Category Archives: Europe

Boeing 737 Max cleared to fly again by EU regulator

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The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority will certify the plane separately

Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft has been given the green light to return to the skies in the EU by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), after a 22-month grounding following two fatal crashes.

Marking a crucial step in its return to service, a modified version of the US company’s previously bestselling aeroplane has been given permission to fly again, although not until a package of checks and training is completed.

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Germany expected to tighten borders to control spread of Covid variants

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Interior minister says danger posed by recent mutations ‘requires drastic measures’

The German government is expected to announce tighter border controls after warnings from leading virologists that the move is vital to control the spread in the country of more contagious variants of Covid-19.

Angela Merkel, the chancellor, is widely reported to have told a meeting of her CDU party colleagues that air travel in particular needed to be restricted “to the extent that you simply can’t get anywhere any more”.

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No-fly zone over Putin-linked palace is due to Nato spies, says FSB

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Alexei Navalny’s investigation into £1bn seaside mansion has sparked protests across Russia

Russia’s FSB security agency has confirmed it enforced a no-fly zone over the £1bn seaside palace that Vladimir Putin has assured the public he does not own. It said the restrictions were imposed last summer to protect the Black Sea coast from Nato spies. Coincidentally, that stretch of coastline also hid an opulent chateau of murky provenance boasting its own casino, skating rink and vineyard.

The Kremlin has been scrambling to explain away an investigation by Alexei Navalny into the 17,691 sq metre seaside mansion that was allegedly funded by a number of Putin’s friends and guarded by the government agencies that also protect Putin and his family. The investigation was released after Navalny, an opposition leader, was jailed and threatened with years in prison on charges he claims are political. the video has been viewed more than 95m times on YouTube.

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EU’s vaccine supply issues mean light at end of tunnel that much further away

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Analysis: Frustration around restrictions in Netherlands could be voiced in other countries

In recent nights, rioters have poured on to the streets of 10 Dutch cities in what has been the closest Europe has come to open revolt against the coronavirus restrictions imposed across the continent.

The violence, the worst in four decades, might be put down to the liberty-loving culture of the country or an outbreak of straightforward criminality but, perhaps not coincidentally, the Netherlands is also the very last EU member state to start vaccinating the public and offer some hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

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Head of AstraZeneca confirms UK has prior claim on vaccine

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Chief executive of pharmaceutical giant says the firm will honour UK’s earlier contract despite EU anger over shortfall

AstraZeneca’s chief executive has insisted the UK will come first for vaccines as he rejected calls to divert doses to the European Union following a breakdown in supply.

Amid a growing row, Pascal Soriot, the French head of the pharmaceutical giant, said the UK was benefiting from being early to sign a contract for 100m doses.

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Biden presses Putin on election interference and Navalny arrest in first call

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  • US and Russia agree to extend arms control treaty
  • Biden raised concerns over several issues

The US and Russia have agreed to extend an arms control treaty limiting their deployed nuclear warheads after Joe Biden’s first phone call as president with Vladimir Putin.

At the same time, Biden took a firm position on Russian actions that Donald Trump largely ignored, raising concerns about the poisoning and arrest of the opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, warning Putin that the US supported Ukraine against Russian “aggression”, complaining about Russian interference in last year’s US presidential election, and the “Solar Winds” cyber attack on US government agencies last year.

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AstraZeneca vaccine may not be given to older people, says EU medicines chief

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European Medicines Agency approval could stipulate age range, suggests Emer Cooke

The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine may be authorised only for younger people in Europe, because there is insufficient data on how well it works in the over-65s, the head of the regulatory body has suggested.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is expected to authorise the AstraZeneca vaccine at the end of this week, a month after it was approved in the UK.

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Why has AstraZeneca reduced promised vaccine supply to EU and is UK affected?

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Analysis: technical problem at Belgium plant failed to produce enough vaccine but EU demanding fulfilment of contract

AstraZeneca warned the European commission on Friday that there would be a significant shortfall in the promised 100m vaccine doses this quarter, of up to 60%. It says this is due to a technical issue: not enough vaccine is being produced by the main plant making the supplies destined for Europe, which is in Belgium.

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Madrid feminist mural saved from removal attempt by far right

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Artwork celebrating pioneering women saved after city councillors step in to stop Vox party motion

A Madrid mural honouring the lives and achievements of 15 pioneering women, including Nina Simone, Rosa Parks and Frida Kahlo, has been saved from destruction after city councillors stepped in to thwart far-right attempts to have it removed.

The 60-metre (197ft) mural, emblazoned with the slogan: “Your ability doesn’t depend on your gender”, was commissioned by the local council in the Ciudad Lineal neighbourhood and painted on a sports centre wall in 2018.

