News

If Brexit talks break down without a deal, half of Britons believe the final decision over whether to leave the European Union should be taken by the public in a referendum, according to a survey.

The Czech Republic has negotiated the release of two workers for a German humanitarian group in Syria, the Czech and German foreign ministries said on Thursday (9 August).

Livestock and dairy farmers across northern Europe are paying soaring prices for straw used in food and bedding for cattle, as hot, dry weather across the region reduces crops.

If the United States decides to impose more sanctions on the banking sector or on specific currencies, then Russia will regard it as an “open declaration of economic war,” Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has warned.

Greece's unemployment rate, the highest in the European Union, has dropped below 20% for the first time in seven years, statistics bureau Elstat reported on 9 August.

Northern Ireland will later this month have been without a government for longer than Belgium, which currently holds the world record of 541 days. But Belfast is set to miss out on official recognition of this dubious accolade due to a technicality.

With migrant arrivals to Spain's southern shores on the rise, a lot of them are heading north to the border town of Irun, some sleeping rough as they wait to cross into neighbouring France, locals and officials said.

The European Union on Thursday (9 August) called for a "comprehensive and transparent investigation" into a drone "assassination" bid on Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro.

Jordan warned on Wednesday (8 August) that a severe financial shortfall facing a United Nations agency that helps Palestinian refugees could have a "catastrophic" impact on the lives of millions of refugees in the region.

Belarus on Wednesday (8 August) detained at least six more journalists in Minsk including a freelance correspondent for Deutsche Welle in an ongoing crackdown on independent media, ostensibly over unauthorised access to a state news agency.

A petition urging multinational Bayer to withdraw an appeal against a top EU court decision on banning neonicotinoids has gathered more than 150,000 signatures in just two days, increasing pressure on the German firm.

Washington said on Wednesday (8 August) it would impose fresh sanctions on Russia by the end of August after it determined that Moscow had used a nerve agent against a former Russian agent and his daughter in Britain.

Italy on Wednesday (8 August) cut its forecasts for economic growth and said the country's public deficit this year and in 2019 would be larger than previously forecast, potentially lining it up for a clash with Brussels.

The arrest of two Greek soldiers at the border with Turkey was “pre-planned” and ordered by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Greek defence minister Panos Kammenos has claimed.

Berlin and Madrid finalised an agreement on Monday (6 August) that will see asylum seekers that reach Germany via Spain returned to the Iberian nation.

Poland’s trade unions are mounting a defence of coal workers against the impacts of climate policies in a government-backed conference this week. EURACTIV's partner Climate Home News reports.

More than 40% of people in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) support the name deal reached between their government and Athens, according to a poll.

Users who publish content freely available on the internet should get consent from the person behind it, Europe's top court ruled on Tuesday (7 August) in a boost to the bloc's creative industries.

Europe’s wildfires combined with the extreme warm weather can pose additional health risks to people living in affected areas, the World Health Organisation has warned.

While Eurosceptic populists team up ahead of the European elections in attempt to turn them into a referendum over the EU’s very existence, civil society is now calling on progressive forces to come together to defend the bloc.

Britain should offer developers of mini nuclear plants subsidies similar to those made available to the offshore wind industry, an independent review commissioned by the government said on Tuesday (7 August).

Foreign affairs chiefs from Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Ukraine met in Georgia this week to take part in commemorations marking 10 years since Russia’s invasion of the Caucasus Republic during 2008's August War.

The Russian government decided to expel two Greek diplomats from its territory on Monday (6 August) in response to Greece’s similar “hostile” move last month, according to the Kremlin.

The world is at risk of entering “hothouse” conditions where global average temperatures will be 4-5 degrees Celsius higher even if emissions reduction targets under a global climate deal are met, scientists said in a study published on Monday (6 August).