Belgium

BRUSSELS, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Mission to the European Union (EU) expressed on Thursday its firm opposition to the remarks in the joint statement of the EU-Japan Summit, saying they "have completely gone beyond the norm of developing bilateral relations."

"Such remarks undermine international peace and stability, damage mutual understanding and trust between countries in the region, harm the interests of third parties and run counter to what they claim 'working for a more secure, democratic and stable world'," said a spokesperson of the Chinese Mission.

ABOARD HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH (AP) — As tensions with Russia simmer, thousands of NATO troops, several warships and dozens of aircraft are taking part in military exercises stretching across the Atlantic, through Europe and into the Black Sea region.

The war games, dubbed Steadfast Defender 21, are aimed at simulating the 30-nation military organization’s response to an attack on any one of its members. It will test NATO’s ability to deploy troops from America and keep supply lines open.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s two top officials expressed support Thursday for holding the Tokyo Olympics despite growing opposition to the event in Japan because of the coronavirus pandemic.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel discussed the games with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga during a virtual EU-Japan summit.

“He told us that he is engaged with his country’s authorities to take all necessary precautionary measures,” Michel said after the talks.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union nations sketched out plans for new sanctions Thursday against Belarus that will target economic sectors close to its authoritarian president, as they sought to strike back at him for the forced diversion of a passenger jet to arrest a dissident journalist.

EU foreign ministers meeting in Lisbon vowed to continue to ramp up the pressure on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko — whose disdain for democratic norms and human rights has made his country a pariah in the West.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium on Wednesday suspended the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for people under age 41 following the death of a person who had received the shot.

The government said in a statement it was asking for urgent advice from the European Medicines Agency, the European Union’s drug regulator, before it would consider lifting the suspension. It added that the impact on the national vaccination drive would be very limited.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union took on vaccine producer AstraZeneca in a Brussels court on Wednesday and accused the drugmaker of acting in bad faith to provide shots to other nations when it had promised them for delivery among the 27 member states.

The bloc accused the Anglo-Swedish company of pushing EU deliveries back so it could service Britain, among others.

(Reuters) --- The infrastructure for a digital vaccination certificate, intended to make traveling in the European Union easier, will be ready at EU level from June 1, according to the bloc's executive Commission.

Member states then would be able to connect to the system from mid-June, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after a meeting of the leaders of the 27 nation bloc in Brussels on Tuesday.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union agreed Monday to impose sanctions on Belarus, including banning its airlines from using the airspace and airports of the 27-nation bloc, amid fury over the forced diversion of a passenger jet to arrest an opposition journalist.

Reacting to what EU leaders called a brazen “hijacking” of the Ryanair jetliner flying from Greece to Lithuania on Sunday, they also demanded the immediate release of the journalist, Raman Pratasevich, a key foe of authoritarian Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

(Reuters) --- Brussels has persuaded Washington to ease restrictions on exports of materials needed by German biotech firm CureVac (5CV.DE) to make its experimental COVID-19 vaccine, three people familiar with the matter said.

EU officials said the decision will enable CureVac to produce vaccines until August and is part of a months-long effort by Brussels to get the White House to drop or ease some of its export curbs, following the election of U.S. President Joe Biden.

Supplies beyond August, however, remain uncertain.

BRUSSELS, May 20 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson of the Chinese Mission to the European Union (EU) said late on Thursday that the China-EU investment agreement is a balanced agreement, not a gift.

The spokesperson made the remarks when responding to a question regarding a resolution adopted by the European Parliament earlier Thursday, which stated that any consideration or discussion on the ratification of the China-EU investment agreement has been frozen before China lifts the sanctions.