The company changing the way Romanians can shop for groceries and services

By Cristian Gherasim A Romanian company has launched Bob Concierge, the first fully automatic smart system of delivery stations that gets goods and services right to the lobby. The system is intended to work as an electronic doorman which provides customers, through the online platform and the mobile application, food and refreshments, cleaning and repair […]

Humanitarian Crisis in Central African Republic continues

By Candice Musungayi The humanitarian crisis in Central African Republic (CAR) doesn´t seem to end. The CAR has been under attack by armed groups for two months, ever since the armed CPC (Coalition of the Patriots of the Central African Republic) launched numerous attacks on key cities including the capital, Bangui, aimed at aborting the […]

Biden and von der Leyen agree to suspend Airbus/Boeing tariffs

By Catherine Feore Following a phone call with President Biden this afternoon (5 March), European Commission President von der Leyen revealed in a statement after the call that “as a symbol of this fresh startâ€� they had agreed to suspend all tariffs imposed in the context of the Airbus-Boeing disputes, both on aircraft and non-aircraft […]

Free Sinem Tezyapar!

By James Wilson Sinem Tezyapar (pictured) is in jail in Istanbul. She was sentenced by a kangaroo court in Turkey on flawed evidence to 867 years in prison for allegedly belonging to a religious sect organised by Adnan Oktar. She has been imprisoned for her religious beliefs and because she is an intelligent and articulate […]

Last chance to register for EAPM EU Presidency Conference

By Sponsored Post Hello, health colleagues, and welcome to the European Alliance for Personalised Medicine (EAPM) update – we are looking forward very much to the 9th EU Presidency Conference, under the auspices of the Portuguese EU Presidency, which takes place online on Monday, 8 March from 9-16h CET – the aim of the game […]

EU ready to take further steps if China amends Hong Kong’s electoral laws

By EU Reporter Correspondent In response to an announcement by the National People’s Congress in China that it would deliberate on amending the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the European External Action Service issued a statement saying:Â “If enacted, such reform would have potentially far-reaching negative consequences for democratic principles and […]

Fishing firms could go bust over Brexit, MPs told

By Guest contributor British fishing businesses could go bust or move to Europe because of post-Brexit trading disruption, industry figures have warned, writes the BBC. MPs were told paperwork due to new border controls had proved a “massive problem” and should be moved online. They also heard extra costs had made it “impossible” for some […]

Germany rejects EU executive call to ease COVID border curbs: letter

By Reuters Germany told the European Union it would uphold its latest border restrictions imposed to curb the spread of new coronavirus variants, snubbing calls from the bloc’s executive European Commission, Austria and the Czech Republic, write Gabriela Baczynska and Sabine Siebold. The Brussels-based executive last week asked Germany and five other countries to ease […]

Commission presents European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan and Effective Active Support to Employment (EASE)

By EU Reporter Correspondent On 4 March, the Commission set out its ambition for a strong Social Europe that focuses on jobs and skills for the future and paves the way for a fair, inclusive and resilient socio-economic recovery. The European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan outlines concrete actions to further implement the principles […]

InvestEU: EU programme to encourage investment

By EU Reporter Correspondent InvestEU continues EU efforts to boost investment in Europe, support the recovery and prepare the economy for the future. MEPs will debate and vote on the InvestEU programme for 2021-2027 during the plenary session taking place on 8-11 March. The programme succeeds the European Fund for Strategic Investments, established in 2015 […]

‘When will it end?’: How a changing virus is reshaping scientists’ views on COVID-19

By Reuters Chris Murray, a University of Washington disease expert whose projections on COVID-19 infections and deaths are closely followed worldwide, is changing his assumptions about the course of the pandemic, write Julie Steenhuysen and Kate Kelland. Murray had until recently been hopeful that the discovery of several effective vaccines could help countries achieve herd […]

EU says it expects financial services deal with UK, but trust an issue

By Reuters By Britain and the European Union are on course to agree a deal on regulatory co-operation in financial services this month, but the UK’s actions in Northern Ireland makes it harder to build trust, the bloc’s financial services chief said on Thursday (4 March), writes Huw Jones. “We are on track,â€� Mairead McGuinness […]

Commission approves French guarantee scheme mobilizing up to €20 billion support from private investors for companies affected by coronavirus outbreak

By EU Reporter Correspondent The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, a French State guarantee scheme to support the economy in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme aims to provide long-term funding to companies and thereby facilitate new investments supporting recovery from the current economic crisis. Executive Vice President Margrethe […]

EU vows legal response as UK moves unilaterally on Northern Ireland

By Reuters The European Union promised legal action on Wednesday (3 March) after the British government unilaterally extended a grace period for checks on food imports to Northern Ireland, a move Brussels said violated terms of Britain’s divorce deal, write Elizabeth Piper, John Chalmers, Conor Humphries, Sabine Siebold, Paul Sandle and Guy Faulconbridge. Since it […]

EU regulators approve $24 billion French scheme to help virus-hit companies

By Reuters EU competition enforcers on Thursday (4 March) cleared a €20 billion ($24bn) French scheme to help virus-hit companies via quasi-equity loans and subordinated debt, write Foo Yun Chee and Leigh Thomas in Paris. The European Commission said the scheme consists of a state guarantee for private investment vehicles, funded by private investors, that […]