Legislators

The Ministry of European Investments and Projects (MIPE) has submitted to the European Commission all the extended components of Romania's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), and minister Cristian Ghinea will discuss them in Brussels, April 12-16 April.

Angela Merkel has performed a U-turn on plans to put Germany under a hard lockdown over Easter following a critical backlash, describing the decision to close churches and shops over a five-day period as a "mistake".

A rare 16th-century portrait of Suleiman the Magnificent, the longest-reigning Ottoman sultan, will be auctioned by Sotheby's.

The portrait of the sultan will be on live auction at Sotheby's with a starting bid of 60,000 pounds ($83,000). Estimates suggest it will be sold for around 80,000 - 120,000 pounds.

Commission Vice-President Vera Jourova, who opened the debate, also expressed concern about developments in the three countries: she explicitly referred to Klubradio, Hungary's last independent station, which lost its broadcasting licence; to Poland's new tax on advertising, which could end up disproportionately hitting independent newspapers; and to "continuous attempts to undermine the sustai

Brussels – The Slovenian authorities have not withdrawn notification of state aid to the STA even though the European Commission has said its clearance is not necessary. If Slovenia insists it wants a decision, the case will be processed as a matter of priority, a Commission spokeswoman said on Thursday.

Addressing the Bundestag, Merkel said that vaccination is progressing better and better, that the number of infections is declining.

Merkel and the leaders of 16 German states should meet tomorrow to discuss whether steps can be taken to mitigate the measures that have been in force since November, and were tightened in mid-December, Reuters reports.
"We have to wait until March 1. My goal would be not to have to correct the reopening by introducing another lockdown," the chancellor said.

Hundreds of people took to the streets of Copenhagen on Feb. 6 night to protest Denmark's COVID-19 restrictions and the country's plans for a digital vaccination certificate.

Organised by a group calling itself "Men in Black Denmark," some 600 people gathered in the bitter cold in front of the parliament building to protest the "dictatorship" of Denmark's partial lockdown.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Jan. 30 congratulated the new leader of Germany's ruling party.

In a phone call, Erdoğan said he believed Armin Laschet, head of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), will continue Germany's positive relations with Turkey, according to a statement from Turkey's Communications Directorate.

European Union foreign ministers have agreed to a "wait-and-see" approach towards Turkey, with some member-states appearing more skeptical of Ankara's recent overtures.