WEATHER ALERT
EU orders biotech giant Illumina to unwind $7.1 billion purchase of cancer-screening company Grail
Read full article: EU orders biotech giant Illumina to unwind $7.1 billion purchase of cancer-screening company GrailThe European Union is ordering U.S. biotech giant Illumina to undo its $7.1 billion purchase of cancer-screening company Grail because it closed the deal without approval of regulators.
Europe signs off on a new privacy pact that allows people's data to keep flowing to US
Read full article: Europe signs off on a new privacy pact that allows people's data to keep flowing to USThe European Union has signed off on a new agreement over the privacy of people’s personal information that gets pinged across the Atlantic, aiming to ease concerns about electronic spying by American intelligence agencies.
EU proposes more forgiving debt plans a decade after crisis
Read full article: EU proposes more forgiving debt plans a decade after crisisThe European Union is considering more lenient economic recovery proposals that veer away from the grinding, top-down austerity rules that hit Greece and other countries during the financial and debt crises a decade ago.
Nations discuss coordinating Ukraine war crimes probes
Read full article: Nations discuss coordinating Ukraine war crimes probesThe chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has called for an international “overarching strategy” to coordinate efforts to bring perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine to justice.
EU rule of law report decries situation in Poland, Hungary
Read full article: EU rule of law report decries situation in Poland, HungaryThe European Union’s executive has decried the rule of law situation in Poland and Hungary and centered on perceived breaches in their judiciary and media in its annual report.
Bucolic Ukraine forest is site of mass grave exhumation
Read full article: Bucolic Ukraine forest is site of mass grave exhumationUkraine's national police chief says authorities are investigating the killings of more than 12,000 Ukrainians nationwide in the war since the Russian invasion in February.
EU wants to end golden passport schemes, targets Russians
Read full article: EU wants to end golden passport schemes, targets RussiansThe European Commission has recommended that the bloc's 27 nations end golden passport schemes that allow wealthy people — among them Russian oligarchs — to buy their way to EU citizenship.
The Latest: New Zealand condemns Russian actions in Ukraine
Read full article: The Latest: New Zealand condemns Russian actions in UkraineNew Zealand’s government summoned Russian Ambassador Georgii Zuev to meet Wednesday with top diplomatic officials who are urging Russia to return to diplomatic negotiations over Ukraine.
EU warns differing virus measures put free travel at risk
Read full article: EU warns differing virus measures put free travel at riskThe European Union is warning members that they risk undermining the 27-nation bloc’s COVID-19 travel and access certificate system with new uncoordinated restrictions some are introducing to try to thwart a surge in cases.
EU takes Poland to court over judicial independence concerns
Read full article: EU takes Poland to court over judicial independence concernsFILE - In this file photo taken on Monday, Oct. 5, 2015 a woman walks by the entrance to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. The European Union is referring Poland to Europes top court over long-standing concerns about respect for the rule of law and the independence of the countrys Supreme Court judges. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File)BRUSSELS – The European Union is referring Poland to Europe's top court over long-standing concerns about respect for the rule of law and the independence of the country's Supreme Court judges, EU officials said Wednesday. “It's a crucial step in the infraction procedure," EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said of the court referral. Tuleya, who was critical of the changes to the justice system, has become the symbol of the struggle for judicial independence in Poland.
EU tightens vaccine export rules, creates post-Brexit outcry
Read full article: EU tightens vaccine export rules, creates post-Brexit outcryUnder the post-Brexit deal, EU products should still be able to travel unhindered from the bloc to Northern Ireland. The “vaccine export transparency mechanism″ will be used at least until the end of March to control shipments to non-EU countries. The “advanced purchasing agreement” with the EU was signed in August, before the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine had been properly tested. The European Medicines Agency approved the vaccine on Friday, making it the third authorized for use by EU nations. The U.K. is thought to be paying far more for the vaccine than EU countries.
EU proposes more travel restrictions to stop virus variants
Read full article: EU proposes more travel restrictions to stop virus variants(AP Photo/Bob Edme, File)BRUSSELS – The European Union's executive body proposed Monday that the bloc's 27 nations impose more travel restrictions to counter the worrying spread of new coronavirus variants but make sure to keep goods and workers moving across EU borders. More than 400,000 EU citizens have already died from the virus since the pandemic first hit Europe last year. “The start of the EU vaccination campaign kicked off the beginning of the end of the pandemic," EU Justice commissioner Didier Reynders said. “At the same time, new, more transmissible variants of the virus have surfaced. Since the discovery of the new virus variants, several EU countries have already reinforced their lockdown measures.
France relaxes its ban on trucks entering from Britain
Read full article: France relaxes its ban on trucks entering from BritainQuick tests will be accepted if they are able to detect the new virus variant, Djebbari said. The problem, he explained, is that the empty trucks sitting in England can’t reach the continent to pick up deliveries for Britain. The virus is blamed for 1.7 million deaths worldwide, including more than 68,000 in Britain, the second-highest death toll in Europe, behind Italy’s 69,000. Switzerland was one of the 40-odd countries to ban flights from Britain over the new variant. ___Angela Charlton in Paris, Jo Kearney in Dover, England, Lorne Cook in Brussels and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.