Belgium

BRUSSELS (AP) — Spurred into action by a major corruption scandal, the European Parliament president wants to prevent former lawmakers from lobbying on behalf of businesses or governments soon after they leave office and to make public the names of current members who break assembly rules, a parliamentary official said Wednesday.

BRUSSELS, January 10. /TASS/: Turkey will ratify the NATO accession protocols for Finland and Sweden, the bloc’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.

"I’m confident that the accession process will be finalized and all NATO allies will ratify the accession protocols in the parliaments, and that also goes for Turkey," he stated at a press conference following the signing of the Joint Declaration on EU-NATO Cooperation.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union nations will try again on Wednesday to mold a coordinated approach on if and how authorities should check incoming airline passengers from China for any new COVID-19 variants after several member nations announced individual efforts over the past week.

Belgium said late Monday it would be checking wastewater from planes coming in from China to see if it yields new clues about any potentially dangerous variants. It said that it would urge visitors from China who do not feel well to take a COVID-19 test.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union and China on Tuesday moved closer to a political standoff over the COVID-19 crisis, with Beijing vehemently rejecting travel restrictions some EU nations have started to impose that could well be expanded in coming days.

An EU offer of help, including vaccine donations, was also as good as slapped down, with Beijing insisting the situation was “under control” and medical provisions “in adequate supply,” government spokesperson Mao Ning said.

BRUSSELS, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Thursday it would hold back all 22 billion euros of EU cohesion funds for Hungary until its government meets conditions related to judiciary independence, academic freedoms, LGBTQI rights and the asylum system.

EU institutions had already decided on Dec. 12 to freeze 6.3 billion euros of the funds until the right-wing and eurosceptic government of Viktor Orban meets an even tougher set of 17 conditions also linked to the judiciary and dealing with corruption at high levels.

20 Dec 2022; MEMO: NATO on Tuesday called for resolving differences between Turkiye and Greece through diplomatic means, reports Anadolu Agency.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency after Greek aircraft tried to interfere in a NATO training mission over the Aegean Sea, a NATO official said that Turkiye and Greece are valuable allies and work together as part of NATO.

BRUSSELS, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) member states have agreed to cap natural gas prices in the bloc at 180 euros (191 U.S. dollars) per megawatt-hour (MWh) in an effort to ensure the security of energy supply, EU officials said here on Monday.

BRUSSELS (AP) — No one answers the door or the phone at the offices of the two campaign groups linked to a cash-for-favors corruption scandal at the European Union’s parliament, allegedly involving Qatar. No light is visible inside.

No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ), a pro-human rights and democracy organization, and Fight Impunity, which seeks to bring rights abusers to book, share the same address, on prime real estate in the governmental quarter of the Belgian capital.

BRUSSELS, December 16. /TASS/: The European Union has put into the sanction list 168 Russian companies from defense industry, energy and mining sectors, Executive Vice President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis tweeted on Friday.

"Main restrictions are against 168 entities linked to [Russian] military-industrial complex," Dombrovskis said. Investment prohibitions are also expanded against Russian energy and mining sectors and the sector of services for the Russian business, the official added.

BRUSSELS, December 16. /TASS/: The European Union has formally approved the ninth package of individual and economic sanctions against Russia, the EU Council said on Friday.

"The Council adopted today a ninth package of new measures intended to step up pressure on Russia and its government," it said.

The Council’s decision is to be posted in the Official Journal of the EU in the near time and new sanctions will then come into force.