Euobserver.com

"Our estimate is that the economic consequences will not be as serious as they have been last winter," economic commissioner Paolo Gentiloni told reporters when presenting the executive's economic recommendations for EU countries.

Norway currently has 90 oil and gas-producing fields, which could rise to more than 130. One way that harms the shift to a greener economy is because offshore wind and the burgeoning hydrogen industry are competing for the same workers.

If China is allowed unimpeded to break the law of the sea in the South China Sea, think about the repercussions elsewhere. It could ricochet into Europe's High North. In the Arctic, Nordic nations have overlapping claims with Russia.

Sweden's parliament is expected to confirm Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson as the country's first female prime minister on Wednesday morning after she secured a deal with the Left Party, AFP reports. The 54-year old finance minister, who took over as leader of the Social Democrats earlier this month, reached a deal with the Left Party to raise pensions in exchange for its backing in Wednesday's vote in parliament.

The Russian defence ministry said US strategic bombers rehearsed nuclear strikes on Russia from the east and west, flying just 20km from its borders, earlier this month, in what the Pentagon said was a normal drill, which had been "announced publicly". The Ukrainian air force also held drills on Tuesday, amid concern over a Russian troop build up, while Russian-controlled forces in Russia-occupied east Ukraine held large-scale exercises, Reuters reports.

The European Commission estimates up to15,000 people are currently stuck in Belarus, of which around 2,000 are close to the border with Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia.

Domestic judges in EU countries cannot be forbidden from seeking guidance from the EU's top court, or be disciplined for doing so, the European Court of Justice ruled in a case in Hungary.

The French embassy in Addis Ababa has urged French nationals in the country to fly out as quickly as possible, as anti-government forces from the Tigray region advance on the city. "All French nationals are formally called upon to leave the country without delay", it said in an email to expats Tuesday, Le Monde reports. The UK and US already made similar appeals to its citizens.

Total deaths across Europe from Covid-19 are likely to exceed two million by March next year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said, adding that the pandemic had become the number one cause of death in the region, The Guardian writes. Reported deaths have risen to nearly 4,200 a day, double the number being recorded in September, while cumulative reported deaths in the region have already surpassed 1.5 million.

The Brussels region has committed itself to become a 'zero-waste' city-region under Europe's Zero Waste Cities programme. It is the first capital in northern Europe to do so. The region's strategy includes a commitment to reduce waste by 20-percent per capita by 2030. By the end of 2022, among other measures, bio-waste separate collections will be mandatory for households and businesses.

The EU has drafted a legal mandate to sanction travel companies, including on land, air, inland waterways, and sea, which engage in or facilitate migrant trafficking to Europe, according to legal documents seen by Bloomberg. The firms could face suspended licences, limits on EU operations, and a freeze on transiting through the EU. The move comes after Belarus flew in thousands of people and forced them to cross into Poland.

MEPs on Tuesday voted in favour of the new Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) for 2023-2027 - without the support of Green lawmakers, who slammed the reform for "failing farmers and the environment". The CAP accounts for around €387bn, nearly a third of the EU budget. However, only a small portion of payments are subject to strong conditions. "The agricultural 'reform' has not earned its name," said Green MEP Tilly Metz.

Russian president Vladimir Putin will host the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan this week, days after some of the worst fighting between the Caucasus foes since last year's war over Nagorno-Karabakh, the Kremlin said, AFP reports. Putin will hold talks with Armenia's prime minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan's Ilham Aliyev in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi on Friday. The trio will meet on Putin's initiative, the Kremlin said.

EU lawmakers placed new obligations on 'Big Tech' companies to allow people to install the operating system and app store they want – forcing Apple and Google to open up their ecosystems to third-party app stores.

The number of commercial satellites in orbit is growing exponentially, as is space tourism - and with it, problems with debris. Does Europe want to join the race and invest in more satellites and future Moon or Mars missions?

"America is back" may have soothed souls in the past but today's world is a 'mix and match' one where nations don't want a binary choice between aligning with the US, or becoming part of Beijing's orbit.

Kazakhstan has never had an election deemed free-and-fair by credible international observers. Kazakh authorities show unwavering intolerance towards any group, movement, or party critical of the government, and have arbitrarily applied abusive 'extremism' accusations against political opponents.

The European Commission is seeking to harmonise the validity time-period of coronavirus vaccine certificates and any associated booster shots. "The European Commission is working with the utmost urgency to strengthen the coordination of free movement, including the length of validity and the role of boosters in the vaccination campaign," EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides told MEPs in Strasbourg on Monday. "We are determined to reverse the current wave," she added.

France and Belgium have appealed to EU border-control agency Frontex to help with aerial surveillance of migrant boats to the UK, Belgian daily Le Soir reports. "Frontex is helping in the south and east of Europe but must also do so in the north," Sammy Mahdi, a Belgian junior minister on migration, said. Some 25,600 people crossed the English Channel so far this year - triple the amount for 2020.

Some 75 people died when their boat capsized in stormy weather near Libya en route to Europe in recent days, according to the UN's International Organization for Migration. "Delaying rescue operations by up to five minutes can make the difference between life and death," it said. More will also die on the Poland-Belarus border due to winter weather unless Poland lets aid agencies help, the International Rescue Committee NGO added.