Tag Archives: EUROPE NEWS

Europe

The European Union has agreed on the need to introduce vaccination certificates

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The leaders of the EU countries agreed on the need to introduce vaccination certificates. This was stated by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

According to Merkel, we are talking about electronic certificates that will be ready within three months. “We were all United in the fact that we need it,” she said. The documents themselves will be developed by European countries, and the technical issues and compatibility of certificates in all EU states will be worked out by the European Commission.

The Chancellor noted that the certificates can become the basis for travel within the European Union, as well as for entry into its territory from third countries.

Europe

Record 23 tons of cocaine seized in European ports

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The drugs were found in the ports of Antwerp and Hamburg, where container ships from Panama and Paraguay arrived.

Law enforcement agencies of the three EU countries conducted a joint operation against drug dealers and seized a consignment of cocaine in the amount of more than 23 tons. This is a new record for Europe, police said in the Netherlands on Wednesday 24 February.

“Never before has so much cocaine been intercepted at one time. The capture and ongoing investigation were carried out in close and intensive cooperation between the police, customs, and prosecutors in the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium,” the report said.

The drugs were seized at the ports of Antwerp and Hamburg, where container ships from Panama (in a container with firewood) and Paraguay (in a container with wall filler) arrived, respectively. Law enforcement officers in the Netherlands found 7.2 tons of cocaine, and in Germany more than 16 tons.

The drug carrier was a 28-year-old Dutch citizen. He was arrested this morning.

In Germany, they said that “a huge amount of cocaine could bring several billion euros in the event of street sales.”

We will remind, in November, the Belgian police seized 11.5 tons of cocaine in the port of Antwerp worth more than 900 million euros. Then it was claimed that this is the largest batch of drugs that the police have ever found in the whole world.

Europe

In EU reached an agreement on sanctions against Russia for the arrest of Navalny

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EU foreign ministers have reached an agreement to work on sanctions against Russia in connection with the arrest of Putin critic Alexei Navalny and the persecution of the opposition.

This was reported by the German news agency DPA, citing diplomatic sources.

“EU foreign ministers have agreed to push forward work on new sanctions against Russia following the imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny,” the statement said.

As reported, the next week should determine the legal framework and a specific list of persons to whom sanctions are applied.

The new EU sanctions mechanism for human rights violations, approved in 2020, provides for asset freezes and/or travel restrictions. The Navalny case may be the first time the European Union has involved him.

At the same time, Russian Ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said that Russia will take retaliatory measures if the European Union goes for new sanctions.

Russian court found Navalny guilty in the case of allegedly slandering a veteran. Earlier, the opposition leader was left in prison in the case of “Yves Rocher”, but was taken into account in the term of serving a sentence of 1.5 months of house arrest. Thus, in the colony, Navalny remains to spend about 2.5 years.

The discussion of new sanctions comes after EU diplomatic chief Josep Borrel was sharply criticized over a humiliating trip to Moscow when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov used a joint press conference to humiliate the bloc.

Europe

Estonia has increased restrictions to combat the virus

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Estonia has again returned a number of quarantine restrictions to combat the coronavirus epidemic, which will take effect from February 22.

This is reported by ERR.

The government explained that the restrictions are necessary to contain the virus, the rate of spread of which is now dangerous. Last week, the incidence rate increased by 21%, and the number of hospitalizations-by 12%.

Middle and high school students are transferred to distance learning-except for specialized schools or classes for children with special educational needs. In the classes, however, it will be possible to come to consultations, Olympiads, etc.

The work of clubs and courses is also limited. Sports training will be allowed only individually with a coach or in pairs if we are talking about sports such as tennis. In gyms, it is allowed to fill the premises by no more than 50%. Such places as swimming pools and baths are temporarily closed.

In the open air, a variety of workouts and classes are allowed for groups of up to 50 people.

Restaurants are allowed to fill no more than 50% of the seats and must provide 2 meters of distance between the tables. At one table, it is allowed to gather companies of no more than 6 people.

Public gatherings, religious gatherings, and recreational activities in rooms where there are no fixed seats are allowed, subject to a 50% occupancy of the room and a total of no more than 200 people, and in the open air-no more than 250 people.

Europe

The Vatican has warned employees of the threat of dismissal for refusing to vaccinate

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The Vatican has notified employees that they risk losing their jobs if they refuse to vaccinate against the coronavirus without valid health reasons.

This is reported by Reuters.

A decree issued by Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, the de facto governor of the Vatican, says vaccination is a “responsible choice” because of the risk of harming others.

The Vatican, the smallest state in the world, occupies 43 hectares of land, employs several thousand people, most of whom live in Italy. His vaccination program began in January, and the 84-year-old Pope Francis was one of the first to receive the vaccine.

The seven-page decree states that those who are unable to get vaccinated for health reasons may be given another position, presumably where they will have contact with fewer people, but they will receive the same pay, even if it is a demotion.

At the same time, the document emphasizes that those who refuse to be vaccinated without sufficient grounds will fall under the special provision of the 2011 law on the rights and obligations of employees.

One of the articles of the law states that employees who refuse to take “preventive measures” may be subjected to “varying degrees of consequences that may lead to dismissal.”

Pope Francis is a big proponent of vaccines to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. “It’s an ethical choice because you’re gambling with your health, your life, but you’re also gambling with the lives of others,” he said in January.

The Vatican has introduced mandatory vaccination for journalists who will accompany Pope Francis on his trip to Iraq next month.

There are fewer than 30 cases of coronavirus reported in the Vatican, most of them among the Swiss Guard, who live in communal barracks.