Bidzina Ivanishvili, the influential billionaire founder of Georgia's ruling party, accused a Western "global party of war" of meddling in Georgia in a rare speech at a rally backing a bill on foreign agents that has sparked a political crisis in the South Caucasus country.

Germany has a “very different standpoint” on French President Macron’s proposal to expand the mandate of the European Central Bank (ECB), the German government said on Monday, casting doubt on the French leader’s vision for the EU’s future.

Russian agents who were found to be responsible for blasting ammunition deposits on Czech and Bulgarian territory following year-long investigations will likely lead nowhere as Russia’s non-cooperation currently makes bringing these agents to justice impossible.

David Cameron was the first British prime minister to visit Kazakhstan. That was 11 years ago, now reincarnated as the UK’s foreign secretary, Cameron has urged stronger ties between the two nations during his Astana pit-stop.

Europe’s citizens called for an end to the ‘cage age’ with the phasing-out of cages and crates for farm animals. The European Commission agreed but now says more consultation with farmers is needed. The ECJ will calm the coop.

Poland's pharmaceutical industry says there's still a long journey ahead for the revision of the EU's pharma legislation. Despite the Pharma Package now heading to Council, the Polish Ministry of Health chooses to remain silent.

Slovakia's much-needed hospital reforms aim to create an optimised network of categorised hospitals in Slovakia, ensuring higher quality of provided health care for patients. However, the system is plagued by delays and controversies. 

The Bulgarian parliament has adopted a decision requiring the state to pay for the treatment of some patients with rare diseases. The decision follows decades of legal battles and accusations of discrimination.

The Hungarian pharmaceutical market could be fundamentally reorganised following a government decree entrusting the supply of hospital medicines to a 'project company' with special rights. The change will take effect in January. Stakeholders are alarmed.

The first National Strategy on Quality of Care, Patient Safety, and Patient Experience is being developed in Greece. It aims to build, strengthen, and consolidate the quality of care through national policies.

A new antibiotic against gram-negative bacteria hasn’t been developed since the 1970s. Now, a European research team led by Swedish scientists has discovered multi-drug-resistant bug-killing compounds that could lead to a new class of antibiotics.

The EU’s multibillion pandemic recovery fund is a “success story” that European policymakers “should not rush to roll back”, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Monday.

New European legislation on a border carbon tax and a ban on imports linked to deforestation pave the way for progress in international negotiations on "mirror clauses" in agricultural trade with non-EU countries.

Ministers from France, Germany, and Poland revealed on Monday (29 April) that the Russian disinformation network "Portal Kombat" has continued growing, with new websites targeting 19 member states and the Western Balkans, and called for more resources to tackle online disinformation ahead of June's EU elections.

Ricardo Borges de Castro makes the case that the European election is von der Leyen's to lose, ahead of Monday's (29 April) Spitzenkandidaten debate

In the US and France, 1968 was a year of iconic student protests. In light of this historic legacy, what is the 2024 wave of student protests, from Columbia University to Sciences Po, telling us?

The European Commission has approved a €300 million State aid grant for Nuward, a French developer of small modular nuclear reactors (SMR), to test its technology with more support expected before the project starts in 2030. 

Warsaw, April 29, 2024 (AFP) - Polish farmers have lifted blockades at border crossings with Ukraine, officials said Monday, ending a two-month protest over farm imports from the war-torn neighbouring country.

Farmers had blocked border crossings with Ukraine since February to protest at what they said was unfair competition from goods that undercut local market prices.

Disputes over farm imports have strained ties between the neighbours, even as Poland has shown staunch support for Ukraine over Russia's invasion.

"The traffic through all the border crossings (with Ukraine) is possible," Michal Derus, a spokesman for the tax administration chamber in Poland's Lublin region told AFP after farmers ended the last blockade at the Hrebenne border crossing.

The crossing reopened after local authorities in Hrebenne declined to extend permission for protests at the checkpoint.

"All trucks are allowed to pass as long as they are not carrying sanctioned goods," Derus added, referring to the grain imports from Ukraine that Poland imposed a temporary embargo on.

Ukraine has seen its agriculture sector crippled by Russia's 2022 invasion. Many of its major export routes through the Black Sea have been blocked and much farmland left unusable by warfare.

In a bid to help Kyiv economically, the European Union in 2022 scrapped tariffs on Ukrainian goods transiting the 27-nation bloc by road.

But many Ukrainian cereal exports destined for non-EU countries have accumulated in Poland and elsewhere, undercutting local producers.

Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf announced Monday (29 April) that he will leave office following his decision to dissolve the governing coalition between his Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) and the Scottish Greens last week.

The European Commission designated Apple iPadOS as a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) on Monday (29 April).