After a relatively calm first phase, Bulgaria is now facing a surge in COVID-19 cases, to such an extent that the country now tops both the European and global rankings for covid-related deaths. After controversies and indecision, the government is now set to introduce new measures.
The latest report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) paints a grave picture of the EU’s environmental situation, which requires urgent attention from member states if current trends are to be reversed. A look at south-east Europe.
The European Commission has been opening 78 new infringement procedures per month against the member states in 2020. Spain continues to be the country with the largest number of pending procedures (100), closely followed by the UK and Greece.
In 2019-20, the EU remained by far the largest economic partner of the United Kingdom by all definitions: exports, imports, goods and services.
The handful of trade deals that the British government has so far concluded with non-EU countries will not fully compensate for the loss of the European market.
The online advertising system is based on the collection and sharing of user data, in an opaquely competitive market which rests mostly in a few powerful hands, including Google. Privacy and data protection are at issue, and Europe is debating what action should be taken.
Organised crime groups make an estimated €120 million of profit a year from betting-related match-fixing in sports events. Not only football matches are fixed, but tennis results are also manipulated more and more. And sports mafia are no longer only corrupting players, but clubs too.
Contrary to the trend across Europe, the Romanian capital has seen a drastic increase in AIDS cases in the last decade. The crisis is fueled by the use of synthetic drugs and lack of harm reduction services
Central and Eastern European member states need to bridge a huge gap in social spending, particularly in the area of family welfare payments. However, some of these countries already spend a relatively high share of social spending for family benefits.
A growing number of studies highlight the importance of clusters and superspreaders in the transmission of COVID-19. In order to fight the epidemic, we must have a better understanding of where outbreaks are happening and consider new ways of tracking cases.
