Friday
4th Dec 2020
After the UK approved the use of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer/BioNtech, the pressure is mounting on the EU. But how are these vaccines approved in the bloc - and what is the legal liability?
Brussels is increasingly expected to serve as the European Union's sheriff on rule of law - but its ability to enforce adherence to democratic norms and values remains weak.
Brussels is now considering withdrawal from the controversial Energy Charter Treaty, if negotiations to modernise it fail. A leaked European Commission proposal, dated October, revealed that loopholes remain regarding the protection of fossil-fuel investment.
Hackers, most likely from a foreign state, have targeted the EU Commission with bogus emails to steal secrets on Covid-19 vaccines, according to US tech firm IBM.
In part of a series of planned measures, the EU Commission plans to better protect free elections in a digital age, strengthen independent media, and counter disinformation.
Disgraced former Hungarian MEP József Szájer tried to derail a European Parliament resolution against Hungary over rule of law in 2018, but an EU court official has said his case was likely "unfounded".
In the coming days the European Commission seems poised to green-light the acquisition of Fitbit by Google. The deal is a major threat to human rights and must be stopped in its tracks.
The EU has set out how to undo the damage caused by four years of US president Donald Trump's rule, by trying to "make multilateralism great again".
The Szájer affair exposes the extent to which Hungary's government is able to control the political narrative in the country, where independent media has been under attack for a decade.
"We are confident a solution can be found," a senior commission official said, adding that money from the recovery fund could start flowing in June, as originally planned.
The pandemic has both hampered access to mental health services, while increasing demand for psychological support, particularly in countries with the most severe coronavirus lockdowns. Meanwhile, experts warn that 'teletherapy' is not a universal fix.
Some MEPs now want a formal inquiry into Frontex, plus member states, and the European Commission over allegations of illegal pushbacks. Dutch MEP Tineke Strik says she has so far received backing from the Greens, liberals and far-left GUE.
Not just gas drilling, but also Turkey's human rights abuses will weigh in on EU leaders' talks on future relations, the EU Commission has said.
The EU will rise more united and stronger than ever, Alexander Schallenberg, Austria's Europe minister, told the 2020 Prague European Summit. Although national instincts drove the initial reaction to Covid-19, he said, the shift toward solidarity among members occurred quickly.
The impact of Covid-19 on the scale, demography and length of current protests cannot be underestimated. Newspapers have hailed them "the biggest demonstrations since the fall of communism in 1989".
More than 60 NGOs and media, including EUobserver, have signed a call for an EU-wide law to stop the rich and powerful from silencing critics with malicious litigation.
EU border-agency chief, Fabrice Leggeri, ought to resign over allegations of illegal pushbacks in Greek waters, the centre-left group in the European Parliament said.
Jozsef Szajer, a Fidesz MEP and close ally of Viktor Orbán, was found to be trying to escape down a drainpipe from the lockdown party.
Environmental organisations have brought the multinational Shell to court, arguing that their current policies violate human rights by knowingly undermining international climate goals.
The rest of the EU is now witnessing the kind of legal-political brutalism that these two governments, Poland and Hungary have been employing against their own judges, citizens, opposition and media for many years.
The EU border agency Frontex's annual budget for 2020 is €460m. Now they are launching court proceedings against two pro-transparency campaigners for not paying them €24,000 in legal fees after losing a case last year.
Beyond privacy, the EU should equalise political party access to online ads and improve the oversight of digital campaigning. It can borrow from how governments have curbed big money in politics.
China and Russia are posing an increasing threat to Western allies, as Nato tries to heal internal splits with the US and Turkey.
"If the UK wants a deal here, there's a deal to be done. If the UK wants to use fish as an excuse not to have a deal, then that could happen too," Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney warned.
Emissions regulated under the EU's carbon market fell by 9.1 percent in 2019, although aviation emissions continued to increased. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic is expected to lead to "an unprecedented fall in emissions" in 2020.
The European Commission says Hungary can secure the Russian vaccine Sputnik V but only if it invokes national emergency measures. It must also remain within the territory of the country.
You are not likely to hear this story, because it does not fit into the environmental activist or media narrative about American clean energy and will come as a shock to the most enthusiastic boosters of the Paris agreement.
The EU recently signed a huge contract for a US anti-corona drug which, the WHO says, might not work, but there's little transparency on how the deal was made.
EU countries have begun talks on which names to hit first with new-model human rights sanctions.
Lithuania wants a new EU cyber-security centre to hang its flag in a historic TV tower in Vilnius, on one of Europe's modern front lines.
Attempts by Amazon staff to unionise were met with court action in Poland, while in the UK the online giant checked workers' Facebook profiles for union activity. Meanwhile, extra coronavirus risk-pay for staff ended in May in most countries.
With only five weeks to go before the UK severs all ties with the EU, chief negotiator Michel Barnier warned that the "same significant divergences persist" between the two sides in post-Brexit talks.
Despite the current challenges, we have good reasons to be positive. The Mediterranean region has the potential to rise and recover if we put in the means and efforts to address them together.
