Belgium

July 27 (Reuters) - The European Union found evidence that smartphones used by some of its staff were compromised by an Israeli company's spy software, the bloc's top justice official said in a letter seen by Reuters.

In a July 25 letter sent to European lawmaker Sophie in ‘t Veld, EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said iPhone maker Apple had told him in 2021 that his iPhone had possibly been hacked using Pegasus, a tool developed and sold to government clients by Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s commissioner for health is urging the bloc’s governments to step up their efforts to tackle the expanding monkeypox outbreak in the region, which she says is “the epicenter of detected cases.”

In a letter to the EU’s 27 health ministers obtained by The Associated Press, EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides called Wednesday for a “reinforced, concerted and coordinated action.”

“There is no time for complacency and we need to continue working together to control the outbreak,” she wrote.

27 July 2022; MEMO: The European Union's foreign policy chief said yesterday he has proposed a new draft text to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, saying there is no room left for further major compromises, Reuters reported.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union governments agreed Tuesday to ration natural gas this winter to protect themselves against any further supply cuts by Russia as Moscow pursues its invasion of Ukraine.

EU energy ministers approved a draft European law meant to lower demand for gas by 15% from August through March. The new legislation entails voluntary national steps to reduce gas consumption and, if they yield insufficient savings, a trigger for mandatory moves in the 27-member bloc.

BRUSSELS, July 22 (Reuters) - Russian state-owned companies Rosneft and Gazprom will be able to ship oil to third countries under an adjustment of European Union sanctions agreed by member states this week aimed at limiting the risks to global energy security.

Major trading houses such as Vitol, Glencore and Trafigura as well as oil majors such as Shell and Total have stopped trading Russian oil for third parties, citing EU sanctions, including restrictions on insurance.

BRUSSELS, July 22 (Reuters) - The European Commission gave Hungary a final month to address its concerns about the rule of law before asking European Union governments to suspend some of the funds Hungary is to get under the bloc's 2021-2027 budget.

The new deadline is part of an EU process, called the "conditionality mechanism", meant to protect the EU's financial interests against breaches of rule of law by an EU government. It is separate from other procedures over the rule of law that the EU has launched against Hungary.

21 July 2022; MEMO: Belgium today ratified a controversial treaty with Iran that would allow Iranians convicted of terrorism to be extradited to the Islamic Republic.

Following a late night debate, voting took place in the early hours of today, and saw 79 members of parliament vote in favour and 41 against, 11 abstained.

BRUSSELS, July 20. /TASS/: The EU Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) agreed the seventh package of sanctions against Russia, a source in EU institutions told reporters on Wednesday.

"The Coreper agreed the seventh package of sanctions, including gold embargo, black list expansion and updates to financial and trade sanctions," the source said.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s head office on Wednesday proposed that member states cut their gas use by 15% over the coming months to ensure that any full Russian cutoff of natural gas supplies to the bloc will not fundamentally disrupt industries next winter.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s head office on Wednesday proposed that member states cut their gas use by 15% over the coming months as the bloc braced for a possible full Russian cutoff of natural gas supplies that could add a big chill to the upcoming winter.

While the initial cuts would be voluntary, the Commission also asked for the power to impose mandatory reductions across the bloc in the event of an EU-wide emergency caused by what Commission President Ursula von der Leyen saw as a deliberate attempt by President Vladimir Putin to weaponize gas exports.