As of today, the European Commission, on behalf of the EU, has agreed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on macro-financial assistance (MFA) programmes with eight partners, the Press service in Brussels reported on Tuesday. The agreements are part of the €3bn MFA package for ten enlargement and neighbourhood partners, aimed to help them limit the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

The European Commission announced on Tuesday it will support 23 new research projects with €128m in response to the continuing coronavirus pandemic. The funding under Horizon 2020, the EU's research and innovation programme, is part of the Commission's €1.4bn pledge to the Coronavirus Global Response initiative, launched by President Ursula von der Leyen in May 2020, the Commission's Press service reported.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas was set to visit Russia on Tuesday in a bid to clarify a number of issues that have further strained relations between Moscow and Berlin, dpa reported.

Slovak Foreign Ministry announced on Monday it has expelled three staff at the Russian embassy in Bratislava for an abuse of issuing visas. The case is linked with a murder of a Georgian man in Berlin last year, Reuters reported, citing local media.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Monday the European Union must discuss sanctions against Belarus as the opposition in the country described presidential election results as rigged, news wires reported. The EU had lifted sanctions because the country had taken steps in the right direction, including releasing political prisoners. Foreign ministry in Berlin earlier said there were numerous indications of fraud in the election.

Germany's Social Democrats have proposed Olaf Scholz, the finance minister and their most high-profile and popular politician, to run to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel in next year's elections, when her fourth and final term is expected to end.

Poland’s PМ Mateusz Morawiecki has called on the leaders of the European Commission and the European Council to hold a special EU summit on Belarus, the cabinet in Warsaw announced on Monday.

Germany, France and Italy plan to push ahead with a bid to use EU sanctions to stem the continuing supply of arms to war-torn Libya. The three countries have agreed on a list of companies and individuals providing ships, aircraft or other logistics for the transport of weapons, in violation of a UN embargo that has been in place since 2011, EU sources told dpa.

European Union Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said on Sunday a vaccine for Covid-19 could become available by the end of 2020, news wires reported.

Paris authorities on Saturday imposed the mandatory wearing of face masks outdoors in busy areas of the French capital from Monday to curb a rise in the rate of coronavirus infections, news wires reported. The order applies to people aged 11 and over, the Paris prefecture said in a statement, adding that indicators showed the virus had begun circulating more widely since mid-July.