Euobserver.com

An open letter, signed by 19 organisations representing Syrian refugees, wants Interpol to place safeguards to protect refugees from Red Notice abuse. It follows Interpol's decision to reinstate the Syrian government's access to its information system, allowing Syrian authorities to issue Red Notices. "There is a very real danger that the Syrian authorities will use Red Notices to try to target, arrest and extradite refugees,' said Fair Trials, an NGO.

Khalifa Haftar, a major figure in the Libyan civil war who wields wide sway over the east of the country, announced on Tuesday he will run in a 24 December presidential election that aims to help end a decade of conflict, France24 reports. Earlier this week it was reported that Saif Al Islam, the son of the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi, filed his candidacy for the elections.

Armenia on Tuesday reported an unspecified number of deaths, plus the loss of military positions, in border clashes with Azerbaijani troops - a year after the longtime-foes fought a war over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, AFP writes. The six-week conflict, which left more than 6,500 dead, ended last November in a Russian-brokered deal that saw Armenia cede swathes of territory it had controlled for decades.

Dubai, Turkey, and the Western Balkans are hotspots of criminality in the EU neighbourhood, according to internal reports, while Afghanistan's methamphetamine output was "expanding rapidly".

North Macedonia's minister of foreign affairs Bujar Osmani says Nato's presence - and regional maturity - means conflict remains unlikely in the event of Bosnia and Herzegovina's possible break-up.

A last-minute attempt by the Dutch government to scrap the country's dividend tax and keep Royal Dutch Shell in the Netherlands failed. The UK, along with Hungary, is the only country in Europe that does not levy a dividend tax.

In a joint letter, five European Parliament groups - from centre-right to far-left - called on EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to defend EU law and take all necessary measures.

A group of civil society organisations has urged EU commissioners to withdraw their participation from a top event organised in partnership with one of the world's largest cigarette companies.

People in Bishop Auckland who voted for Brexit are like the French who idolise Éric Zemmour because he blames France's misfortunes on Muslims, or like the Dutch who support Thierry Baudet, whose far-right party organises paramilitary training in plain view.

The death at the age of 56 of the leader of the successor social democratic party in Greece has opened up the possibility of a return to top table politics for George Papandreou

Russian travellers are flocking to Croatia to get jabs of EU-approved vaccines, according to Reuters. "Just this month we've had about 1,000 Russians who received vaccines. So far we have had altogether 4,908 foreign citizens here, most of whom are Russians," the head of Zagreb's biggest vaccination centre said. "Demand is not just big, it's avalanche-like and growing exponentially," an employee of Russian travel agency Russian Express also said.

A French court began hearing an appeal by former prime minister François Fillon against a conviction in a corruption scandal that torpedoed his presidential ambitions and sealed the rise of Emmanuel Macron, France24 writes. Fillon, a conservative candidate in the presidential elections in 2017, was charged with corruption after revelations that his wife Penelope was paid over €800,000 over 15 years for a suspected fake job as a parliamentary assistant.

Hungary's Constitutional Court has begun hearing a case challenging an EU court ruling saying Hungary broke EU law by forcing refugees back to Serbia. The case was brought by Hungarian justice minister Judit Varga, who said "this [EU ruling] would affect Hungary's sovereignty set out in the Constitution", Reuters reports. The case comes after Poland's nationalist-conservative government recently attacked the primacy of EU law in its own Constitutional Court verdict.

The EU has said Russia was complicit in Belarus' attack on Polish borders, while warning Russian president Vladimir Putin not to also strike Ukraine.

Belgium's government is bringing forward a meeting to decide on tighter measures to control the spread of Covid-19, amid a rapid increase in infections and hospital admissions, The Guardian writes. The meeting, originally set for Friday, was brought forward to Wednesday so that any measure approved midweek could be operational by the weekend, the government said this morning. Hospital admissions are up 30 percent on a weekly basis.

The European Environment Agency on Monday revealed that 307,000 people died prematurely due to air pollution in the EU in 2019. These deaths are concretely related to the exposure of fine particulate matter, coming from emission sources like road transport, industrial processes or agriculture. At least 58 percent, or 178,000, of these deaths could have been avoided, if all member states had applied international air quality standards, it said.

A letter from 180 MEPs is demanding the European Commission perform better when it comes to responding to their written questions, in an initiative taken by Dutch liberal MEP Sophie In't Veld. "The quality of answers to written questions is deplorable. Answers come in too late, they are evasive, incomplete, and void of any substance," she said, demanding the executive takes measures to improve responses.

Hungary's Constitutional Court on Monday discussed a challenge by justice minister Judit Varga to an EU court ruling stating Budapest broke EU laws designed to protect refugees, by deporting them to the Serbian border. Varga's motion, submitted in February, asked Hungary's top court to assess whether the implementation of the EU court ruling would be compatible with country's constitution. A ruling is expected later.

The Iraq government said Monday it will begin arranging the first repatriation flight for citizens wishing to leave Belarus, Deutsche Welle writes. Foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed al-Sahaf told local media that the first flight would be scheduled on Thursday. "Iraq will carry out a first flight for those who wish to return voluntarily on the 18th," he told Iraqi television.

Despite widespread relief that the summit did not fail to reach an agreement, there is a great deal of discontent surrounding the outcome of the UN climate negotiations held at Glasgow over the last two weeks. Here's why.