Taiwan is donating 10 million protective face masks to countries seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The masks will be divided amongst the United States, 11 European countries and 15 diplomatic allies. The US will receive 2 million; 7 million will go to European nations, including Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Czech…
New laws have been adopted to pave the way for financial assistance from the EU and the IMF for a €80 million support package to fight COVID-19 in Ukraine. Humanitarian and medical assistance in Ukraine’s conflict-affected areas is crucial. This is a strong sign of EU solidarity with Ukraine. The support for Ukraine’s battle against the…
As the impact of the coronavirus crisis grows every day, the way in which businesses must work has changed dramatically. Many workers in this situation are now working remotely but what can be said for those still needing to attend work? For those classified as ‘key workers’, working in the health and education sectors, various…
The true scale of the death toll due to the corona virus in Northern Italy may never be known but it has already far out-stripped the capacity of the regional authorities to be able to respond to the crisis. In the city of Bergamo, the local mayor Giorgio Gori has said that “many of the elderly…
Many European capital cities are reporting reduced air pollution due to the COVID-19 pandemic meaning traffic greatly reduced as many Europeans are staying at home due to national measures to limit the spread of the virus. However, the easing of air pollution caused by the pandemic goes against the general trend. Just before the “lockdowns”, the European…
The Open Society Foundations today announced a donation of $1 million euros to the city of Milan, to help Italy’s financial capital rebuild in the wake of COVID-19. The pandemic has hit especially hard in Italy. According to the latest figures, the country has more than 97,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, second only to…
This article first appeared on the website IGTDS The Institute for Global Threats and Democracy Studies, and is reproduced with permission from the authors. A group of Russian military arrived in Italy exactly at the same moment as an active campaign was launched across social networks, calling for the country’s withdrawal from the EU. The…
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread across the globe and with over three billion people worldwide currently living under lockdown, many are asking the question: is there an alternative method that doesn’t entail such draconian measures? Sitting in self-isolation in my garden in Belgium, where I shall be spending at least another 3 weeks…
The joint procurement of personal protective equipment launched by the European Commission to address the coronavirus crisis has proven successful. Producers made offers covering and in some cases even exceeding the quantities requested by the Member States that take part in the procurement, for every single item requested. The joint procurement covers masks type 2…
A 30-page White Paper that reviews the management of the COVID-19 crisis by the South Korean authorities has just been published in several languages by a scholar in religious studies, human rights activists, a lawyer and a journalist, all from various European countries. In February 2020, the media in South Korea were in an uproar…
