Euobserver.com

The European Commission on Monday prohibited Romania and Lithuania from granting 'emergency authorisations' for three pesticides - imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam - as these substances has been proved to be harmful to bees and other pollinators. Romania and Lithuania have repeatedly granted emergency authorisations to allow the use of these substances, but the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) does not consider such authorisations justified.

Germany and Austria appear increasingly unable to agree on a plan, supported by 10 EU states, to impose a tax on financial transactions. Germany's finance minister Olaf Scholz wants a 0.2 percent levy on share purchases to help top-up the pensions of low-paid people. Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz opposes it, saying it would hit small investors. "The current proposal by finance minister Scholz is one that we reject," said Kurz.

Refugees and migrants protesting dire living conditions at the migrant camps on the Greek island of Lesbos were on Monday teargassed by Greek riot police. A witness told Reuters that most of the protestors were women and children.

French president Emmanuel Macron on Monday said he wants closer ties with Poland on shaping the EU, given the departure of the UK. "I spoke with president [Andrzej] Duda with the honesty we owe each other as European partners, about the concerns that the ongoing reforms of the judicial system have given rise to," said Macron, referring to Poland's right-wing government's efforts to gain political control over the judiciary.

The representative heading the Council of Europe's report on political prisoners in Europe, Latvian socialist Boriss Cilevičs, will visit the jailed Catalan politicians during his visit to Spain this week, daily Catalan News reported. Cilevičs will assess whether the leaders who organised the independence referendum could be sentenced "to long prison terms". Their case is likely to end up in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Fifteen member states rejected cuts in the EU's next seven-year budget at their meeting in Portugal over the weekend, as EU countries gear up for budget talks at an emergency summit on 20 February. The 'friends of cohesion' group - who are net-recipients of EU money - have said they want to freeze cohesion funds at current levels. Richer net-payers want to reduce the budget's overall size.

"Brexit means Brexit" but many Brits are still wondering what it means as their country left the European Union on Friday.

EU hopefuls will know more about the hoops they will have to jump through in future when the European Commission publishes its new "enlargement methodology" this week.

EU hopefuls will know more about the hoops they will have to jump through in future when the European Commission publishes its new "enlargement methodology" this week.

In its first week without the UK, the EU will reveal how it wants to negotiate future relations with London, will propose a new enlargement methodology to calm Paris, and MEPs will hear from EU chief prosecutor Laura Kovesi.

A new report warns companies that their future investments in oil and gas projects, based on 'business as usual' government policies, are likely to be in danger as tougher policies enter into force.

Rescue boat Sea-Watch doesn't receive alerts from the EU's border agency, Frontex whenever its surveillance aircraft spots migrants in distress at sea. Frontex says it follows procedures, which Oxfam calls a carefully-crafted plan to prevent people from arriving.

The PiS government is popular with part of the electorate for understandable reasons. It has provided significant support to families and is collecting taxes more systematically. Its stubborn fight against the rule of law has tarnished such achievements.

One-in-ten adult employees in the EU were found to be at risk of poverty in 2018, according to the EU's statistical office Eurostat. The figure has steadily risen from 8.6 percent in 2008 to 9.5 percent in 2018. The highest rates were observed in Romania, followed by Luxembourg, Spain and Italy, while the lowest risk was recorded in Finland, Czech Republic and Ireland.

The permanent representation of Spain to the EU confirmed on Friday that Spain will be at Zagreb summit, after several media claimed that Madrid had threatened to boycott the summit over Kosovo's presence, reported European Western Balkans. "Depending on the configuration of the summit, Spain will be present by a level of representation or another," it said. Spain and four other EU countries do not recognise Kosovo as a state.

Top EU officials vowed a new era for the European Union after Brexit, but warned the UK that leaving the EU also has consequences.

Two cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the UK on Friday, according to a statement of the chief medical officer Chris Whitty. "The patients are receiving specialist NHS care, and we are using tried-and-tested infection-control procedures to prevent further spread of the virus," the statement read. Germany, France, Italy and Finland have also confirmed a few cases. The World Health Organization has declared a global emergency.

Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Friday that she did not rule out testing the power of the Scottish parliament to hold a non-binding vote on independence after prime minister Boris Johnson's government opposed granting a referendum, Reuters reported. "Now, should the UK government continue to deny Scotland's right to choose, we may reach the point where it is necessary for this issue to be tested," she said.

The EU's top court ruled on Friday that it had no jurisdiction to settle a border dispute between Slovenia and Croatia. Slovenia had argued that its fellow EU member could be sued under EU law because it was not implementing a 2017 border ruling by the intergovernmental arbitration court in The Hague. The European Court of Justice said that the two states were required to find a solution between themselves.

The Spanish government announced Thursday that a meeting between Spain's president, Pedro Sánchez, and Catalan leader Quim Torra, scheduled for next week, has been postponed following the announcement of a snap election in Catalonia. "The sooner the snap election is held and the new government is formed, the sooner we will begin dialogue," the government said in a statement. The Catalan Republican Left (ERC) described the delay as "absolute irresponsibility".