Belgium

BRUSSELS, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- European leaders have shown an openness to the use of COVID-19 vaccines developed by any supplier once they pass the European Union's (EU) tests.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday that coronavirus vaccines from Russia and China could be approved for use in the EU if they "show all the data," AFP quoted the bloc's lawmakers as saying.

If Chinese producers "show all the data... then they could get... a conditional market authorization like the other ones," von der Leyen told EU lawmakers at a meeting.

03 Feb 2021; MEMO: The EU yesterday warned Kosovo against opening its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem, Shehab news agency reported Israeli media saying.

According to the news site, the Times of Israel reported that the EU had asked Kosovo not to open an embassy in Jerusalem and to commit to the EU stance and UN Security Council Resolution 478 which states that foreign embassies to Israel should be located in Tel Aviv.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust enforcers have claimed a court made legal errors when it scrapped their order for iPhone maker Apple to pay 13 billion euros ($15.7 billion) in Irish back taxes, in a filing to have the verdict overturned.

The stakes are high for the European Commission in its crackdown against what it sees as aggressive tax planning by multinationals.

It has a mixed record to date, winning court backing in its case against Fiat Chrysler but losing in the Starbucks and Belgian tax break cases.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union governments condemned the military’s seizure of power in Myanmar on Monday and demanded the immediate release of people arrested in raids across the country.

From tiny Luxembourg to European powers France and Germany, leaders and foreign ministers reacted swiftly in statements and on Twitter to criticise the coup, expressing grave concern but avoiding any details of a possible response.

“We call for the immediate release of all those detained and to reestablish the democratic process,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said.

BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - EU officials confessed on Saturday to a “blunder” in invoking Northern Ireland Brexit emergency powers during a showdown with Britain over vaccines, and London said it expected its supply of COVID-19 shots would not be interrupted.

The European Union has fallen far behind Britain and the United States in the race to vaccinate its public. It announced on Friday it would impose export controls on vaccines, widely seen as a threat to prevent doses from being sent to Britain.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union introduced tighter rules Friday on exports of COVID-19 vaccines that could hit shipments to nations like the United Kingdom, deepening a dispute with London over scarce supplies of potentially lifesaving shots.

But amid an outcry in Northern Ireland and the UK, the European Commission made clear the new measure will not trigger controls on vaccines shipments produced in the 27-nation bloc to the small territory that is part of United Kingdom bordering EU member Ireland.

BERLIN/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union stood its ground in a row with AstraZeneca over COVID-19 vaccine supplies on Friday, pressing the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker to deliver the doses as promised in its contract.

The EU, whose member states are far behind Israel, Britain and the United States in rolling out vaccines, is scrambling to get supplies just as the West’s biggest drugmakers slow deliveries to the bloc due to production problems.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union will seek to create a bio-defence preparedness programme in the form of a public-private partnership, to prepare against the next big health crisis, the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said.

The 27-nation bloc, like the rest of the world, is struggling to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic that has already killed tens of thousands and prompted economic lockdowns across Europe causing a deep recession.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union lashed out Monday at pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, accusing it of failing to guarantee delivery of coronavirus vaccines without valid explanation, and threatened to impose tight export controls within days on COVID-19 vaccines made in the bloc.

Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said the EU, already facing heavy criticism for a slow vaccine rollout around its 27 nations, “will take any action required to protect its citizens and its rights.”

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union will consider fresh sanctions on Russian individuals on Monday after more than 3,000 people were arrested across Russia on Saturday to demand the release of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

Lithuania’s foreign minister, arriving in Brussels for a meeting of the bloc’s 27 top diplomats, said “a change is in the air in Russia” that the bloc must support, especially after Navalny’s detention as he returned to Russia from Germany.