Europe

EU Leaders Attend Summit In Person For 1st Time This Year

European Union leaders and their large following of diplomats and advisers met Friday in Portugal for two days of in-person talks, signaling their belief that the threat from COVID-19 on the continent is waning amid a quickening vaccine rollout. The pandemic was a constant presence, however. Meeting face-to-face for the first time this year, the […]

Europe’s Economy Slides Back Into Recession

The European Union’s economy is back in recession. Gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.4 percent in the first quarter due to the effects of the pandemic, following a decline of half a percent from the fourth quarter. According to Eurostat. The economic downturn was even more pronounced in the euro area, reaching 0.6 percent from […]

Russia Expels European Diplomats Over Czech Claims About 2014 Explosion

Russia has expelled seven European diplomats from Slovakia and three Baltic states over accusations by the Czech Republic that Russian spies were involved in an arms depot explosion in 2014. The Russian foreign ministry announced Wednesday that three diplomats at the Slovak Embassy in Moscow, two officials at the Lithuanian Embassy and one official each from the […]

Russia Demands Slovakia Return Its Sputnik V Vaccines

According to the state Russian direct investment fund (RDIF), Slovakia has violated the contract for the supply of this vaccine against covid-19. The fund, therefore, asked the Slovak government to return the shipment of this vaccine, Reuters reported. According to the TASS agency, RDIF stated that the Slovak State Institute for Drug Control (SÚKL) violated […]

Czech MEP Investigated Over China Ties

Czech member of the European Parliament Jan Zahradil is facing a formal investigation into whether he failed to properly disclose financial support from the Chinese Mission to the EU, Dutch media reported. In a letter to Dutch investigative magazine Follow The Money, a senior official confirmed that European Parliament President David Sassoli had instructed a group of key […]

EU Cuts Czech Republic From Extra Vaccine Deal

Austria, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic have been excluded from an EU move to provide millions of extra vaccines to hard-hit member countries, ending bitter negotiations over jab supply that have divided governments.   A coalition of 24 EU countries on Thursday decided on a “solidarity” mechanism that will provide 2.85m additional doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer […]

EU Tightens Coronavirus Vaccine Export Controls

The European Union will restrict exports of anti-cancer vaccines to countries that do not export vaccines themselves or are further vaccinated against covid-19 than EU countries. Today’s decision by the European Commission extended the scope of the export control system introduced at the end of January to force pharmaceutical companies to meet their obligations to […]