Sunday
7th Mar 2021
The European Commission wants to control exports of coronavirus vaccines to outside the bloc, after pharmaceutical firms said EU countries will receive fewer jabs than they ordered due to alleged production problems.
European Democracy Consulting study said continued low numbers, or "even just a feeling of lasting under-representation", will lead to frustration and impact EU governance.
The European Commission has proposed additional measures to limit non-essential travel within and to the European Union - amid fears over more transmissible mutations triggering a new surge in cases across the bloc.
In the EU, women earn 14.1 percent less than men across the bloc - even though they have had the right to equal pay since 1957. The gender pension gap is at 30 percent.
Aside from the EPP, Hungary was also protected - at a member states' level - by key bilateral partners; and not only illiberal countries like Poland, Bulgaria or recently Slovenia - but most importantly also by Germany.
The debate over Fidesz had become an unbearable political burden on EPP - but it also represented a core dilemma for many centre-right, mainstream parties struggling to deal with their populist challengers.
Trump's legacy in the region is mostly linked to the bilateral accords normalising economic relations between Kosovo and Serbia. During the signing of the Washington Agreement, Trump allegedly pressured the Serbian president to move Serbia's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
According to a poll published on Monday, 56 percent of Italians want, in one way or another, Giuseppe Conte as their prime minister.
The World Health Organization warned of a surge in new coronavirus infections across Europe, pointing out healthcare systems should not be under pressure in some countries. Meanwhile, the European Medical Agency is reviewing Russia's Sputnik vaccine.
The special committee on foreign interference was created in June with the aim of assessing the foreign threat to European democracy - and identify possible tools to fight it.
MEPs are scheduled to vote on Wednesday to change the rules of procedure of the centre-right European People's Party parliamentary group to allow the suspension of a member party.
EU leaders have discussed how to accelerate the rollout of vaccines, amid fears over more transmissible mutations triggering a new surge in cases.
Ideas that are attacked are actually being promulgated. That has been the case for centuries, at least as far back as Thomas Aquinas. And that is certainly the case today with Facebook and Twitter.
At their summit, EU leaders will also discuss through a videoconference Covid-19 certificates, travel restrictions, and how to speed up the vaccine roll-out.
EU countries whose economies are dependent on tourism push for the introduction of passports that would allow holiday and business travellers to move between countries.
The European Commission has written to Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Finland, Denmark and Sweden, urging them to obey travel restrictions recommendations of the European Council.
Unionist politicians in Northern Ireland and England have threatened legal action against the Brexit deal due to trade disruptions.
Just 10 countries have administered 75 percent of all Covid vaccines so far - while some 130 poor countries have not yet received a single dose
The stubborn fact is that, election after election - and it's already three consecutive absolute majorities - anti-independence forces cannot convince the majority of Catalans that our democratic rights and a better future can be attained within the Spanish kingdom.
Hungary has two months to respond, after which the commission can again turn to the EU's top court and ask for Budapest to be fined.
Slovenia's populist prime minister Janez Janša attempted to discredit a Brussels reporter after she published a critical article about the state of media freedoms in the country. The European Commission condemned the PM's language - but refrained from naming him.
Czech president Václav Havel hoped that the region, with its 40-year experience of communism, could play a major and audacious role in the future of a never-changing Europe. That isn't happening.
Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki welcomed in the Wawel Castle his Hungarian, Czech, and Slovak counterparts Viktor Orban, Andrej Babis, and Igor Matovic, and European Council president Charles Michel, for the 30th birthday of the Visegrád Four group.
From Estonia to Moldova and from Slovakia to Georgia, the wider region of eastern Europe is increasing its number of female heads of state and prime ministers, seeing more women occupying the highest echelons of national politics.
The jailing of rapper Pablo Hasél, convicted of insulting the monarchy (among other crimes) has triggered reform of the so-called 'gag law' after nationwide public outrage.
Catalonia's separatist parties for the first time won more than half of the votes in Sunday's regional election - triggering renewed calls for a dialogue between Madrid and Barcelona.
The unprecedented events of 2020 pushed the LGBTI communities in Europe "to the brink", ILGA-Europe, an umbrella organisation for LGBTI rights said.
Flying below the radar, given the recent upheaval within the Italian government, is the small but significant steps taken to improve Italy's migration policies.
Draghi will surely win an upcoming confidence vote, but the formation of his cabinet triggered a rupture in the 5 Star Movement, undermining the stability of a key ally.
On Monday, yet another brick in the Hungary's democracy was removed, with the silencing of the Klubrádió station - with devastating implications for press freedom both in the country and the wider EU.
Existing loopholes provide ample opportunity for political actors to receive resources from abroad.
The European Commission admitted mistakes were made during the bloc's approval and rollout of vaccines - triggering criticism from MEPs who demanded more transparency and accountability, plus solidarity with low and medium-income countries.
While all governments are seeking to secure vaccines as fast as they can so they can open up their economies, so far only Hungary's Viktor Orban has chosen to break with the EU's vaccine strategy.
