Italy’s government of PM Mario Draghi on Tuesday issued a decree with a new regime of Covid-19 restrictions that will be in force from next weekend until 6 April, the day after Easter holidays. On the whole, the current system of tiered restrictions based on a region's Covid contagion risk level, going from low-risk white to moderate-risk yellow, medium-risk orange and high risk red, will remain, ANSA reported.

Judges applying to join Poland’s Supreme Court should have the right to appeal against the opinions of a body which reviews candidates, the European Union’s top court said, underlining a rift over the rule of law between the country and the bloc.

A Romanian court sentenced a former government minister as well as the daughter of former president Traian Basescu to jail on Tuesday for money laundering and instigating others to take bribes in a 2009 presidential campaign financing case.

German unemployment rose in February for the first time since last June, data showed on Tuesday, dashing expectations for a fall as lockdown measures to suppress the coronavirus case load held back Europe’s largest economy.

The Covid-19 related economic slowdown forced several Spanish companies to lay off staff and the country saw the number of unemployed edge up to 4 million for the first time in five years, Reuters reported.

Nicolas Sarkozy’s prison sentence for corruption and influence-peddling marks a legal landmark for postwar France. But things could get worse for the former French president, who faces further court battles and inquiries, news wires reported.

Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz plans to visit Israel with Danish PM Mette Frederiksen on Thursday and confer with PM Benjamin Netanyahu on vaccine research and production cooperation, AP reported. Kurz told the Austria Press Agency (APA) that Austria and Denmark “will no longer rely on the EU in the future and will in the coming years produce doses of second-generation vaccine for further mutations of the coronavirus together with Israel as well as researching jointly treatment possibilities.”

Italy’s PM Mario Draghi on Monday tapped army general Francesco Paolo Figliuolo as new commissioner for the COVID-19 emergency, replacing Domenico Arcuri. General Figliuolo has led Italian missions in Kosovo and Afghanistan, among several other commands, ANSA reported.

France has eased its ban on administering AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine to older people, news wires reported. People in the 65 to 75 age group can now receive the vaccine if they also suffer from health problems such as diabetes or high blood pressure, Health Minister Olivier Veran announced late Monday on broadcaster France 2. The expansion potentially affects about 2.5m people in the country, he said.

Germany’s Social Democrats, traditionally the country’s main center-left party, on Monday unveiled an election programme that seeks higher taxes for top earners and a higher minimum wage while also emphasizing climate protection.