Energy, services spur Eurozone inflation

ECB believes the surge in prices is temporary

Robust growth in energy prices and a surge in costs of services have contributed for a sharp rise in consumer prices in the Eurozone, Reuters reported. The May data has exceeded the forecast of the European Central Bank. The statistics office of the European Union Eurostat confirmed that inflation in the 19 countries sharing the euro was up 0.3% compared to the previous month to reach a 2.0% year-on-year increase. The ECB wants to keep inflation below to 2%.

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18 June, 2021

EU updates the list of countries for which travel restrictions should be lifted

This list will continue to be reviewed every two weeks

Following a review under the recommendation on the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU, the Council announced on Friday that it updated the list of countries, special administrative regions and other entities and territorial authorities for which travel restrictions should be lifted. As stipulated in the Council recommendation, this list will continue to be reviewed every two weeks and, as the case may be, updated, EC Press service reported.

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16 June, 2021

EU-Russia relations: Which way forward?

The Commission and the High Representative propose a mixed approach based on pushing back, constraining and engaging Russia

The EU presented today, upon invitation of the European Council, a Joint Communication on the EU's relations with Russia agreed by the European Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the EU press service reported. The communication presents recommendations ahead of the Council meeting on 24-25 June on how to strengthen the implementation of the EU's Russia policy.

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19 June, 2021
Merkel, Macron show unity before EU meeting next week
- EU Insights
- Europost
Meeting in Berlin on Friday German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron showed unity in their fight against the pandemic and in dealing with Turkey and Russia ahead of an EU summit next week, news wires reported. The bloc faces "major challenges" with regard to its two eastern neighbours, Merkel said during Macron’s visit.

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19 June, 2021
US Secretary of State Blinken to visit Germany, France and Italy
- Americas
- Europost
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is to travel to Germany next week for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel and to participate in a conference on Libya hosted by Foreign Minister Heiko Maas before going on to France and Italy, dpa reported. Blinken will hold talks with Merkel in Berlin on Wednesday, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said.

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18 June, 2021
Italian KinesiS to open Black Box Festival in Plovdiv
- Culture
- Europost
The Italian group KinesiS Contemporary Dance Company will open the 15th edition of the Black Box Festival of contemporary dance, which will be held in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, from 29 June to 4 July 2021, the Italian Institute of Culture in Sofia announced.

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18 June, 2021
Austria to provide 1m Covid-19 vaccines to Western Balkan countries
- Foreign relations
- Europost
Austria will provide a million doses of coronavirus vaccine to the countries of the Western Balkans in addition to the doses it is funnelling towards the region on behalf of the European Union, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Friday, Reuters reported.

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18 June, 2021
Spain's BBVA opens crypto-trading for Swiss clients
- Finance
- Europost
The Spanish BBVA announced it was starting trading with bitcoins as part of services offered to private banking clients in Switzerland, Reuters reported. The move follows several calls from customers interested in digital asset investment. The bank said the new business would include bitcoin trading and custody services, with the prospect of extending it to other cryptocurrencies. It would not offer advice on these types of investments, the statement said.

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18 June, 2021
AstraZeneca: EU lost legal bid for more vaccine supplies by end-June
- EU Insights
- Europost
AstraZeneca announced on Friday the EU had lost a legal case against the pharmaceutical firm over the supply of COVID-19 vaccines, with a court in Brussels rejecting an EU request for more deliveries by the end of June.

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18 June, 2021
EC greenlights Denmark's €1.5bn recovery plan
- European Commission
- Europost
The Commission has today adopted a positive assessment of Denmark's recovery and resilience plan, paving the way for the EU to provide the country with €1.5bn in grants under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) over the period 2021-2026.

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18 June, 2021
UN: Despite pandemic, 2020 has a record number of people displaced
- The Planet
- Europost
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, more people were displaced worldwide last year than ever before, dpa reports, citing UN data.

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18 June, 2021
Lufthansa allows digital Covid-19 certificates
- Companies
- Europost
German carrier Lufthansa announced it would allow passengers to use new digital Covid-19 vaccination certificates at check-in for their flights, Reuters reported. Lufthansa confirmed that passengers would be able to show the digital proof of vaccination either on their phones or on a printout when checking in at the airport, and the boarding pass would then be issued.

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18 June, 2021
The Night Watchman brings Pulitzer to Louise Erdrich
- Literature
- Europost
The Native American writer Louise Erdrich has won the Pulitzer Prize for The Night Watchman, a powerful novel inspired by the life of her maternal grandfather, whose reservation community was threatened in the 1950s by a new “emancipation” bill on its way to the floor of the United States Congress.

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Commission President on tour across Europe
16 June, 2021

Following today's visits to Portugal and Spain, EC President Ursula von der Leyen will continue her visits tomorrow, 17 June, in Greece and Denmark, and the day after in Luxembourg. She will personally hand over the result of the Commission's assessment and Recommendation to the Council on the approval of the national recovery and resilience plans in the context of NextGenerationEU, Europe's Recovery Plan.

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EU imposes additional sanctions on Belarus
16 June, 2021

The EU on Wednesday agreed additional sanctions on Belarus in response to the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk and the arrest of a dissident journalist on board in May, an EU diplomat said cited by Reuters.

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EU to ease travel restrictions for US, seven other countries
16 June, 2021

The EU is to gradually ease coronavirus entry restrictions for travellers from the United States and seven other countries following a Wednesday agreement among the 27 member states. People from the US, Albania, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Macao, North Macedonia, Serbia and Taiwan should have an easier time getting into the bloc, the Portuguese EU presidency told dpa.

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Serbia, Kosovo talks in Brussels fail but new round would be held in July
16 June, 2021

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic hit out at Kosovo's new PM Albin Kurti on Tuesday after talks in Brussels failed to make progress towards a solution to one of Europe's most intractable territorial disputes, AFP reported. The Balkan neighbours were resuming decade-long negotiations mediated by the EU for the first time in almost a year, hoping to resolve differences still poisoning relations more than 20 years after they separated in war.

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Slovakia's top court cancels acquittal of a tycoon over journalist murder
16 June, 2021

Slovakia's Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a lower court's acquittal of a businessman accused of masterminding the 2018 slayings of an investigative journalist and his fiancee, news wires reported. Slovakia’s prosecutor general Maros Zilinka described Tuesday's ruling as “an important moment for justice and the rule of law.“ A three-judge panel of the Supreme Court said the criminal court did not properly assess available evidence when it cleared businessman Marian Kocner and one co-defendant of murder in the killings of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova, both 27.

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EMA: AstraZeneca shots should be halted for over-60s, too
13 June, 2021

Countries should also avoid giving the Astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine to people over 60, the head of the EU drug regulator's COVID-19 task force was quoted on Sunday as saying, amid fears over rare blood clotting and as more vaccines become available.

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Finland’s local elections represent a test for nation’s young leader
13 June, 2021

Finland’s local elections Sunday are seen as the first test for its popular young Social Democratic Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who took office 18 months ago shortly before the pandemic and whose party is behind in the polls. The vote to renew local councils in Finland’s more than 300 municipalities, from the northern Lapland region to the autonomous territory of Aland Islands in the south, is viewed as a key indicator of parties’ popularity ahead of the country’s 2023 parliamentary election.

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