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Italy’s power struggle raises fears over Covid and the economy

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Italians struggle to fathom Giuseppe Conte’s resignation as prime minister and resulting political limbo

Italy’s political crisis has left the country in limbo in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, raising fears that a power struggle in the heart of government will hamper its economic recovery plan.

The prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, resigned on Tuesday after weeks of feuding with former prime minister Matteo Renzi, who withdrew his small Italia Viva party from the ruling coalition following clashes over the handling of the pandemic and a spending plan for the €209bn (£185bn) Italy is due to receive from the EU’s economic recovery plan.

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Grindr fined £8.6m in Norway over sharing personal information

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Fine from by the Norwegian Data Protection Authority is 10% of Grindr’s global annual revenue

Grindr has been fined 100m krone (£8.6m) by the Norwegian Data Protection Authority after an investigation revealed the dating app was sharing deeply personal information with advertisers, including location, sexual orientation and mental health details.

The fine is 10% of Grindr’s global annual revenue and is particularly high because of the personal nature of the information shared.

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Registration cards of Dutch Holocaust victims to go on display

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Red Cross returns nearly 160,000 records, many of which belonged to Dutch Jews sent to Nazi death camps

Nearly 160,000 registration cards belonging to Dutch Jews and people from other persecuted minorities, many of whom were destined for Nazi death camps, will be put on display for the first time in the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam after being handed over by the Red Cross.

The cards include name, address, date of birth, profession, marital status, family composition and, in three out of four cases, the date of their transport to a concentration camp written in red pencil. They ended up with the Red Cross after the war and were used to locate missing persons.

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EU means business over Covid vaccine exports, says Von der Leyen

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Commission president says firms must deliver on orders after AstraZeneca warns of shortfall

The EU “means business”, Ursula von der Leyen has said, as the bloc doubled down on plans for tighter monitoring of vaccine exports to countries outside of the union, such as the UK.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum, the president of the European commission said the EU had invested billions and “companies must now deliver” to the 27 member states.

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EU citizens offered financial incentives to leave UK

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European nationals added to voluntary returns scheme, which can include flights and up to £2,000 for resettlement

EU citizens are being offered financial incentives to leave the UK, the Guardian has learned, months before the deadline to apply for settled status.

From 1 January EU citizens have quietly been added to the government’s voluntary returns scheme where financial support is offered as an encouragement to return to their country of origin.

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You can teach an old dog new words, researchers find

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Canines in Hungarian study appear to pick up unfamiliar terms through play

Whether you can teach an old dog new tricks might be a moot point, but it seems some canines can rapidly learn new words, and do so through play.

While young children are known to quickly pick up the names of new objects, the skill appears to be rare in animals.

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Ageing Pompidou Centre in Paris to close for four years for renovation

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French culture minister says it will be quicker and cheaper to close the cultural landmark entirely

The Pompidou Centre, one of Paris’s top cultural attractions and home to Europe’s biggest modern art collection, is to close from 2023 for four years of renovations, France’s culture minister has said.

Designed by architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, the Pompidou Centre opened in 1977 and is showing visible signs of ageing.

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Giuseppe Conte to quit as Italy’s PM in tactical move

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Resignation expected to be handed in to president Sergio Mattarella on Tuesday morning

Italy’s prime minister Giuseppe Conte will resign on Tuesday in a tactical move aimed at maximising his chances of leading a new government.

Conte will hold a cabinet meeting at 9am CET before officially handing in his resignation to president Sergio Mattarella, his office announced in a statement.

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EU threatens to block Covid vaccine exports amid AstraZeneca shortfall

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Bloc may receive only half of purchased 100m doses in first quarter of the year

The EU has threatened to block exports of coronavirus vaccines to countries outside the bloc, after AstraZeneca was accused of failing to give a satisfactory explanation for a huge shortfall of promised doses to member states.

The pharmaceutical company’s new distribution plans were said to be “unacceptable” after it “surprisingly” informed the European commission on Friday that there would be significant shortfalls on the original schedule.

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Brussels warns Britain against downgrading EU ambassador’s status

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Denying mission full privileges under the Vienna convention risks poisoning diplomatic ties, No 10 told

Downing Street has been warned by Brussels that downgrading the status of the EU’s ambassador to the UK will poison diplomatic relations for years to come.

The UK has so far declined to grant the bloc’s representative, João Vale de Almeida, and his 25-strong mission the privileges and immunities afforded to diplomats under the Vienna convention.

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EU foreign chief to fly to Moscow to condemn Navalny arrest

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Josep Borrell says that while there are no concrete proposals as yet, bloc is ‘ready to react’

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, will fly to Moscow to personally deliver the bloc’s condemnation of the “completely unacceptable” arrest of the opposition leader, Alexei Navalny.

The heads of state and government of the 27 member states will then reassess the EU’s relationship with Russia at a summit in March.

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