Hungary opposes billions in new EU aid for Ukraine. A new summit will try to change that
European Union leaders at a summit on Thursday will focus on the one member state blocking a 50-billion-euro ($54 billion) war support package for Ukraine: Hungary, the country in the bloc with the closest ties to Russia.
European Union offers a new growth plan to Western Balkans that partly opens access to single market
European Union leaders have offered a new growth plan to the six Western Balkans countries that opens parts of the EU single market to them in return for deep reforms, ahead of their full membership in the bloc.
The AP Interview: EU President Michel warns about spillover of Israel-Hamas war into Europe
European Union leader Charles Michel has warned in The AP Interview that the Israel-Hamas war could create a surge in refugees heading for Europe, raising the risk of spurring on anti-migrant forces, deepening divisions and inflaming tensions between supporters of Israel and the Palestinians.
EU summit points to reforms the bloc needs in order to welcome Ukraine and others as new members
European Union leaders are acknowledging that just as aspiring members must meet exacting criteria to join the bloc, the 27 member nations also must work hard to reform the EU to make sure it can work smoothly with 30-plus nations.
India seeks a greater voice for the developing world at G20 but the Ukraine war may overshadow talks
Itโs never been easy for the leaders of the worldโs largest economies to find common ground, but Russiaโs war on Ukraine has made it even harder for the Group of 20 meeting to reach meaningful agreements this year.
Divisions over the Ukraine war cause a rift at EU-LatAm summit that was supposed to be a love-in
European Union and Latin American leaders have concluded a summit that was supposed to be a love-in after eight years of separation, but instead ended with aggravation over the failure to unanimously support even a bland statement on Russiaโs invasion of Ukraine.
European summit opens in Moldova with Ukraine war, regional conflicts on agenda
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived at a sprawling summit of some 50 European leaders in Moldova, becoming the focal point of an event that seeks to quell regional conflicts and shore up unity in the face of Russiaโs war.
EU Council chief vows support, ammunition for Ukraine
European Council President Charles Michel has pledged to continue supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression โfor as long as necessary,โ adding that EU leaders will โmassively ramp upโ ammunition production to send to the war-torn country.
The Latest: Pakistan says no rush to recognize Taliban gov't
Pakistanโs foreign minister says Afghanistanโs new Taliban rulers should understand that if they want recognition and assistance in rebuilding the war-battered country โthey have to be more sensitive and more receptive to international opinion and norms.โ.
Global biodiversity conference opens in southern France
Ahead of a global summit on biodiversity in France, President Emmanuel Macron has called for better protection of the high seas, which largely donโt fall under any national jurisdiction but are threatened by fishing and other human activities.
EU vows to help Lithuania amid flow of migrants from Belarus
The European Union has promised to help Lithuania cope with an influx of migrants from the Middle East and Africa, which the Baltic nation says has been encouraged by authorities in neighboring Belarus as part of their standoff with the West.
Snub in EU-Turkey meeting highlights gender equality issue
The topic of gender equality took center stage Wednesday in Brussels a day after Ursula von der Leyen, one the most powerful European Unionโs executives, was treated like a second-rank official during a visit to the Turkish capital of Ankara.
The Latest: Wyoming governor sticks with ending mask mandate
โ Wyomingโs governor is rejecting a call by President Joe Biden for states to reimpose mask orders in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Coronavirus cases nationwide are on the rise, but infections in Wyoming have fallen off sharply since December. Tribal health officials said that the United Kingdom strain was confirmed in a sample obtained in the western part of the reservation. State health officials on Monday announced more than 1 million people in the state, about 17% of Wisconsinโs population, have completed their vaccination cycles. AdThe COVID-related hospitalizations dropped to 549 on Monday, far below the pandemic record of 5,082 on Jan. 11, according to the stateโs pandemic dashboard.
World leaders call for pandemic treaty, but short on details
"The world cannot afford to wait until the pandemic is over to start planning for the next one,โ Tedros said during a news conference. Steven Solomon, WHO's principal legal officer, said the proposed pandemic treaty would need to be ratified by lawmakers in the participating countries. European Council President Charles Michel first laid out the idea of a pandemic treaty at the U.N. General Assembly in December. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. has concerns about the current push for a new pandemic treaty. โThat should be our focus currently.โWHO legal officer Solomon said the pandemic treaty might also address issues such as the sharing of vaccine technology and vaccine supplies, but gave no indication how that might happen.
