By , BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission should set a date to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars across the European Union to align the transport sector with climate goals, nine member countries said on Wednesday.Led by Denmark and the Netherlands, the countries have written to the European Commission, the bloc’s executive, calling for ambitious EU policies to tackle the quarter of EU greenhouse gases that come from transport.This must include a phase-out date for the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans in the EU, to support the shift to zero-emission vehicles, the...…By , BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission should set a date to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars across the European Union to align the transport sector with climate goals, nine member countries said on Wednesday.Led by Denmark and the Netherlands, the countries have written to the European Commission, the bloc’s executive, calling for ambitious EU policies to tackle the quarter of EU greenhouse gases that come from transport.This must include a phase-out date for the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans in the EU, to support the shift to zero-emission vehicles, the...WW…

By BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Pfizer complained of a breach of confidentiality after a politician in Belgium published on Thursday the price per dose of COVID-19 vaccines ordered by the country, according to a Belgian newspaper.Belgian secretary of state Eva De Bleeker tweeted a table with the number of doses and price per dose of each vaccine, after a 30-hour debate on the Belgian budget in parliament. She subsequently deleted her tweet.Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, whose COVID-19 vaccine is the first to have been approved by Western regulators, is among suppliers to the...…By BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Pfizer complained of a breach of confidentiality after a politician in Belgium published on Thursday the price per dose of COVID-19 vaccines ordered by the country, according to a Belgian newspaper.Belgian secretary of state Eva De Bleeker tweeted a table with the number of doses and price per dose of each vaccine, after a 30-hour debate on the Belgian budget in parliament. She subsequently deleted her tweet.Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, whose COVID-19 vaccine is the first to have been approved by Western regulators, is among suppliers to the...WW…

By BRUSSELS (Reuters) - In an effort to avoid EU firms and citizens relying on data from Asian and U.S rivals, the European Commission is proposing new rules to allow sharing of public and personal data with businesses and research organisations.The European Union executive hopes that this could lead to improvements ranging from personalised health treatments, to better tackling climate change or developing precision farming techniques.“Data should be accessible and the sharing of such data should be secure,” European Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager told a news briefing on...…By BRUSSELS (Reuters) - In an effort to avoid EU firms and citizens relying on data from Asian and U.S rivals, the European Commission is proposing new rules to allow sharing of public and personal data with businesses and research organisations.The European Union executive hopes that this could lead to improvements ranging from personalised health treatments, to better tackling climate change or developing precision farming techniques.“Data should be accessible and the sharing of such data should be secure,” European Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager told a news briefing on...WW…

By , BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union demanded “substantive” movement on Tuesday from Britain on fisheries, dispute settlement and guarantees of fair competition in their talks on a post-Brexit trade deal, with Germany saying they were at a “critical stage”.France said the 27-nation bloc must not yield on fishing rights, while Ireland - the EU member most exposed to any abrupt economic split at the end of the year - said Britain was running out of time to seal the terms of a deal.Britain, the world’s sixth-biggest economy, left the EU in January and has since been locked in...…By , BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union demanded “substantive” movement on Tuesday from Britain on fisheries, dispute settlement and guarantees of fair competition in their talks on a post-Brexit trade deal, with Germany saying they were at a “critical stage”.France said the 27-nation bloc must not yield on fishing rights, while Ireland - the EU member most exposed to any abrupt economic split at the end of the year - said Britain was running out of time to seal the terms of a deal.Britain, the world’s sixth-biggest economy, left the EU in January and has since been locked in...WW…

By , PARIS/PRAGUE (Reuters) - France imposed curfews while other European nations are closing schools, cancelling surgeries and enlisting student medics as overwhelmed authorities face the nightmare scenario of a COVID-19 resurgence at the onset of winter.With new cases hitting about 100,000 daily, Europe has by a wide margin overtaken the United States, where more than 51,000 COVID-19 infections are reported on average every day.As cases in France climbed rapidly, President Emmanuel Macron announced night curfews for four weeks from Saturday in Paris and other major cities, affecting...…By , PARIS/PRAGUE (Reuters) - France imposed curfews while other European nations are closing schools, cancelling surgeries and enlisting student medics as overwhelmed authorities face the nightmare scenario of a COVID-19 resurgence at the onset of winter.With new cases hitting about 100,000 daily, Europe has by a wide margin overtaken the United States, where more than 51,000 COVID-19 infections are reported on average every day.As cases in France climbed rapidly, President Emmanuel Macron announced night curfews for four weeks from Saturday in Paris and other major cities, affecting...WW…

By , BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union demanded “substantive” movement on Tuesday from Britain on fisheries, dispute settlement and guarantees of fair competition in their talks on a post-Brexit trade deal, with Germany saying they were at a “critical stage”.France said the 27-nation bloc must not yield on fishing rights, while Ireland - the EU member most exposed to any abrupt economic split at the end of the year - said Britain was running out of time to seal the terms of a deal.Britain, the world’s sixth-biggest economy, left the EU in January and has since been locked in...…By , BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union demanded “substantive” movement on Tuesday from Britain on fisheries, dispute settlement and guarantees of fair competition in their talks on a post-Brexit trade deal, with Germany saying they were at a “critical stage”.France said the 27-nation bloc must not yield on fishing rights, while Ireland - the EU member most exposed to any abrupt economic split at the end of the year - said Britain was running out of time to seal the terms of a deal.Britain, the world’s sixth-biggest economy, left the EU in January and has since been locked in...WW…

By BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Google’s YouTube and other online platforms are not liable when users illegally upload copyrighted works onto their platforms, but rightholders can ask for injunctions against the companies, a European Union Court of Justice adviser said on Thursday.EU judges, who have followed such opinions in four out of five cases, rule on the issue in the coming months.In recent years, online platforms and social media have found themselves at the centre of a debate about how much responsibility they should bear for illegal or hateful content posted on their platforms.The...…By BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Google’s YouTube and other online platforms are not liable when users illegally upload copyrighted works onto their platforms, but rightholders can ask for injunctions against the companies, a European Union Court of Justice adviser said on Thursday.EU judges, who have followed such opinions in four out of five cases, rule on the issue in the coming months.In recent years, online platforms and social media have found themselves at the centre of a debate about how much responsibility they should bear for illegal or hateful content posted on their platforms.The...WW…

By , BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The brother of Belgium’s king joined a swelling debate about its past on Friday by saying that King Leopold II, under whose rule millions of Congolese were killed or maimed, could not have “made people suffer” because he never visited his colony.Slideshow Statues of Leopold, who ruled over what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo for 23 years until 1908, have been defaced by activists since anti-racism protests against the police killing of black American George Floyd turned global.Prince Laurent, brother of King Philippe, told the Sudpresse agency that abuses...…By , BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The brother of Belgium’s king joined a swelling debate about its past on Friday by saying that King Leopold II, under whose rule millions of Congolese were killed or maimed, could not have “made people suffer” because he never visited his colony.Slideshow Statues of Leopold, who ruled over what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo for 23 years until 1908, have been defaced by activists since anti-racism protests against the police killing of black American George Floyd turned global.Prince Laurent, brother of King Philippe, told the Sudpresse agency that abuses...WW…

By BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium’s immediate coronavirus crisis appears to have passed its peak as the number of people admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 fell to its lowest level in a month, health officials said on Monday.Belgium, with one of the highest per capita rates of confirmed COVID-19 cases and related deaths in Europe, announced that 232 people were taken into hospital on Sunday, the lowest level since March 19.“There are several indicators that are going in the right direction and that continue to go in the right direction,” Emmanuel Andre, spokesman for the country’s COVID-19...…By BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium’s immediate coronavirus crisis appears to have passed its peak as the number of people admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 fell to its lowest level in a month, health officials said on Monday.Belgium, with one of the highest per capita rates of confirmed COVID-19 cases and related deaths in Europe, announced that 232 people were taken into hospital on Sunday, the lowest level since March 19.“There are several indicators that are going in the right direction and that continue to go in the right direction,” Emmanuel Andre, spokesman for the country’s COVID-19...WW…