Euobserver.com

EU foreign affairs ministers will try to sort out a new round of sanctions on Belarus, and EU affairs ministers will hold intergovernmental conferences with two candidate countries, Serbia and Montenegro.

The report's findings are particularly worrying as member states are preparing to roll-out billions of euros for a post-pandemic recovery. The European Commission is approving national plans for the spending of around €800bn by member states from now until 2026.

Luxembourg's European Court of Justice versus Karlsruhe's German Constitutional Court - the question of the 'war of the judges' may determine the future course, even existence, of the EU.

A Brussels court ordered AstraZeneca to deliver 50 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to EU member states by September in a legal case brought by the European Commission - with both sides claiming victory.

A Brussels court on Friday ordered AstraZeneca to urgently deliver 50 million Covid-19 vaccines to member states - suppling 15 million doses by 26 July, 20 million by 23 August, and 15 million doses by 27 September. The EU asked for 90 million doses to be delivered by the end of June. If AstraZeneca does not comply the timetable, there will be a €10 penalty per dose not delivered.

The European ombudsman has delivered its verdict after a six-month probe into how Frontex can improve accountability and allow people, whose rights may have been violated, to file complaints. The probe found that only 22 complaints had been filed since 2016, suggesting "lack of awareness, fear of negative repercussions or lack of engagement by deployed Frontex officers". The Warsaw-based agency, promised to improve access to complaints.

EU states have agreed that UK standards are high enough to comply with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation and a separate law on data in criminal cases, enabling the free flow of information for businesses and law enforcement bodies in the wake of Brexit, Reuters reports. The move, welcomed by business associations, follows similar EU data "adequacy decisions" on Argentina, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, and Switzerland.

Registrations of new cars in the EU, Britain, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland shot up by 73.7 percent in May compared to the same month last year, reaching a figure of 1,083,795 vehicles, according to the the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association. The rapid growth was the third month in a row of similar increases, in signs of a wider rebound in the European economy in the wake of the pandemic.

The British government is favouring national suppliers in procurement contracts for the multi-billion euro wind-turbine industry, in an alleged breach of its Brexit agreement, according to Spain and France, which have urged the European Commission to take action, British newspaper The Guardian reports. "The [EU] commission expressed its concerns about compliance with the trade and cooperation agreement," a diplomatic source said. The UK denied any wrongdoing.

The European Commission has approved Greece's plans on spending €30.5bn form the EU's post-pandemic recovery plan, with commission president Ursula von der Leyen saying in Athens Thursday: "The plan will help Greece build a better future". "Today marks the last act of the turbulence the pandemic brought," Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also said. EU states also have to approve the plan, which focuses on green and digital projects.

Montenegro's finance minister, Milojko Spajić, told parliament Thursday that an unnamed "European financial institution" was "in the final phase" of talks to refinance its debt to China arising from a highway construction project. "Instead of a two-percent [dollar] interest rate on the [Chinese] debt ... the rate will be one-percent in euros, grace period of six years ... and repayment of 20 years," he said, Reuters reports.

A Gibraltar-registered vessel, the Vos Triton, turned over 270 people rescued at sea on Tuesday while trying to reach the EU to the Libyan coastguard on Wednesday, which took them to Tripoli and funnelled them into detention centres, the International Organization for Migration and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, confirmed Thursday. "Libya cannot be considered a safe place," they said, criticising the move.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday urged countries to increase suicide-prevention efforts, after months of living with the Covid-19 pandemic. "Many of the risk factors for suicide -  job loss, financial stress and social isolation - [are] still very much present," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. Every year, more people die as a result of suicide than HIV or war. In 2019, more than 700,000 people committed suicide.

The EU Commission still has to prove they are ready to stand up for the rights of every citizen in the EU. Throwing the towel in would send a terrible signal to European leaders tempted to emulate Hungary and Poland.

Austria has been blocking new EU sanctions on loans to Belarusian banks so that Austrian lenders can keep making money with the oppressive regime there.

The UN refugee agency says the number of people forcibly displaced by end of last year had grown to 82.4 million, "the highest number on record according to available data."

When asked how the EU handled the vaccination strategy among different institutions, respondents in Malta and Portugal tend to be most satisfied, while in France and Germany respondents are the least satisfied with the EU.

Green groups called on the European Commission to remove forest biomass from the Renewable Energy Directive, arguing that the proposal leaked this week shows a "clear denial of science" and "dangerous greenwashing".

Northern Ireland's biggest parties agreed to back a replacement for former first minister Arlene Foster, staving off a fresh political crisis in the British-run region that threatened to lead to a snap election, Reuters reports. Foster resigned following her ousting as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Her successor, Edwin Poots, is seeking to nominate his social conservative colleague Paul Givan to take over as first minister.

US tourists, even if they have not been vaccinated, should be welcomed back in Europe, EU ambassadors agreed Wednesday, in a move due to be voted by EU ministers Friday. The decision is non-binding and each EU country can still decide whether or not to open its borders, or to impose testing and quarantine restrictions. British tourists remain barred for now, amid worries over the so-called 'Indian variant' there.