EU offers Turkey aid, trade help despite rights concerns
European Council President Charles Michel, top of screen, speaks with EU leaders, via videoconference link, during a EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, March 25, 2021. European Union leaders are looking for ways of ramping up COVID-19 vaccination across the region during their virtual meeting Thursday amid shortage of doses, spikes of new coronavirus cases, a feud with the United Kingdom and internal quarrels. (Yves Herman, Pool via AP)BRUSSELS โ European Union leaders on Thursday offered new incentives to Turkey to improve cooperation on migration and trade despite democratic backsliding in the country and lingering concerns about its energy ambitions in the Mediterranean Sea. Under it, the EU offered Ankara 6 billion euros ($7.1 billion) to help Syrian refugees and other incentives to prevent people from leaving Turkey to go to Europe. Last week, the EU criticized Turkish authorities for stripping a prominent pro-Kurdish legislator of his parliamentary seat and seeking to shut down his political party.
EU moves toward stricter export controls for COVID-19 shots
Spain resumed the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)BRUSSELS โ The European Union moved Wednesday toward stricter export controls for coronavirus vaccines, seeking to make sure its 27 nations have more COVID-19 shots to boost the bloc's flagging vaccine campaign amid a surge in new infections. AdโI mention specifically the U.K.,โ said EU Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis. That was heading to Australia, which has a very limited coronavirus outbreak compared to the third surge of infections now facing many EU nations. The EU has been feuding with AstraZeneca for months over exactly how many vaccine doses would be delivered by certain dates.
The Latest: Philippine leader orders mayors investigated
New coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in Utah have been on a downward trend since January. Ad___SAO PAULO, Brazil โ Brazil has reached 300,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and become the second nation to top that figure. ___BOISE, Idaho โ The governor of Idaho has said COVID-19 vaccine eligibility will be open to all Idaho residents 16 and up starting April 5. ___WAILUKU, Hawaii โ A hospital on Maui had to throw out nearly 1,400 vaccine doses after a refrigerator thawing the vials did not properly seal. Also, COVID-19 deaths have dipped below 1,000 a day on average for the first time since November.
Biden to address video summit of EU leaders on Thursday
European Council President Charles Michel, left, talks during a video conference with the leaders of Germany, France, Portugal and Greece, on the screen, ahead of the EU summit at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. All rights reservedBRUSSELS โ U.S. President Joe Biden will join a video summit of European Union leaders on Thursday to discuss improving trans-Atlantic cooperation after four years of worsening relations during the Trump administration. โTime to rebuild our transatlantic alliance,โ EU Council President and summit host Charles Michel said in a twitter message. The 27 EU leaders have a regular two-day summit starting Thursday, where they will discuss everything from vaccine strategy to relations with Russia. Earlier this month, a first phone call between Biden and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen clinched a trade breakthrough with a four-month suspension of tariffs used in the longstanding Airbus-Boeing dispute.
The Latest: Australia seeks vaccine aid for Papua New Guinea
CANBERRA, Australia โ Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he is working with U.S., Indian and Japanese partners to provide emergency coronavirus vaccine to Papua New Guinea. Australia has provided 8,000 AstraZeneca doses from its own stockpile to its nearest neighbor after an explosion of infections in the South Pacific island nation in recent weeks. Morrison said Friday that the European Union has yet to respond to his recent request for 1 million AstraZeneca doses contracted by Australia to be sent to Papua New Guinea as soon as possible. It has an agreement with ImmunityBio, which has a COVID-19 vaccine in clinical trials, to produce the vaccine sometime next year. Biovac, based in Cape Town, has the capacity to produce between 20 million and 30 million vaccines in a year.
EU-UK relations take a new dip over 'vaccine ban' comments
People dont even need to leave the backseat if they didnt want to in order to receive their inoculation. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)BRUSSELS โ Relations between the European Union and recently departed Britain took another diplomatic dip on Wednesday when the EU envoy in London was summoned to explain comments that Britain had issued a vaccine export ban. A British government statement said that it โhas not blocked the export of a single COVID-19 vaccine. The United Kingdom has given about 35% of its adults a vaccine shot while the EU is further back with 9.5%. AdMichel, however, refused to fully back down from his comments and insisted any ban could come in many guises.
