The European Commission will ban Ukrainian grain and oilseeds exports to Romania until June 5, Romanian Agriculture Minister Petre Daea said on Wednesday. Romania has stopped short of enforcing a ban, whereas Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia took unilateral steps to protect local markets from a flow of Ukrainian farm …
Read More »China tells EU president to get better speechwriter
Von der Leyen’s speech was contradictory and misleading, said Beijing’s envoy to the EU European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s speech ahead of her visit to China was incoherent, contradictory, and misinterpreted Beijing’s policies and positions, the Chinese ambassador to the EU said on Friday. “I was a little …
Read More »EU must cut risks in ties with ‘hardening’ China – EU chief
A hardening of China’s position from an era of reform and opening to one of security and control requires Europe to “de-risk” diplomatically and economically, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday. Ahead of next week’s visit to China with French President Emmanuel Macron, von der Leyen …
Read More »European Commission Bans TikTok
The European Commission (EC) has ordered its employees to uninstall the popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok from corporate devices, explaining the move as necessary to bolster cybersecurity. Staffers have until mid-March to comply or else lose access to their EC email and Skype for Business apps, EURACTIV reported, citing …
Read More »EU parliament sues European Commission over inaction on the rule of law
The European Parliament on Friday launched a lawsuit against the European Commission for perceived tardiness in applying a mechanism linking EU funds to rule of law in member states. “As requested in parliamentary resolutions, our legal service has brought an action against the European Commission for failure to apply the …
Read More »EU launches big climate plan for “our children and grandchildren”
European Union policymakers on Wednesday unveiled their most ambitious plan yet to tackle climate change, aiming to turn green goals into concrete action this decade and set an example for the world’s other big economies to follow. The European Commission, the EU executive body, set out in painstaking detail how …
Read More »EU gives TikTok a month to respond to consumer complaints
The European Commission said on Friday it has given the Chinese-owned video app TikTok one month to answer complaints from a European consumer group over its commercial practices. The EU’s executive arm said it has started discussions involving the social media platform and the national consumer authorities following an alert …
Read More »EU secures potential COVID-19 drugs from Roche, Germany’s Merck – source
The European Commission has struck deals with drugmakers Roche and Merck KGaA to secure supplies of experimental treatments for COVID-19, a Commission source told Reuters on Wednesday. The deals cover Roche’s arthritis medicine RoActemra and Merck’s multiple sclerosis drug Rebif – both seen as potential treatments for COVID-19 – and …
Read More »European Commission pledges €300 million for global vaccine access
The European Commission is pledging €300 million to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Commission announced on Thursday. Gavi is a Swiss-based global public-private partnership aiming to improve access to vaccines in poor countries. “It will help immunize 300 million children around the world and finance vaccine stockpiles to shield against …
Read More »EU executive to propose trillion euro recovery grants and loans
The European Commission will present a pandemic recovery plan next week that will exceed 1 trillion euros in a mix of grants and loans, Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said on Tuesday. Dombrovskis, speaking at a press conference after a meeting of EU finance ministers, welcomed a proposal put forward …
Read More »EU to hold donor conference on coronavirus vaccine
The European Union is set to hold an online fund-raising conference next month to support the creation of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus. The conference will be held on May 4 in close coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at …
Read More »EU ramps up pressure on Britain by delaying Brexit trade talks another month
The move could be designed to assert Brussels’ control over the next phase of the Brexit process Trade talks between Britain and the EU will not start until a month or more after Brexit, the European Commission has said. The announcement puts additional pressure on the tight timetable for a …
Read More »Europe agrees to develop more weapons independently of US
European Union governments gave the green light on Tuesday for 13 new defence projects in a step to develop more firepower independently of the United States. Under plans agreed by EU defence ministers in Brussels, work will begin on a new patrol vessel, an electronic jamming weapon for aircraft and …
Read More »Concerns by Iran’s latest nuclear steps.
Iran’s decision to take a new step to reduce commitments to a landmark 2015 nuclear deal is a concern, putting the accord at risk, the European Commission said on Tuesday. “We are concerned by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s announcement today to further reduce Iran’s commitment under the Joint Comprehensive Plan …
Read More »Vietnamese Blogger jailed over environmental protest.
A Vietnamese environmental activist and blogger have been sentenced to six years in prison under the country’s new law that cracks down on online dissent. Nguyen Ngoc Anh, a 39-year old shrimp farmer from the southern town of Binh Dai, was arrested and tried for what state media described as …
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