Analysis
Big tech: From Trump's best friend to censorship machine?
Trump's social-media ban and the power of platforms has come under public scrutiny in Europe. So what went wrong? And what's the best way forward?
News in Brief
- Putin holds out olive branch to Europe
- US snatched Russian anti-air system from Libya warlord
- UK to extradite alleged trafficker to EU despite Brexit
- EU puts trust in Boeing 737s after post-crash ban
- EU animal-export trade under harsh spotlight
- City of London wants to set rules for EU
- MEPs want 2030 targets to reduce consumption footprint
- Coronavirus cases worldwide pass 100m
Coronavirus
EU vaccine negotiator: joint-purchase doses will 'come first'
EU top negotiator on vaccines contracts defended the EU's joint approach on vaccinations - amid a wave of critics who blame the European Commission for not buying enough doses and calls for increased transparency.
EU vaccine-sharing could have 'strategic' value
Europe should share corona-vaccines with former Soviet countries on its eastern flank, for health and "strategic" reasons, according to 13 EU foreign ministers.
EU's AI military strategy poses 'threat to Europeans'
A new report warns that the use of artificial intelligence and autonomous arms are fuelling military escalation for future conflicts and threaten peace in Europe and worldwide.
Opinion
How to fix EU's weak Digital Services and Markets Acts
The recent attack on the US Capitol reveals the toxicities of digital media platforms, but the European Commission's proposed competition laws won't fix it.
Opinion
Together Europe can beat pandemics, Alzheimer's, cancer
Let's expand the EU with a Health Union where cutting edge research and world-class applications go hand in hand. For this, it is worth being European, believing in Europe, working on Europe, writes European People's Party leader Manfred Weber MEP.
Coronavirus
EU agency authorises Moderna vaccine amid blame-game
The European Medicines Agency has authorised the use of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by US company Moderna - while the EU is involved in a blame-game over a sluggish vaccine rollout across member states.
EU leaders to discuss vaccine roll-out this month
EU leaders regularly held video-conferences to coordinate the pandemic reaction last year, but countries and EU institutions recently began a blame-game over the sluggish roll-out of vaccines.
Column
BioNTech: Stop talking about their 'migration background'
I understand that the German-Turkish community - often subjected to condescension in Germany - celebrated the story. Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türecki represent scientific excellence and business success at the highest level.
Coronavirus
EU Commission pushes back on 'slow' vaccine roll-out
The EU Commission says the perceived slow roll-out of vaccines is due to production capacity, not the number of doses the EU has secured.
Opinion
We must have the courage to prioritise green sciences
The Danish government has committed to reducing Denmark's CO2 emissions by 70 percent by 2030. These are not figures made up for the occasion. They are the targets that scientists believe are the bare necessity.
EU faces long wait for full vaccine supplies
The EU is still several months away from having enough vaccines to inoculate its 450 million people, with Pfizer and BioNTech, its principle suppliers, aiming for September for delivery targets.
EU rolls out vaccine, as UK-variant spreads
Most EU member states began rolling out the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against Covid-19 on Sunday, as a more contagious variant from the UK begins to spread on the continent.
EU gives first green light to Covid-19 vaccine
Member states can start vaccination programmes in the next few days, after EU approved the use of Pfizer and BioTech's Covid-19 drug.
New corona-strain already in EU, as UK locked off
The new, more contagious strain of Covid-19 is already in the EU, with Sweden closing its border to Denmark, on top of a UK cordon sanitaire.
EU court rejects VW defence in 'Dieselgate' scandal
German car maker Volkswagen deliberately cheated EU emissions tests by installing "defeat devices", the EU top court has ruled, in a blow to industry in the 'Dieselgate' affair.
Brussels tightens cybersecurity rules days after attack
The European Commission proposed a reform of the bloc's cybersecurity rules . "The time of innocence is over. We know that we are a prime target," warned commission vice-president Margaritis Schinas.
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Latest News
- Poland imposes anti-abortion law amid EU concern
- The EU's vaccine strategy - the key points
- EU-AstraZeneca row flares up after vaccines shortfall
- First Covid, now McKinsey - how austerity hit EU healthcare
- Frontex suspends operations in Hungary
- Cyprus: a heavy caseload for new EU prosecutors office
- MEPs: Portugal 'risks undermining' trust in EU prosecutor
- EU to control vaccine exports in row over delays
Online giants could face 10% fines under new EU law
The European Commission unveiled on Tuesday a package of proposals that set out legal obligations for digital platforms aimed at tackling illegal content and unfair practices in today's digital environment.
EU rules to take terror content down in an hour agreed
A partial agreement has been reached to prevent the dissemination of terrorist content online, pushing companies like Facebook or YouTube to remove or disable access to this material within one hour.
Corona-hackers targeted EU officials with bogus emails
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.
Opinion
Google, Fitbit, and a big decision for EU Commission
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.
Opinion
EU's opportunity to curb online politics ads
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.
Investigation
EU taxpayers in the dark on US corona-drug deal
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 unveils new data rules, including 'data-altruism' clause
Brussels presented new rules on data governance, including a provision for 'data altruism', in a bid to tap the potential of mass-volume information storage - and compete with the US, China and Asia.
Coronavirus
EU stands by anti-Covid drug, despite WHO doubts
A panel at the World Health Organisation said the antiviral drug remdesivir was 'ineffective' in treating Covid-19. But tens of thousands of doses have already been distributed throughout the EU and a €1bn contract signed with Gilead.
Coronavirus
EU could green-light two corona vaccines in December
EU leaders also agreed on Thursday on the need to clearly communicate the importance of vaccines amid rising scepticism, and avoid prematurely ending confinement measures.
Opinion
EU vs US tech agenda under Biden
What will the new Joe Biden administration bring to the realm of digital policy, and how will it affect the relationship with the EU?
Opinion
California's new 'gig worker' law - why EU must say No
Should Big Tech and gig platforms push for a policy similar to Proposition 22 in Europe, workers' rights could quickly become a ceiling rather than a floor.
Coronavirus
EU seeks new deal for '90% effective' Covid-19 vaccine
After an experimental Covid-19 vaccine developed by the American giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech was found to be more than 90 percent effective, the EU announced that it will sign a contract for up to 300 million doses.
Turkey to fine social media giants under new law
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Periscope, YouTube and TikTok were fined by Turkish authoirties for failing to appoint a representative able to address complaints, as required by a new law.
EU Commission sticks to €20bn AI target, despite Covid
Despite the coronavirus crisis, the European Commission wants member states to attract more than €20bn of investment in artificial intelligence (AI) annually over the next decade to make Europe a leader of so-called 'trustworthy artificial intelligence'.
Opinion
To beat cancer, Commission must first beat chemicals lobby
The EU Commission wants to reduce cancer rates in Europe. So it's imperative this week's chemicals strategy properly regulates substances that can cause cancer - despite the efforts of the chemicals lobby, which has spent years successfully preventing tough action.
Concerned UK lawmakers push for faster Huawei 5G ban
A crossparty group of British MPs urged the government to consider removing Huawei from the country's 5G networks as soon as 2025 saying there is "clear evidence of collusion" between Huawei and the Chinese state.
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