Euractiv.com

Russia freed US journalist Evan Gershkovich and ex-US Marine Paul Whelan on Thursday (1 August) as part of the biggest prisoner exchange of its kind since the end of the Cold War.

Sweden favours creating a compulsory rule for companies to apply for medicines pricing and reimbursement in any member state requesting it. A minority of EU countries currently support this approach, but pharma package talks continue.

The European Parliament is close to finalising a split of its environment and health committee (ENVI) and upgrading the current subcommittee on public health (SANT) to a standing committee, parliamentary sources tell Euractiv.

The Lancet’s latest worldwide report on dementia prevention, intervention and care finds that around 45% of cases of dementia are potentially preventable through addressing 14 risk factors.

Noyb sued the Hamburg data protection authority on 1 August in a bid to overturn its recent decision that German newspaper Der Spiegel "pay or okay" model was lawful.

Industrial activity in the eurozone continued to contract in July, a closely-watched business survey confirmed on Thursday (1 August), as Europe’s economic woes showed little sign of abating despite growth data slightly above analysts' forecasts earlier this week.

Turkey will continue to block NATO-Israeli cooperation, insisting Israel is violating NATO's core principles, said Turkish President Erdogan.

Bulgaria's counter-intelligence service (SANS) and the Anti-Corruption Commission have launched an investigation into health rights activists advocating for the establishment of a state-run children's hospital. The move provoked an intense backlash.

The European Commission has deemed sanctions imposed by Ukraine on Russian oil producer Lukoil to be of no risk to the oil supply for Hungary and Slovakia, as they do not affect the transit of oil via Ukraine to Hungary.

A second Trump presidency would likely force Europe to up its security spending, but the German government, which wants to take more responsibility in the EU amidst a looming global power vacuum, could be too paralysed to significantly increase its share.

Austria's conservative-led coalition government is nominating conservative Finance Minister Magnus Brunner as its next European Commissioner, Chancellor Karl Nehammer said in a statement on Wednesday (31 July).

Russian President Vladimir Putin doubled upfront payments for volunteers to fight in Ukraine on Wednesday (31 July), a move aimed at facilitating military recruitment but likely to create imbalances in the overheated economy.

Olympians dived into the River Seine on Wednesday (31 July) after a pre-dawn notice informed teams that its waters were safe enough to proceed with the triathlon, sparing France the embarrassment of a central Paris 2024 promise being swept away.

Potentially massive quantities of naturally produced hydrogen were discovered in France last year. Since then, prospectors across Europe have been on the lookout for more deposits and are calling for greater public support for their efforts.

Disinformation and propaganda, long mainstays of war, have been digitally supercharged in the battle for Ukraine, the biggest conflict the world has seen since the advent of smartphones and social media.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, facing mounting pressure to offer evidence his election victory was valid, said that opposition leaders should be imprisoned following deadly protests across the country.

A large fire broke out in Rome on Wednesday (31 July) on a hill near the Italian capital's court of justice and a public TV broadcasting centre, forcing the evacuation of several buildings and offices, firefighters said.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Wednesday (31 July) met with Warsaw Uprising veterans and asked for their "forgiveness" during a visit to Poland on the eve of the revolt's 80th anniversary.

The Slovak Supreme Audit Office compiled an analysis of the pandemic. The summary report highlighted the insufficiencies in the Slovak health system’s pre-pandemic preparedness and pandemic management.

Bulgarian state and municipal hospitals can now take part in a special programme of state loans to save them from bankruptcy and improve their patient services. Specialist staff at one hospital went unpaid for seven months.