Euobserver.com

Egyptian authorities are set to get an €80m cash injection from the European Commission for "maritime border surveillance equipment" and "for further equipment to be identified."

Germany has urged businesses and families to do their best to save energy as Russia tightens gas supplies. Experts said all EU member states should do the same.

European countries must assess media that pose a threat to their national security and impose sanctions in an "information war," EU commissioner Věra Jourová said.

French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian premier Mario Draghi and Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said they support fast-tracking Ukraine becoming an official candidate to join the bloc.

Ten countries warned on Wednesday against attempts taking place in EU capitals and the European Parliament to water down climate policies, Reuters reported. "Seen in isolation, these changes might seem justified or limited in impact, but adding them all up we risk missing the mark by 2030 and setting us on an impossible trajectory thereafter," reads the statement, signed by Denmark, Austria, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

Legal madness that's causing security worries not just for Lithuania but for wider Europe — that's how Lithuanians see a Russian initiative to un-recognise their independence.

Diederik Samsom, head of cabinet for Frans Timmerman and the EU's top official on climate, on why the EU Green Deal must not fail.

Ukraine's membership in the EU would reinvigorate Europe's tired institutions, address the Union's democratic deficit, and provide young Europeans with a model of democracy in action.

France has proposed a nebulous new European club for Ukraine to join, as president Emmanuel Macron visits EU-aspirant capitals on the Russia front-line.

The least developed countries account for less than 1.3 percent of global GDP yet host 27 percent of the world's displaced populations. High-income countries, by comparison, host 16 percent.

"Let's call a spade a spade, this is illegal," EU commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič said on the UK's move to introduce legislation suspending parts of the Northern Ireland protocol, as the commission launched several probes against London.

People in Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and the UK were just as worried about cost-of-living and energy prices as they were by Russia's war in Ukraine, according to a poll by the European Council on Foreign Relations. People in Poland, the UK, and Finland were more likely to favour "justice" by Russia's defeat in Ukraine, but those in Italy and Germany favoured immediate peace.

Denmark, Germany, Spain, and Britain are preparing to commit extra troops and pre-positioned equipment on Nato's eastern flank, including in Estonia and Lithuania, Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday after meeting defence ministers in Brussels. Turkey's objection to Swedish and Finnish membership "will take more time than we originally expected" to overcome, Stoltenberg added, after Turkey rejected Nato's proposal to mediate three-way talks on the issue the same day.

German BASF chemical giant's subsidiary Wintershall has piped €14bn worth of Russian gas across Germany in March, a report from NGO Global Witness revealed on Thursday. Wintershall made €400m in profits processing the Russian gas and oil in partnership with Russia's state-owned gas giant Gazprom, despite pledges to end their Russian business. About 40 percent of Germany's gas came from Russia in March, with purchases worth €2.8bn.

French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian premier Mario Draghi, and Romanian president Klaus Iohannis are likely to head to Kyiv for a visit on Thursday, several media reported. It would come a day before the EU Commission makes a recommendation on Ukraine's EU candidate status, along with Moldova and Georgia. EU leaders are expected to discuss the issue next week, with several EU governments remaining sceptical.

The European General Court in Luxembourg ruled against the European Commission after the Brussels-executive in 2018 levied a €1bn fine against chip-maker Qualcomm for abuse of dominance on the global market. The court, in a statement, invalidated the commission's analysis of the conduct alleged against Qualcomm. The court found a number of procedural irregularities had affected Qualcomm's rights of defence. The commission, in response, said it is studying the judgement.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday Europe is the epicentre of the Monkeypox outbreak — registering 85 percent of global cases. "The magnitude of this outbreak poses a real risk: the longer the virus circulates, the more it will extend its reach," said WHO Europe's regional director Hans Kluge, urging governments to enhance surveillance and diagnosis. The EU has purchased almost 110,000 vaccines doses to combat the outbreak.

The European Union will cooperate closely with the Egyptian government in the energy sector in the coming years, despite widespread concerns over human rights abuses in the country.

The European Commission launched on Wednesday a new infringement procedure against Britain after London proposed a bill unilaterally amending post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland earlier this week. The commission has argued that the move is a clear breach of international law. "Trust is built by adhering to international obligations. Acting unilaterally is not constructive. Violating international agreements is not acceptable," said EU commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič.

The United Kingdom's first flight to take asylum seekers to Rwanda has not taken off as scheduled after the European human rights court in Strasbourg issued last-minute injunctions to stop the deportation of the handful of people on board. The UK government's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda on Tuesday had been heavily criticised by opponents, charities, and religious leaders who said the deportations were inhumane,.