The foreign ministers of Austria and Belgium have both tested positive for coronavirus after attending a meeting with European Union colleagues this week, Reuters reports.

European and British negotiators will talk once again on Monday to discuss the "structure" of post-Brexit trade talks, despite London's threat on Friday to walk away unless there was a major shift in Brussels' approach.

The European Union imposed sanctions on seven ministers recently appointed to the Syrian government, blaming them for playing a role in the continued crackdown on civilians in the war-ravaged country.

A leading member of the Italian government said on Friday that new restrictions were urgently needed to control a surge in coronavirus infections, ANSA reports.

This week the European Commission proudly announced the six Natura 2000 Award winners for 2020. Given the unique circumstances in 2020, the six winners of the 2020 Natura 2000 Awards were announced at an exclusive hybrid Ceremony, on 14 October 2020. 

The European Union needs to strike a balance on what its members want from future EU-UK relations and not solely focus on a single item, such as fishing rights, Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said on Friday.

The European Union should renegotiate a €1bn contract it sealed last week with Gilead for a six-month supply of the Covid-19 drug remdesivir after it showed poor results in a large trial, experts urged on Friday, as quoted by Reuters.

French police on Friday shot dead a man suspected of killing a middle school teacher by slitting his throat in the street in a suburb of Paris, news wires reported. France's anti-terror prosecutor said it was investigating the attack, which took place in Conflans Sainte-Honorine, a suburb north-west of Paris.

The current pandemic has created numerous constraints throughout the EU, and this issue was also on the agenda of the EU leaders' meeting in Brussels on 15 and 16 October. Coordinated approach to measures restricting free movement were among the points of discussion. The heads of state and prime ministers assessed the current epidemiological situation, “which is unprecedented and gives rise to very serious concern”.

The EU leaders have agreed to hold video conferences almost on a weekly basis to coordinate national measures against the Covid-19 pandemic, as the continent battles a spike in infections.