EU states have urged foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell to call emergency foreign ministers talks on potential Belarus and Turkey sanctions.

Just a few weeks ago, as Europeans in several countries put their furious debates about masks and corona appsinto higher gear, Turkey and Greece almost came to blows in the Aegean Sea.

Poland and Lithuania, Belarus' neighbours, have tried to lead the EU reaction to ongoing violence in Minsk, which so far claimed two lives.

The Stockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control is recommending EU states imposes new restrictions to stem the transmission of Covid-19.

Images of bloody injuries after police attacked protesters with batons and stun grenades marked Belarus' latest sham election, posing questions on EU sanctions.

With more and more trade moving to the digital realm, Europe can ill-afford to cut itself off. Meanwhile, China continues to advance a vision for an internet that is fractured along national boundaries and controlled by governments.