Новости за 01.12.2020

The European Medicine Agency (EMA) announced on Tuesday that the pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Biontech/Pfizer have submitted data on their potential Covid-19 vaccines, in order to obtain a conditional market authorisation. The EMA is expected to express an opinion on the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on 29 December, while the discussion of the Moderna vaccine will take place on 12 January, according to the Financial Times.

Eurozone finance ministers agreed, on Monday, to upgrade the currency bloc's bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, enabling it to also help out failing banks, in a transformation to be ratified next year. "The [bank] backstop is a last resort. It's a further safety net at our disposal should we need it," Irish finance minister Paschal Donohoe, who chairs the meetings of the so-called 'Eurogroup', said.

Trade unions on Tuesday urged European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to name the date for a pay transparency directive, following her first year in office. In 2019, von der Leyen pledged to "table measures to introduce binding pay transparency measures" within "the first 100 days of her mandate" to tackle the bloc's 15-percent gender pay gap. So far, the proposal disappeared from the 2020 legislative calendar, however.

China and Russia are posing an increasing threat to Western allies, as Nato tries to heal internal splits with the US and Turkey.

The European Court of Human Rights on Monday ordered 33 European governments to answer to a climate lawsuit lodged by six Portuguese youth campaigners, AP reported. The applicants, aged between eight and 21, argued that government inaction to halt global warming jeopardised their futures and wellbeing. The countries, including Germany, France or the UK, have until the end of February to respond - unless a settlement is reached before then.

The US embassy in Budapest on Monday "strongly condemned" an opinion piece published by a Hungarian ministerial commissioner for culture "equating current debates in Europe with the horrific murder of millions of people during the Holocaust". Szilard Demeter later retracted the article, published in pro-government Origo, which had dubbed Hungary and Poland "the new Jews" in their rule-of-law disputes and Europe "George Soros' gas chamber", referring to the US-Hungarian billionaire.

Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon on Monday declined to rule out a new vote for Scottish independence next year and hinted she might go to court for permission to hold one if London tried to block it, Reuters writes. Scots narrowly rejected independence in 2014, but Brexit and the British government's handling of the Covid-19 crisis have increased support for secession, with most polls showing a majority now favour independence.

Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban on Monday evening travelled to Warsaw for discussions with Polish premier Mateusz Morawiecki on their joint blockade to the EU's long-term budget and coronavirus recovery package. The two met in Budapest only last Thursday, and confirmed their opposition to linking EU funds to the respect for the rule of law.

Spain is dismantling a dockside migrant camp in Gran Canaria amid widespread criticism of conditions, including the lack of running water and only a few toilets. Some 2,600 people were housed at Arguineguin, dubbed the "camp of shame" by Spanish media. They are being transferred to empty tourist accommodation and a military camp. Around 8,000 people, seeking refuge and better lives, arrived by boat from West Africa in November alone.

Four officers are reported to have been charged in connection with the beating of music producer Michel Zecler, Deutsche Welle reports. The incident arose after arrests were made at protests over the new security law at the weekend. Video footage showed Zecler was repeatedly beaten by three officers and subjected to racial abuse. A fourth officer threw a tear gas grenade into the building.

"If the UK wants a deal here, there's a deal to be done. If the UK wants to use fish as an excuse not to have a deal, then that could happen too," Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney warned.

Emissions regulated under the EU's carbon market fell by 9.1 percent in 2019, although aviation emissions continued to increased. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic is expected to lead to "an unprecedented fall in emissions" in 2020.

The European Commission says Hungary can secure the Russian vaccine Sputnik V but only if it invokes national emergency measures. It must also remain within the territory of the country.

You are not likely to hear this story, because it does not fit into the environmental activist or media narrative about American clean energy and will come as a shock to the most enthusiastic boosters of the Paris agreement.