Euobserver.com

Two weeks after president Recep Tayyip Erdogan revoked the status of the Hagia Sophia as a museum, Istanbul's iconic building will host Muslim Friday prayers again. Up to 2,000 worshippers are expected to attend the first Muslim prayers in the landmark since 1934, Deutsche Welle writes. The decision was criticised around the world. Pope Frances said he was "pained" by the decision.

EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said Thursday that the UK had shown no willingness to break the deadlock on fair competition and fisheries issues during post-Brexit negotiations with the EU, making a new trade agreement "unlikely". After the latest round of negotiations in London, Barnier said there had been no progress on key issues. The UK is set to break off all ongoing ties with the bloc in January.

On Monday (20 July), 416 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in Belgium, as the number of infections begins rising again. In the week 14-20 July the weekly average of new infections rose by 89 percent. Prime minister Sophie Wilmès announced on Thursday that phase five of the easing of measures will be postponed. People coming back from travel abroad need to fill in a form.

MEPs criticised the EU deal on the budget and recovery package clinched by leaders after five days of gruelling talks, saying it is not enough "future-oriented", and cuts too deeply into EU policies, including health, innovation, defence and humanitarian aid

German transport minister, Andreas Scheuer, announced that EU member states have agreed on common hygiene standards on planes and airports - as major airlines are calling for a joint coronavirus-testing programme in order to resume trans-Atlantic travel.

Many capitals, experts and politicians see Poland as the 'enfant terrible' of climate negotiations. Everybody asks why? But the answer is darn simple. Money and time.

The Just Transition Fund, which supports EU regions dependent on fossil fuels, should be more goal-based and performance-oriented, according to an opinion published on Wednesday by the European Court of Auditors. The auditors also stressed that the EU Commission had not done a previous impact assessment to support the amended amount, after EU leaders cut it to €17.5bn - from the initial €40bn.

Spain seems to be again a European hotspot for Covid-19. Spain's health ministry reported on Wednesday 9,011 new infections within the last week - the highest figure in months, El País reported. Additionally, Spain's health minister Salvador Illa said there are 224 active outbreaks in the country, but they are "under control". The most affected areas are in Catalonia and Aragon, although a stricter lockdown has not been discussed yet.

German defence minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has told Deutsche Welle the US threat to remove some 9,500 troops from Germany is cause for concern for Nato. "If they [the troops] stay in Europe, then this remains a commitment towards Nato. But if they were to be re-stationed in the Indo-Pacific region, then that would indicate a change to US strategy, which then would spark a debate within Nato," she said.

Anyone entering Germany from countries considered high-risk for coronavirus could face a mandatory coronavirus test when they arrive at airports, Germany's state health ministers decided Wednesday according to Deutsche Welle. People entering Germany from countries deemed to be low-risk, such as France, Spain and Greece, would not need testing. Airports are concerned about the move and said authorities must carry out the testing, instead of airport staff.

France's health ministry said Tuesday that coronavirus transmission is increasing during the summer holidays. The ministry said it had registered an increase in the number of suspected cases across the country. As people take advantage of the summer holidays, "travel, events and gatherings of families or friends are factors that could foster the epidemic's resurgence," the ministry warned. Currently, 6,482 people are hospitalised with 455 in intensive care, AFP reported.

More than 15m people are or have been infected with Covid-19 globally. 616,276 people have died, while 8,347,416 people have recovered, Reuters reports. Brazil counted 68,000 cases in the last 24 hours, the United States 60,000. With almost 415,000 cases confirmed, California has now surpassed New York as the US state with the highest number of cases. The US counts now the most infections with 3,916,922 cases and 142,033 deaths.

Maltese NGO Repubblika has reiterated demands that the EU police agency Europol be invited to help probe the 2017 murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. "We are reiterating our appeal for a joint Europol-Malta investigating team to bring to justice the mafia that is suffocating Malta," it said, in local media. Malta's government has so far declined to invite Europol, saying there is already some collaboration.

European parliament president David Sassoli said certain corrections will have to be made in the budget, citing research and the Erasmus program for students, calling the cuts "unjustified".

The editor-in-chief of Index.hu, Hungary's largest independent news portal, on Wednesday was fired by the website's owner after the editor warned that the site's independence was at risk from government interference. Szabolcs Dull's sacking raised concerns that Viktor Orban's government is intensifying attacks on media. The owner said editorial independence was not at risk and Dull couldn't control internal tensions over the perceived threat, leading to dropping ad revenues.

Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko is feeling the heat of an opposition backed by public support ahead of the presidential election on 9 August. His bungling of the pandemic and the high profiles of rivals have led to widespread repression.

The new EU4Health programme was the EU's flagship scheme for research and innovation but was brutally cut by leaders during this week's summit - from €9.4bn proposed just two months ago, to €1.67bn.

Visa-free travel by Kosovo passport-holders would be an important confidence-building measure, creating a positive atmosphere for negotiations. What Serbia wants is less clear.

A compromise of 27 positions is never a thing of beauty, but this time the need for unanimity among 27 leaders really unbalanced the initial proposals in important ways.

Most Europeans (55 percent) are worried about their data and bank details being misused by criminals and fraudsters, according to survey results from 35,000 people published by European Agency for Fundamental Rights. Respondents in Spain, the Czech Republic and the UK worry the most about their data, compared to people in Romania, Croatia or Hungary. Meanwhile, a third of citizens worry about their data being used by foreign governments.