency Sunday, but added he would still pass a bill enabling him to renege on a previous withdrawal agreement if needed. He spoke with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen by phone Saturday, who said "large differences" remained on fishing rights and state aid.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin by phone Saturday Armenia must withdraw from Azerbaijan's territory and "sit down at the negotiating table" for a peaceful solution to warfare over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Erdoğan's diplomatic overture to play a leading role in the conflict came after his military support for Azerbaijan. Russia has a joint defence pact with Armenia, if Armenian territory is attacked.

Police snatched another 360 protesters off the streets of Belarus on Sunday, as weekly demonstrations against rigged elections on 9 August continued despite the crackdown. Olympic decathlon silver-medallist Andrei Krauchenko and kickboxing champion Ivan Ganin were among those arrested, Reuters reported. About 60 medical doctors were also detained in a rally on Saturday. The EU blacklisted Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko on Friday, saying more sanctions could follow.

NGO ClientEarth, and other 13 organisations, have filed an injunction to stop a €3bn plastics-plant project expansion in Antwerp. The environmental groups are trying to prevent the clearance of woodland necessary for the construction of two extra industrial units before submitting a judicial appeal. "The Flemish authorities' decision to welcome yet more plastics refineries directly contradicts its own commitments to reduce plastic pollution and tackle climate change," ClientEarth said.

EU leaders and officials have congratulated Joe Biden on his victory in US elections, in what looked like a coordinated effort to stop Trump challenging the result.

Plans to reform the EU free-travel zone were already announced in September by the European Commission. On Friday, it re-stated those intentions following demands by the French president for a major overhaul.

The Interreg Med, a cross-border initiative of 13 countries around the Mediterranean Sea, has made the fight against climate change the cornerstone of its strategy for the next years - since the region is facing irreversible environmental damage.

As the US elects a new president, EU foreign affairs and trade ministers will discuss developments on Monday.

A new report published on Monday by NGO watchdogs Counter Balance and CEE Bankwatch Network exposes serious failures of the European Investment Bank in the development field.

F-gases, a family of refrigerants commonly used in fridges and air conditioners, are being phased out in order to prevent global warming from spinning out of control. But efforts to gradually ban the refrigerant have also created a thriving black market, which the European Union is struggling to contain.

Data is power. In the world of road transport, where vehicles and companies generate huge amounts of data, who holds this power? With no legal framework to regulate the use of business-to-business (B2B) data at the EU level, the question...

A fitness tracker app launched this spring in Germany to monitor the spread of COVID-19 indicates that recently imposed social-distancing measures have yet to slow a second wave of infection, the scientist leading the project told Reuters.

German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron have congratulated Joe Biden on his US election win, despite incumbent president Donald Trump's earlier claims of voting fraud. "Our transatlantic friendship is irreplaceable," Merkel said. "We have a lot to do to meet the challenges of today. Let's work together," Macron said. The Belgian, Cypriot, Greek, Irish, Italian, and Portuguese leaders also issued congratulations, as did the British prime minister.

Joe Biden has won US elections after taking the state of Pennsylvania, ending what some EU politicians have called four "nightmare" years of outgoing president Donald Trump.

Democrat Joe Biden captured the US presidency on Saturday (7 November), several major television networks said, as voters narrowly rebuffed Republican incumbent Donald Trump’s tumultuous leadership and embraced Biden’s promise to fight the coronavirus pandemic and fix the economy in...

At the initiative of the FEMM Committee, the European Parliament held its first ever European Gender Equality Week during the last week of October 2020.
2020 is a special year, marking the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. This important milestone provides an excellent opportunity to discuss the achievements and future challenges for the advancement of girls' and women's rights and gender equality. Therefore, the European Parliament held for the first time its European Gender Equality Week, which gave much-needed input to the long lasting battle for women's empowerment and gender equality as well as more visibility and recognition to gender mainstreaming in all policy areas.

Many committees took part in the Gender Equality Week and organized events during the last days of October, while some others will look into gender mainstreaming aspects in their fields of competences later this year.

Please consult below the Programme and details of events happening during the European Gender Equality Week.

Location : European Parliament
Programme of the Gender Equality Week
Watch again the committee events
Public Hearing on "Trafficking in human beings" (Joint LIBE - FEMM) (26 October 2020)
Public Hearing on “Beating Breast Cancer: Challenges and opportunities” (BECA, in association with FEMM) (27 October 2020)
Public Hearing on "Women and digitalisation" (FEMM, in association with AIDA) (28 October 2020)
Presentation on "Placing care at the heart of the EU’s recovery efforts" (EMPL) (28 October 2020)
Public Hearing on "Women in Transport" (TRAN) (29 October 2020)
Exchange of views on the "UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security" (SEDE) (29 October 2020)
Presentation of the Gender Equality Index 2020 (FEMM) (29 October 2020)
EP Research Service Topical Digest on "Gender Equality - A review in progress"
Communication
     Press release: "Parliament launches its first European Gender Equality Week"
     #EPGenderEqualityWeek on Twitter
     #EPGenderEqualityWeek on Facebook
     Speech of David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament
     Photos : [EN] - [EN] - [EN] - [EN] - [EN] - [EN] - [EN] - [EN] - [EN] - [EN]
Gender Equality week - Presentation video
Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

The European Commission on Friday urged online platforms to gird for a fresh wave of consumer scams linked to the resurgence of COVID-19 infections in Europe and said they need to work harder against the spread of disinformation related to the pandemic.

Democrat Joe Biden said Friday (6 November) that he was going to win the US presidency as his lead grew over President Donald Trump in battleground states, although television networks held off from declaring him the victor as officials continued...

The EU has imposed a visa-ban and asset-freeze on president Alexander Lukashenko and his son, due to the "gravity of the situation" in Belarus after rigged elections in August.