Europe may not be subject to the drastic lockdown measures introduced to combat the first wave of coronavirus a year ago, but many countries still face another Easter of greatly reduced meeting and movement. In France, new restrictions come into effect across the country
In December, two weeks before the European Medicines Agency authorised the first vaccine against Covid-19 for use across the European Union, Berlin unveiled a plan to rocket-fuel its immunisation drive with German precision engineering. Jabs would be mass-administered in purpose-built vaccination centres
Winters in Berlin are notoriously tough but this year has been like no other. “I’m really tired of it,” Ina Eggers, a teacher in the city, says. “Winter is always hard but now [with lockdown] we don’t have anything to do, so
Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats face questions over their new leader and the impact of a corruption scandal involving face mask production following historic defeats in German regional elections on Sunday – just six months before a national vote. Merkel’s successor as chancellor is due
Germany suffered its largest economic contraction since 2009 last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, with gross domestic product shrinking by six percent. Industry leaders are now calling on Ms Merkel to publish a strategy allowing pandemic restrictions to lift to help
The French President has come under huge pressure with France lagging behind several other countries in vaccinating its tens of millions of citizens. This situation hasn’t been helped by the chaotic rollout from the European Union, which ignited a row with vaccine
An ally of the Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has announced plans for a new nationwide protest in support of the jailed politician, telling Russians to gather in residential courtyards on Sunday evening and turn on their mobile phone torches. Tens of thousands of people have
Mario Draghi, the former European Central Bank chief, has accepted a mandate to try to form a new Italian government as the country seeks a way out of the political crisis triggered by the collapse of its most recent coalition. Draghi, nicknamed
Brussels will publish a revised regulation to potentially block vaccine exports out of the EU on Saturday, after an international outcry over its initial plans to erect an export border for doses on the island of Ireland. The European commission’s newly drafted
Hans-Olaf Henkel, who stepped down from the European Parliament in 2019, lamented the narrow defeat in Saturday’s CDU leadership contest of Friedrich Merz, describing him as the only senior German figure who understands what a colossal loss Brexit represents to the EU. Mr Laschet, Prime Minister
European leaders have voiced relief at Joe Biden’s inauguration, hailing a “new dawn” for Europe and the US, but warned that the world has changed after four years of Donald Trump’s presidency and transatlantic ties will be different in future. “This new dawn in
And Dr Joseph Downing suggested the next year to 18 months will be crucial as France and other members of the EU27 keep tabs on the UK’s fortunes outside the bloc. Mr Macron is under pressure with the numbers of people who have had the jab currently
