Belgium

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan confirmed on Tuesday that he was considering a bid to become the next director-general of the World Trade Organization, a post that will become vacant at start of September.

8 June 2020; AFP: European countries experimented with further lifting coronavirus restrictions Monday as New Zealand declared victory over the pandemic, even as global cases topped seven million and deaths mounted in Latin America.

The number of COVID-19 fatalities has now passed 403,000 worldwide since the disease emerged in China last year before sweeping the globe, subjecting billions to some form of lockdown and paralysing economies.

BRUSSELS, June 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The European Central Bank has taken further dramatic measures to boost the eurozone economies, amid their biggest recession since World War Two.

Just months after emergency measures, the central bank said it would increase the size of its bond buying programme by €600bn to €1.35tn.

The programme will run until June 2021, six months longer than planned.

The move will keep borrowing costs low for countries and firms as they face huge budget deficits and recessions.

BRUSSELS, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in European countries.

LONDON -- Another 111 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain as of Sunday afternoon, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 39,045, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Monday.

The figures include deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community.

BRUSSELS/MADRID, June 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Belgian prince has contracted coronavirus after attending a party during lockdown in Spain, the country’s royal palace says.

Prince Joachim, 28, travelled from Belgium to Spain for an internship on May 26, the palace said.

Two days later, he went to a party in the southern city of Córdoba, before testing positive for Covid-19.

Spanish reports suggest the prince, a nephew of Belgium’s King Philippe, was among 27 people at the party.

BRUSSELS, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The European Union(EU)'s chief executive and top diplomat said in a statement on Saturday that the bloc continues to support the World Health Organization (WHO) and urges the U.S. to reconsider its termination of ties with the WHO.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that his country is "terminating" its relationship with the WHO and redirecting the funds elsewhere.

30 May 2020; AFP: Britain and the EU will attempt to revive their imperilled trade talks on Tuesday, entering a crucial week of negotiations that could mark the final hope for a deal.

Hundreds of officials will hold video talks all week from London and Brussels, the fourth and last scheduled round of negotiations since Britain formally left the EU on January 31.

The previous round ended in acrimony with the EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier asking his UK counterpart David Frost to watch his "tone" in a tetchy exchange of letters.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers sought to toughen their strategy on China on Friday to counter Beijing’s increasingly assertive diplomacy and accelerate efforts to end unfettered access for Chinese business in Europe.

Amid European criticism of Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, EU foreign ministers met via videolink for their first discussion before two possible EU-China summits this year, one expected at the end of June and another in September.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Border closures do little to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the European Union’s public health agency said, as EU states weigh lifting some travel restrictions imposed at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said measures such as testing travellers before departure or temperature screening on arrival are also largely ineffective, though it confirmed that travelling facilitates the spread of the virus.

BRUSSELS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The leaders of the European Union and Japan said on Tuesday that global solidarity, cooperation, and effective multilateralism are required to defeat the coronavirus.

Charles Michel, president of the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and Shinzo Abe, prime minister of Japan held a video meeting on Tuesday.