Tag Archives: European Union

EU Moves To Restrict Air Travel From South Africa

Euronews reports: Concerns over a new COVID-19 variant detected in South Africa have prompted fresh travel restrictions in Italy and Germany on Friday as Brussels mulls EU-wide flight restrictions. The European Commission will propose to suspend air travel from southern Africa amid concerns over the variant, EC President Ursula Von der Leyen [photo] said on Friday. The proposal could be …

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Orban: Hungary Will Stay In EU And Stay Anti-LGBT

Reuters reports: Hungary will not leave the European Union but will resist attempts from Brussels to erode its sovereignty, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told his Fidesz party on Sunday. Nationalist Orban, who faces a close parliamentary election next year for the first time in more than a decade, was re-elected chairman of Fidesz on Sunday. “After communist bureaucracy … we …

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Departing Merkel “Quite Worried” About Future Of EU

Politico Europe reports: German Chancellor Angela Merkel is worried “it is getting harder and harder” to find compromises between European Union countries on hot-button issues like migration and the rule of law. “It is imperative to do everything possible to find a way to keep Europe together,” Merkel said in a wide-ranging interview published in Saturday’s edition of German newspaper …

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EU Court Condemns Law Against Insulting Erdogan

Euronews reports: A Turkish law banning insults against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The court said the law against attacks on the “image” of the head of state was “not in keeping with the spirit of the European Convention”. The ruling followed a case against a young Turkish man who …

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Polish PM Accuses EU Of Blackmail In Supremacy Fight

The BBC reports: Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has accused the EU of blackmail in a heated debate with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen over the rule of law. The clash in the European Parliament follows a top Polish court ruling that rejected key parts of EU law. Mrs von der Leyen said she would act to prevent …

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“Catastrophic” COVID Surge Rocks Romania [VIDEO]

Radio Free Europe reports: The number of new coronavirus infections in Romania — with the second-lowest vaccination rate in the European Union — rose by 13,854 in the past 24 hours. Romania, one of the poorest countries in the EU, is suffering from a spike in deaths as a fourth wave described as “catastrophic” by President Klaus Iohannis takes hold. …

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Britain And Ireland Bicker On Twitter Over Brexit Deal

Reuters reports: Britain and Ireland traded barbs on Twitter on Sunday after British Brexit negotiator David Frost restated his view that the EU must agree “significant change” to the Northern Ireland protocol that governs trade and border rules in the province. The protocol was part of the Brexit settlement Prime Minister Boris Johnson negotiated with the EU, but London has …

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French President To Push For Global Death Penalty Ban

Politico Europe reports: France is to use its upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU to launch a global campaign to abolish the death penalty, President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday. In a speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in France, Macron said Paris would host a summit in 2022 to press for an …

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Hungary Backs Poland In Challenge To EU Supremacy

Reuters reports: Hungary has called on European Union institutions “to respect member states’ sovereignty” after it backed a Polish court ruling that some EU law is incompatible with the Polish constitution. Prime Minister Viktor Orban signed a Hungarian government decree on Saturday, his press chief told state news agency MTI, welcoming the ruling by Poland’s Constitutional Court which has plunged …

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Polish High Court Challenges Supremacy Of EU Law

Reuters reports: A Polish court ruling challenging the supremacy of EU law plunged the European Union into an existential crisis on Friday and raised the possibility of Poland leaving the 27-nation bloc. Politicians across Europe voiced dismay at the court’s move to undermine the legal pillar on which the EU stands, with one minister warning the eastern European country that …

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Google To Court: Bing’s Top Search Term Is “Google”

Bloomberg News reports: Google is so successful that it’s the most searched for term on Microsoft Corp.’s Bing search engine, the company’s lawyer told a European Union court on Tuesday. “We have submitted evidence showing that the most common search query on Bing is by far Google,” Alfonso Lamadrid, a lawyer for the Alphabet Inc. unit, said at the EU’s …

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UK Eases Visa Rules Amid Brexit-Fueled Shortages

The Washington Post reports: Hoping to ease a supply-chain crisis and forestall a Christmas logjam, the British government announced late Saturday night that more than 10,000 foreign workers will be eligible for temporary visas to work as truck drivers and in the food industry. The move is a departure for Boris Johnson’s administration, which, since Britain’s exit from the European …

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REPORT: US Set To Admit Vaxxed UK And EU Visitors

Yahoo News reports: The U.S. is reportedly set to reopen its borders to vaccinated passengers from the U.K. and European Union from November. The Financial Times reports that U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration will announce the changes on Monday, bringing to an end a gruelling 18-month COVID-19 travel ban that was first imposed by President Donald Trump. Citing multiple sources, …

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Orban Accuses EU Of Blocking Funds Over LGBT Policies

Euronews reports: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has accused the European Commission of blocking funds over the country’s LGBT policies. Orban claimed on Friday that the EU had failed to approve Hungary’s coronavirus recovery plan because of their disagreements over gay rights. “The funds are loans that Brussels does not want to give us because of the debate on our …

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Four EU Nations Ban Visits By Unvaccinated Americans

CNN reports: A French government decree issued on Thursday bumped the United States and Israel from the country’s “green” list, down to “orange,” effectively prohibiting nonessential travel to France for unvaccinated visitors. France’s move follow restrictions imposed on US travelers from several other European destinations. Earlier this week, Spain changed its entry policy for arrivals from the US, requiring them …

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EU May Withhold Poland Funds Over “LGBT-Free Zones”

Bloomberg News reports: The European Union threatened to block as much as 126 million euros ($150 million) of cohesion funds to local Polish governments over anti-LGBTQ zones introduced in five provinces. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, sent letters to the governors of the provinces last week warning that if the resolutions weren’t rescinded the money would be withheld. …

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European Union Removes US From “Safe Travel” List

The Associated Press reports: The European Union recommended Monday that its 27 nations reinstate restrictions on tourists from the U.S. because of rising coronavirus infections there. The decision by the European Council to remove the U.S. from a safe list of countries for nonessential travel reverses advice that it gave in June, when the bloc recommended lifting restrictions on U.S. …

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EU Set To Recommend Halting Travel From The US

The Wall Street Journal reports: The European Union is set to recommend halting nonessential travel from the U.S. because of Covid-19, diplomats said on Sunday. European officials have been considering the move for much of the last month with the average U.S. infection rate now above that of the EU. The Slovenian presidency of the EU last week recommended removing …

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Hungarian PM Plans Referendum On LGBTQ Rights

Radio Free Europe reports: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced plans for a referendum on child-protection issues to gauge support for controversial legislation that the European Union and activists see as discriminatory to LGBT people. In a Facebook video posted on July 21, Orban accused the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, of abusing its powers in challenging Hungary’s …

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Hungary Defiant On EU Sanctions Over Anti-LGBT Law

Reuters reports: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban vowed on Thursday he would not give in to EU pressure to repeal a new law banning schools from using materials seen as promoting homosexuality, as the bloc’s lawmakers called for penalties over the legislation. The law, which came into force on Thursday, has set Orban on a collision course with rights groups, …

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