European Union

The European Union on Dec. 29 called on Syria's regime and its allies to halt "indiscriminate" military attacks on civilians in the country's northwest, where an intensifying bombardment by Damascus and Russian forces has displaced tens of thousands.    

Britain will lose its influence in the world and become a "second-rate player" after leaving the EU, said Donald Tusk, quoted by Reuters.

Proponents of Brexit point out that the UK is the fifth largest economy in the world and argue that leaving the EU will open up new opportunities in world trade.

Spain and four other EU countries have agreed to accept migrants from the Open Arms rescue ship, EU authorities said today, cited by Reuters and BTA. 

Data protection committees in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and several other countries said that Libra's cryptocurrency, proposed by Facebook (Facebook Inc.), could pose a risk to the privacy of its users.

The foreign ministers of the countries in the European Union have imposed initial sanctions against Turkey. The reason is gas drilling in the waters of the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus.

The EU border agency Frontex stated on Wednesday that the bloc is experiencing high migration pressure, with about 382,000 illegal migrants arriving in European countries in 2016.

Frontex said that although the numbers decreased in comparison to 2015, it was still higher than any annual figure for arrivals in 2010-2014.

The demolition of the contested two-metre-high concrete wall near the bridge across the Ibar River in North Mitrovica took place on Sunday without incident, although police were in attendance to ensure order.

Although recent statistics show Croatia had the biggest annual drop in the unemployment rate in the EU last year, figures also show the number of people in work in Croatia has also declined.

A report published on Tuesday by the EU statistical agency Eurostat said Croatia's unemployment rate fell from 15 per cent in December 2015 to 11.4 per cent in December 2016.

Europe's economic recovery is gathering speed, with growth up, inflation spiking sharply higher and unemployment at its lowest in nearly eight years, official figures showed Tuesday.

Western security officials are warning the Isis terror group may be trying to manipulate refugees into carrying out terrorist attacks.

There are also fears Isis will sneak in trained fighters among the mass movements of people fleeing war, hunger and extreme poverty.