European Union

The Greek government fully lifted the capital controls introduced during the crisis in 2015 on Monday (26 August), in a sign of its growing economic confidence following the end of the bailout programme last year.

Serbia is to sign a free-trade pact with the Russian-led Eurasian Union bloc, Russia's ambassador to Belgrade, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, said on Monday after meeting Serb president Aleksandar Vucic, the Associated Press reports. The accord, to be signed on 25 October, will "give new quality to future cooperation", Botsan-Kharchenko said. The move could complicate Serbia's EU accession bid, which entails Serbia aligning itself with EU trade and foreign policy instead.

In art, Belgium is internationally recognised as the land of surrealism, where reality and dreams are intertwined to offer a new perspective on the world. Life sciences is another Belgian specialty and a major historical export product, a group of authors write.

France's minister of public action and accounts, Gérald Darmanin, wants to reform VAT collection for e-commerce platforms. The French minister also wishes to draw inspiration from the EU's tax haven blacklist to establish a similar one for fraudulent platforms. EURACTIV's partner La Tribune reports.

The EU has little to lose and much to gain from such a move, not least to demonstrate moral leadership on an issue of global concern.

This event report covers some of the burning issues in the context of the European Institute of Technology's annual Digital Conference taking place in mid-September, where politicians and industry experts will get together in order to map out the future of Europe's tech landscape.

France said it was optimistic that U.S.-based social media platforms including Facebook and Snapchat would still sign a pledge to fight online hate speech despite a last-minute delay.

Space-related activities account for 10% of Europe’s annual output. While spending in the United States is still far ahead, innovative cooperation models and strong public commitment to space activities sustain the continent’s competitive edge on the world stage.

Brexit, trade wars, Iran: the heads of state and government of the G7 states failed to find a common stance on these issues at their meeting in Biarritz. French President Macron caused a sensation by receiving Iran's Foreign Minister Zarif on the fringes of the summit. In view of the paltry results commentators ask whether it's not time other states were included in the talks.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Macron still hope a solution can be found to prevent a no-deal Brexit. Macron, however, has shown little willingness to compromise regarding the backstop. How do things stand in the game of poker over Brexit?