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A 60-page internal EU document on Libya seen by EUobserver says its border mission there intends to help draft Libya's national strategy of border security and management.

Spain would be prepared to recognise Kosovo if it clinched a deal with Serbia, Madrid has said, in the first positive signal of its kind since EU-brokered talks resumed.

Commissioner for home affairs, Ylva Johansson, would like to win the approval of all EU member states for a new proposal for a common asylum and migration policy - something her predecessors failed to do.

Leuven's Catholic University, one of Belgium's best, has decided to close one of its respected but controversial chairs. And many say that is not because of an academic failure or scandal, but a result of the Turkish government's relentless pressure.

Twenty-nine German police officers of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia have been suspended and face investigation on suspicion of exchanging far-right propaganda in online chat groups. Police union representatives called the revelation "unbearable." At least five private WhatsApp chat groups contained 126 electronic images, including photos of Adolf Hitler and a fictional depiction of a refugee in a gas chamber,

The UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, has accused Cyprus of illegal pushbacks of migrant boats from Lebanon and Turkey on grounds of coronavirus safety measures. There were "credible reports of incidents involving overcrowded boats that are not allowed disembarkation" in September and were "forced to return to the high seas or ... left at sea for a long time," Katja Saha, a UN official told Deutsche Welle. Cyprus denied wrongdoing.

Belarusian authorities have charged the opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova with "actions aimed at undermining national security", which could lead to a maximum sentence of five years in prison, the Guardian writes. It is the latest move of Belarus' president Alexander Lukashenko after weeks of street protests against the result of the presidential elections. In a speech on Wednesday, Lukashenko said he had no plans to step down.

EU governments were given the green light by MEPs in a vote Wednesday to assign new "own resources" to the EU budget, in the form of potential new taxes on plastic goods, tech giants, or CO2 emissions. The money is to help pay for the €750bn post-pandemic recovery fund. "We'll ensure the debt is repaid by tech giants, tax dodgers, big foreign polluters," French liberal MEP Valerie Hayer told Reuters.

Britain's US trade deal is in jeopardy if the UK endangers Northern Ireland peace over Brexit, US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has said.

The European Parliament adopted on Wednesday a report urging the EU Commission to tackle deforestation worldwide. The document, drawn-up by MEP Stanislav Polčák, calls for a new law to ensure that products sold in the EU are "free from deforestation", as well as requirements for the financial sector to check their impact on the world's forests. Earlier, the commission opened a consultation on tackling the EU's deforestation footprint.

Russia accused the US on Wednesday of trying to promote a revolution in Belarus, Reuters reported. "We are talking about a poorly-disguised attempt to organise another 'colour revolution' and an anti-constitutional coup, the goals and objectives of which have nothing to do with the interests of Belarusian citizens," said the head of Russia's foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, adding that the US is playing "a key role" in Belarus.

The European Commission is set to unveil an action plan to fight racism - which will address gaps in existing legislation and extend the list of EU crimes to all forms of hate crime and hate speech.

The 61-year old former German defence minister, who only narrowly won the backing of MEPs last year, outlined not a vision, but an ambitious list of policies to tackle - including more health care competencies to the EU.

The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen wants to cut at least 55 percent of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 - saying the Green Deal is a "cultural project" that goes beyond simply cutting emissions.

How convincing was Ursula von der Leyen's State of the Union of Europe address? A speechwriter's analysis on the length - and the messages - of the speech.

This is a critical moment. The UAE-Israel agreement, welcomed by the European Union, represents a severe blow to the Arab Peace Initiative, writes the diplomatic affairs' adviser for Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

The signing of peace deals between the leaders of Israel, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates in Washington Tuesday marked "the dawn of a new Middle East" after "decades of division and conflict", US president Donald Trump said. But Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said "peace, security and stability will not be achieved ... until the Israeli occupation ends," amid Trump's support for Israeli annexation of Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Britain has offered the EU concessions on previous demands to regain full control of its historic fishing waters in the English Channel area from next year in a bid to break a deadlock in Brexit talks, Reuters has said, citing diplomatic sources. "We want a simple, separate fisheries framework agreement which reflects our rights under international law and which provides for annual negotiations over access," a British government spokesman said.

The EU should help run the refugee camp in Moria, Greece, when it is rebuilt after its recent fire, Athens has said. "The flags of Greece and the European Union must fly [at the new camp] ... There must be shared responsibility not only for construction, but also for the operation of the camp," Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told EU Council president Charles Michel in Athens on Tuesday.

New EU human rights sanctions should be named after poisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Europe's foreign affairs chief has proposed.