Belgium

BRUSSELS, July 12 (Reuters) - European Union finance ministers on Tuesday formally approved Croatia becoming the 20th member of the euro common currency at the start of 2023, a move hailed as the culmination of an "amazing journey" for a Balkan nation once at war.

European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said Croatia's accession confirmed that the euro remained an "attractive, resilient and successful global currency" and a symbol of strength and unity.

BRUSSELS, July 11. /TASS/: Canada’s decision to return a turbine for the Nord Stream pipeline does not violate the EU sanctions against Russia, Tim McPhie, spokesperson of the European Commission for Climate actions and energy, told a briefing on Monday.

The return of the turbine does not violate the EU sanctions against Russia because they do not cover the gas transit equipment, he added.

"EU sanctions regime does not affect technologies which are linked to the transport of natural gas," he explained.

BRUSSELS (AP) — From his days stoking anti-European Union sentiment with exaggerated newspaper stories, to his populist campaign leading Britain out of the bloc and reneging on the post-Brexit trade deal he signed, outgoing U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been the bane of Brussels for all so many years.

06 July 2022; MEMO: Belgian lawmakers gave initial clearance on Wednesday to a prisoner exchange treaty with Iran that could lead to the release of an Iranian diplomat convicted of planning to bomb a rally of an exiled opposition group, Reuters reports.

The Foreign Relations Committee of Belgium's lower house debated the treaty for more than six hours over two days before finally approving it.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union lawmakers voted Wednesday to include natural gas and nuclear in the bloc’s list of sustainable activities, backing a proposal from the EU’s executive arm that has been drawing fierce criticism from environment groups and now looks set to trigger legal challenges.

As the EU wants to set the best global standards in the fight against climate change, the decision could tarnish the bloc’s image and question the region’s commitment to reaching climate neutrality by 2050.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The 30 NATO allies signed off on the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland on Tuesday, sending the membership bids of the two nations to the alliance capitals for legislative approvals — and possible political trouble in Turkey.

The move further increases Russia’s strategic isolation in the wake of its invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February and military struggles there since.

“This is truly a historic moment for Finland, for Sweden and for NATO,” the head of the alliance, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, said.

BRUSSELS, July 4./TASS/: Finland and Sweden on Monday began and completed in one round the NATO accession talks, the accession protocols are due to be signed on July 5, NATO said in a statement circulated in Brussels.

"Finland and Sweden completed accession talks at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on Monday (4 July 2022), as agreed last week by NATO leaders at their Summit in Madrid [on June 28-30]. Both countries formally confirmed their willingness and ability to meet the political, legal and military obligations and commitments of NATO membership," it said.

01 July 2022; MEMO: The European Union (EU) has resumed funding to two prominent Palestinian human rights groups, more than a year after suspending support for six Palestinian organisations labelled terrorists by Israel.

Indicating that the Israeli claims are baseless, the European Commission – the EU's executive branch – sent letters to Al-Haq and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR). The two organisations were informed that their 13-month-long suspensions were lifted unconditionally and with immediate effect.

BRUSSELS, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Inflation in the eurozone surged to a fresh record high, with consumer prices pumping 8.6 percent in June from a year earlier, according to figures released on Friday by Eurostat.

The European Union's statistics agency said the increase in consumer prices in the 19 countries that use the euro currency had increased further from the previous record of 8.1 percent logged in May. Inflation is at its highest level since recordkeeping for the euro began in 1997.

VILNIUS/BRUSSELS, June 29 (Reuters) - Trade through Lithuania to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad could return to normal within days, two sources familiar with the matter said, as European officials edge towards a compromise deal with the Baltic state to defuse a row with Moscow.

Kaliningrad, which is bordered by European Union states and relies on railways and roads through Lithuania for most goods, has been cut off from some freight transport from mainland Russia since June 17 under sanctions imposed by Brussels.