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US ambassador to Israel David Friedman rejected any notion of occupation when it comes to Israelis patrolling a future Palestinian state - citing the US military presence in Germany as an example.

The European Commission unveiled its "toolbox" of security standards for 5G - without excluding any specific telecom supplier, amid concerns over Huawei's links to China's intelligence services.

The European Commission has demanded its staff delay "non-essential" travel to China following the outbreak of the coronavirus. Crisis management commissioner Janez Lenarcic told reporters on Wednesday that commission officials and EU diplomats have been advised "to postpone or suspend all non-essential travels to China".

European crisis management commissioner Janez Lenarcic told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday they are coordinating with Chinese authorities to repatriate citizens from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Britain. Some 600 citizens from EU states are expected to be repatriated from China as fears of the coronavirus outbreak swell.

The premier of Catalonia, Quim Torra, announced Wednesday an early regional election amid tensions between the two pro-independence parties in his coalition. The Catalan Republican Left (ERC) did not support Torra's attempts to retain his voting rights, after he refused to comply with Spanish authorities to give up his seat in the regional parliament. ERC was essential for the success of the coalition led by Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez.

British MEPs said goodbye to the European Parliament as Brexit becomes reality. In the council of member states the UK microphone went silent.

The European Parliament on Wednesday passed the Brexit withdrawal agreement with 621 votes, 49 against and 13 abstention in the final act of the ratification process. All legal hurdles are now cleared before the UK leaves the bloc on Friday. MEPs bid farewell to their British colleagues in an emotional plenary meeting in Brussels. The UK is the first member state to leave the EU.

European People's Party president Donald Tusk told his group's MEPs that the suspension of Hungary's Fidesz party will continue - and vowed not to compromise on the centre-right party alliance's values.

The European Commission on Wednesday unveiled 43 new proposals spanning everything from climate change, and digitisation to migration. The proposals are part of its so-called 2020 work programme. "For the first time, we have integrated insights on long-term trends that are shaping our economies and societies," said Maros Šefčovič, vice-president in charge of interinstitutional relations and foresight.

The Vienna-based International Centre for Migration Policy Development is predicting possible migration flashpoints in Iran, Libya and South America over the next 12 months. Its director-general Michael Spindelegger says EU states are not prepared for a repeat of 2015.

The controversial Martin Selmayr never wanted the promotion to top EU civil servant, according to his predecessor. That short-lived promotion saw criticism from both the European Ombudsman and the European Parliament as inflicting "reputational damage" on the EU.

The majority of member states back the "policy first" concept of the Croatian EU presidency for the focus of the post-Brexit internal reform exercise. EU countries also want to make sure the EU parliament does not get to lead alone.

The first EU-wide climate law will be a "disciplining" exercise to implement the Green Deal - although the Polish climate minister Michal Kurtyka warned the EU Commission about the social cost of delivering the green transition.

Viktor Orban has seen to it that public authorities will not pay legal compensation owed to members of two particularly vulnerable groups: Roma victims of segregated education, and prisoners detained in conditions that violate their human dignity.

The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and the Greek government on Tuesday signed an agreement to better support the Hellenic asylum and reception authorities. EASO personnel will double from approximately 500 to over 1,000 in 2020: caseworkers will double on the islands and triple on the mainland. EASO's operations will require a financial commitment of at least €36m.

EU civil protection mechanisms were activated on Tuesday after a French request to support EU citizens in Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak . The EU will co-finance the transport costs of the aircraft. A first plane will depart from France on Wednesday, while the second one will leave later in the week. EU citizens in the region can still request to be repatriated, no matter their nationality.

The Leftist group GUE/NGL accepted on Tuesday MEP Martin Buschmann's resignation from the group, after it was made public he had been member of the German far-right NPD party in the 1990s. "We are troubled by the fact that the group, his party, and the public are only now being informed about this, and disappointed in the breach of trust that has been committed," the group said in a statement.

The president of the European Parliament said on Tuesday that the next Zagreb summit should play a key role in discussing a "renewed approach" to the enlargement process to make it more democratic, transparent and closer to citizens. "We firmly believe that enlargement will benefit the people of the region and EU member states and that it can bring about much-needed reconciliation in the neighbourhood," Sassoli said in a statement.

The UK government approved a restricted role for Huawei in Britain's 5G network on Tuesday, the BBC writes. The Chinese firm will be only allowed to supply 35 percent of "non-core" equipment to the network. And it will be excluded from areas near military bases and nuclear sites. Huawei was recently banned from US 5G networks over perceived security risks, such as espionage and sabotage.

German health authorities confirmed a case of coronavirus in Bavaria, Deutsche Welle reports. Earlier, a case was found in France too. The new pneumonia-like disease originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan and has already killed 106 people and infected more than 4,500. The US and Canada warned their citizens against traveling to Wuhan province, while France, Morocco, and Japan are preparing to evacuate their nationals.