Euobserver.com

Belgian police made arrests and dispersed crowds after some 350 people protested against mask-wearing and other anti-coronavirus measures in Brussels on Sunday. About 1,000 people also held similar protests in Rome on Saturday, following much bigger demonstrations earlier in Berlin involving more than 20,000 activists, where a far-right mob also tried to storm the parliament building last weekend.

The EU and US should reveal where Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko hides his money overseas if they wanted to help the revolution, a Belarusian opposition leader has said.

Stopping a Russia pipeline over the Alexei Navalny poisoning would cost industry too much, Germany has said, making symbolic EU visa bans more likely.

The European Commission has unveiled recommendations, including common criteria for member states on coronavirus epidemiological risks and harmonised 'colour-coding' of risk areas.

Negotiations on the EU budget - between the parliament and member states - and on Brexit continue. Meanwhile, MEPs are voicing concern about travelling to Strasbourg during the pandemic for the parliament's next plenary session.

Protesters outside the parliament building in the capital Sofia clashed with police last week, in one of the most violent episodes of the two-month long anti-corruption demonstrations taking place across Bulgaria.

The lockdown period of this pandemic was an important reminder of the value of clean air and proof that it's still possible to achieve.

It's time for the EU Commission to get its house in order and close the doors to tobacco lobby influence once and for all.

The European Parliament's Conference of Presidents is set to discuss on 10 September efforts to suspend Aung San Suu Kyi from all Sakharov prize laureate activities. A parliament spokesperson confirmed the European Parliament's committee on foreign affairs had made the request. She won the prize in 1990, which she collected in 2013. She has since fallen from grace given Myanmar's abusive treatment of the Rohingyas.

A survey conducted by the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) in nine member states found that a large number of respondents say that they do not think that current legislation is adequate to effectively regulate AI-based activities. Only one-fifth of respondents say that current rules protect them from the potential harm artificial intelligence (AI) poses. Additionally, consumers believe that AI can lead to increased abuse of personal data.

Ireland will nominate MEP Mairead McGuinness and former European Investment Bank vice-president Andrew McDowell as its candidates to replace Irish commissioner Phil Hogan, following his resignation as EU trade chief last week, Reuters reported. There is the possibility of a wider reshuffle in the EU executive since Ireland could lose the trade portfolio which is temporarily being handled by commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis.

The European Commission proposed on Friday postponing the entry into force of new organic legislation to 2022 - following a request from member states, MEPs and stakeholders. The rules aim to guarantee fair competition for farmers and prevent fraud. The commission will also adopt an action plan for organic farming in early 202,1 based on a target of reaching 25 percent of agricultural land under organic farming by 2030.

Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that Greece and Turkey had agreed to start "technical talks" to help reduce the risks of military accidents in the eastern Mediterranean, Greek news agency Ekathimerini writes. However, an official in Athens quickly denied such an agreement, saying Turkey must first withdraw its ships from the disputed area where it was carrying out oil-drilling research. There was no immediate reaction from Ankara.

The EU has indicated it might adopt targeted sanctions against Russians guilty of poisoning opposition activist Alexei Navalny with novichok, a "chemical weapon", it said Thursday. "The European Union calls for a joint international response and reserves the right to take appropriate actions, including through restrictive measures," the EU foreign service said. The EU recently adopted sanctions against four Russians over another novichok assassination attempt in the UK in 2018.

A court in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, ruled Thursday "no more people will be handed over to Poland for the time being" under the European Arrest Warrant due to political pressure on the Polish judiciary. The Dutch court submitted extra questions on Polish judicial independence to the EU tribunal in Luxembourg, it said. The European Commission has also triggered a sanctions procedure and court injunctions against Poland on the issue.

The Slovak Supreme Court is to decide who killed journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée in 2018 after a lower court let the prime suspect off the hook.

Currently, only 20 percent of MEPs show tendencies to support authoritarian powers - but that could change after the pandemic, a new study warns. It also calls for an improved vetting of MEPs, tougher lobbying rules, and better cybersecurity.

Currently, only 20 percent of MEPs show tendencies to support authoritarian powers - but that could change after the pandemic, a new study warns. It also calls for an improved vetting of MEPs, tougher lobbying rules, and better cybersecurity.

Facebook and other big US firms have no intention of respecting the landmark ruling by the EU's highest court on data transfers to the US. The court in July dramatically scrapped Privacy Shield, citing US surveillance concerns.

The European Commission hopes to have 30m doses of AstraZeneca's potential coronavirus vaccine before the end of this year, to be distributed on a population-based pro-rata basis among the 27 EU countries - until the 300m doses negotiated arrive.