European Union

May 16, 2024 1:01 PM

Slovak leader Fico stable after surgery but condition ‘very serious’, PM Modi condemns the attack

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico was in "very serious" but stable condition on Thursday, a hospital official said, after he was shot five times in an assassination attempt that laid bare deep political divisions in the country. Condemning the shooting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it a "cowardly and dastardly act" and wished the Slovak PM a speedy recovery. In a post on X, PM Modi said, "Deeply shocked at the news of the shooting at Slovakia's Prime Minister, H.E. Mr. Robert Fico....

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MAY 10: EU Flags raise in front of the EU Commission headquarter on May 10, 2024 in Brussels, Belgium. The Berlaymont building is the headquarters of the European Commission, in Brussels, it houses the offices of the President of the European Commission and the twenty-seven European Commissioners. (Photo by Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)

May 15, 2024 3:28 PM

EU urges Georgia to withdraw ‘foreign agent’ bill

The European Union urged Georgia on Wednesday to withdraw its controversial "foreign agents" law and warned that the measure would set back the country's ambitions to join the bloc. "The adoption of this law negatively impacts Georgia's progress on the EU path," said a statement from EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi. "The choice on the way forward is in Georgia's hands. We urge the Georgian authorities to withdraw the law." Georgia's parliamen...

May 10, 2024 9:29 AM

EAM Jaishankar says, India-European Union relationship consequential for world also

Describing the relationship between India and the European Union as "consequential for the world as well," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the EU is not only "our largest economic partner," but the ties run "very deep, spanning many domains." Extending felications to EU's Ambassador to India, Herve Delphin, Jaishankar said, "I think today the relationship between India and the European Union is not only consequential for each one of us but also for the world as well. The EU is our l...

May 8, 2024 4:31 PM

Whooping cough epidemic sweeps Europe, health agency says

European countries have reported a surge in whooping cough cases in 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, with 10 times as many identified as in each of the previous two years. In total, nearly 60,000 cases were reported by European Union and European Economic Area countries over the period, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said on Wednesday, with 11 deaths in infants and eight among older adults. Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a bacterial infection of the lungs and airwa...

April 25, 2024 5:39 PM

EU launches probe into China’s medical device procurement practices

The European Commission has launched an investigation into China's alleged practice of favoring domestic companies in tenders for medical devices. This move comes amid longstanding grievances from the European Union (EU) regarding discriminatory practices that hinder European companies from accessing China's lucrative medical device market. Brussels has long accused Beijing of employing distorting and discriminatory practices, including stringent certification processes, opaque approval systems...

April 19, 2024 3:19 PM

Tehran plays down reported Israeli attacks, signals no further retaliation

Explosions echoed over an Iranian city on Friday in what sources described as an Israeli attack, but Tehran played down the incident and indicated it had no plans for retaliation - a response that appeared gauged towards averting region-wide war. The limited scale of the attack and Iran's muted response both appeared to signal a successful effort by diplomats who have been working round the clock to avert all-out war since an Iranian drone and missile attack on Israel last Saturday. Ir...

TEHRAN, IRAN - APRIL 14: People gather in support of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' attack on Israel on April 14, 2024 in Tehran, Iran. Late on Saturday, Iran launched a direct attack at Israel, about two weeks following the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

April 15, 2024 5:01 PM

Europe joins US in urging restraint by Israel after Iranian attack

Israel's European allies urged it on Monday to show restraint over Iran's weekend missile and drone attack, calling on Israeli leaders to step away from "the edge of the cliff" of escalation in the Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet, which is empowered to decide on the country's response, was set to convene on Monday afternoon, a government source said. Israeli officials said the war cabinet, which also met on Sunday, favoured retaliation but was divided over ...