News feed

The European Commission has determined that the Czech Republic must return hundreds of millions of crowns in EU subsidies as Prime Minister Andrej Babiš did not sufficiently separate himself from holdings that received the funds.
Source: Euraktiv

The Ministry of Health introduced to the government a bill banning the dissemination of false information about HIV. False information includes denying the existence of HIV infection, denying the connection between HIV and the development of AIDS, as well as denying the effectiveness of HIV treatment, diagnosis, and prevention methods.
Source: Meduza

According to EU watchdog, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government has systematically destroyed the country’s media independence and pluralism over the past 10 years. EU leaders are expected to discuss possible actions against Hungary for Orban’s attacks on key European democratic norms.
Source: New Europe

Due to the absence of harmonized class action lawsuit mechanism the European consumers find it hard to get compensation in a lawsuit against corporations, such as in case when Volkswagen was caught cheating on emissions tests. This is set to change with the new EU legislation designed to simplify the collective lawsuit mechanism.
Source: Forbes

Austria is set to become the first EU country to completely ban weedkiller glyphosate, as lower house of parliament voted to ban all uses of controversial substance due to allegations of potentially causing cancer. The ban could clash with EU law.
Source: Deutsche Welle

Malta’s prime minister Joseph Muscat has resigned and due to leave in January, driven from office by the constitutional and political crisis triggered by the murder of the investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Source: The Guardian

Human rights activist Alena Popova demanded to ban the face recognition system after the Tverskoy District Court illegally used her biometric data obtained from surveillance cameras and fined the activist for 20 thousand rubles after protest near the State Duma building.
Source: Novaya Gazeta

Attacks against homosexual and transgender people in the German capital are up compared with 2018 figures, according to latest figures. The city's police chief has warned of an "increased polarization of society."
Source: Deutsche Welle

Shell is seeking to prevent Greenpeace protestors from breaching a 500m safety zone around platforms in the Brent field. It claims the protests could create serious safety risks.
Source: BBC

In the text adopted by 493 votes, MEPs call on Russia to stop illegitimately prosecuting Lithuanian judges and, EU countries should refuse any legal assistance to Russia in this case.
Source: European Parliament

Four out of five women convicted of murder in 2016–2018 in reality were trying to defend themselves against domestic violence.
Source: Novaya Gazeta

Poland’s parliament elected three ruling party nominees as judges to the constitutional court, raising concerns about the court’s independence. The most disputed of the three judges is Stanislaw Piotrowicz, a former communist-era state prosecutor.
Source: The Washington Post