Top EU official pledges more support for Ukraine
(Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)KYIV โ A top European Union official pledged more support for Ukraine on Tuesday as he visited the area near the separatist conflict in the country's east. He said that the EU assistance will include funding for the checkpoints near the zone of conflict. The conflict in eastern Ukraine erupted in April 2014 when Russia cast support for separatist rebels there weeks after annexing Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. โUkrainian citizens deserve a judicial system that respects justice, applies it and demonstrates that there is no impunity for crimes. We will support you at every stage of your path to the rule of law and judicial reform in Ukraine.โ
EU urges parties in ex-Soviet Georgia to ease tensions
โMy visit coincides with an aggravating political crisis in Georgia, which deeply worries the European Union, and I am also personally deeply worried by it,โ European Council President Charles Michel said. The political situation in Georgia has been tense amid allegations of voter fraud in the countryโs Oct. 31 parliamentary election. Tensions escalated last week following the arrest of the United National Movement's leader, Nika Melia. Thousands of opposition supporters marched across the Georgian capital last week to demand Melia's release and call for early parliamentary elections. โThe European Union calls upon all parties to intensify their efforts to stabilize the situation and find a common middle ground,โ Michel said after talks with Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili.
EU vows to speed vaccine roll out, presses drug makers
European Council President Charles Michel, top of screen, takes part in an EU Summit, via videoconference link, at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. The leaders also said that restrictions, including on travel, should remain in place in many parts of the 27-nation bloc. The EU has partly blamed supply delays for lagging far behind nations like Israel, the United States and Britain when it comes to vaccinations. By early this week, 6.5% of the adults living in the EU had been vaccinated, compared to more than 27% in the U.K. He also raised concern about other issues, like the exclusion of those who have not been vaccinated, or cannot be.
The Latest: Governor extends Oregon's state of emergency
Kate Brown on Thursday extended Oregonโs declaration of a state of emergency until May 2 as confirmed COVID-19 cases drop but hundreds of new cases continue to be reported daily. The Oregon Health Authority on Thursday reported 553 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing the state total to 154,554. ___MISSOURI __ Missouri teachers and child care providers will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in mid-March, Gov. The nation of 10.7 million had almost 1.2 million cases with 19,835 deaths. AdLast week the Democratic governor announced that at least 10% of the stateโs vaccine supply would go to education workers.
EU to double COVAX vaccine funding to 1 billion euros
Von der Leyen also announced during the meeting an additional 100 million euros ($121.4 million) to support vaccination campaigns in Africa in partnership with the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. โThe funding will be used to strengthen health systems, ensure the cold chains, buy equipment and train staff," von der Leyen said. She added that the EU would discuss with drugmakers how they can ramp up their COVID-19 vaccine production capacity in Africa. COVAX hopes to deploy some 336 million doses by the end of June, and around 2 billion doses by the end of the year. In addition to its COVAX contribution, the EU said it wants to share some of its doses with neighbors in Europe and Africa.
Central European leaders push for faster vaccine deliveries
(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)WARSAW โ Central European leaders pushed Wednesday for faster deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines from every reliable manufacturer to speed up inoculations which they said is the way to conquer the pandemic and jump-start Europeโs economic recovery. The leaders of Hungary, Slovakia and Poland said they support purchasing vaccines from manufacturers regardless of โgeopoliticsโ provided they are safe and effective. Hungary is the European Union's first and so far only member state to administer Russia's Sputnik V vaccine without waiting for approval from the European Medicines Agency. โThere is no Eastern or Western vaccine, there is only a good or a bad vaccine,โ Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a news conference in Krakow, Poland. European Council President Charles Michel, who attended the celebrations, said EU leaders will discuss next week ways of increasing vaccine production and of speeding up inoculations.
UK, EU meeting in bid to calm post-Brexit trade turbulence
The turbulence centers on Northern Ireland, whose complex status has been one of the trickiest issues in the U.K.-EU divorce. Checks have also been imposed on some British goods going to Northern Ireland because it shares a border with EU member-state Ireland. That would have drawn a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland -- exactly what the Brexit trade deal was crafted to avoid. AdThe EU quickly dropped the idea after British, Irish and Northern Ireland politicians expressed alarm. Prime Minister Boris Johnsonโs spokesman, Jamie Davies, said the blocโs move had caused โshock and angerโ in Northern Ireland.
EU wants to step up fight against cancer amid virus pandemic
The EU on Wednesday proposed a four-billion-euro (4.8 billion US dollar) plan aimed at improving the fight against cancer as the coronavirus pandemic tends to delay diagnoses and access to treatment across the 27-nation bloc. According to EU's figures, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the bloc, whose population is 450 million inhabitants. There are about 1.3 million deaths and 3.5 million new cases per year in the EU. The pandemic has not only delayed screenings and disrupted treatments, but also affected the cancer patient's quality of life. โA strong European Health Union is a union where citizens are protected from avoidable cancers," EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides said.