Bulgaria and Romania are the newest partial members of the Schengen Area, the border-free travel zone guaranteeing free movement of goods, people, and capital, which is now comprised of 29 members. Despite the veto from Austria, which enforces the new Schengen status in Bulgaria and Romania to remain unchanged for land borders, their accession is significant for both countries, aiding efforts to install ties to the European Union (EU).
Read MoreFor a population to go from relatively food secure to experiencing famine in such a short period of time is nothing short of a war crime, an assessment that many UN officials have agreed to according to The Guardian. EU Foreign Policy Chief Joseph Borrell has consistently reiterated that this famine is not the result of a natural disaster but an engineered policy of collective punishment by the Israeli government, saying that “starvation is used as a weapon of war. Israel is provoking famine.”
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On April 25, the head of the European Union announced that American tourists who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be permitted to visit the bloc’s countries over the summer, reports The New York Times.
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In Germany, corruption allegations are threatening the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) as well as its sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) ahead of elections in multiple German states. The CDU is the party of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has been in power for 15 years. However, this scandal is coming just months before she planned to step down in September. BBC News notes that with Merkel leaving office, strong CDU leadership is needed if the party is to pick up the torch from the chancellor.
Read MoreTo protest a newly proposed media tax, dozens of independent media outlets in Poland decided to suspend new coverage and other programming on Wednesday, February 10, with various television screens, web portals, and front pages blank or blacked out for over 24 hours.
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On January 30, the European Union reversed its decision to restrict COVID-19 vaccine exports into Britain through Northern Ireland, according to the New York Times.
Read MoreOn Tuesday, November 30, biopharmaceutical firms BioNTech and Moderna applied for approval of their respective COVID-19 vaccines in the European Union (EU), The Wall Street Journal reports. National Geographic says the EU is expected to conclude Pfizer’s assessment by December 29 and Moderna’s by January 12. Both Moderna and Pfizer Inc. also applied for emergency usage of their vaccines in the United States at the end of November, though it is unclear when a decision will be made.
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The European Union and the United Kingdom have resumed negotiations to reach a post-Brexit trade deal as soon as possible. Tariffs and quotas will be imposed, creating economic shocks for both if no trade deal is reached between the two parties by the end of the year.
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Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara has won a controversial third term in an election that his opponents are decrying as a sham. Ouattara won the election by a landslide, capturing 94 percent of the votes as the opposing candidates urged their supporters to abstain from voting in the election, according to BBC News.
Read MoreOn October 15, the head of the World Health Organization in Europe called for restrictive measures after a major increase of coronavirus cases throughout the continent, reports The Associated Press.
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