European Union

A group of people crowded onto a small open boat in the deep blue sea

Europe makes another move to outsource border control with Mauritania deal

Migration

The European Union just signed a deal with the West African nation Mauritania: In exchange for hundreds of millions of dollars in investments, Mauritania has pledged to stop the tens of thousands of migrants heading by boat to Spain from its shores.

Protesters wave a Georgian national and EU flags as they rally against a draft law

Georgia faces a rocky road to EU membership

Foreign policy
Hungarian PM Viktor Orban arrives for the an extraordinary meeting of EU leaders to discuss Ukraine, energy and food security in Brussels

Hungary’s Orban wins exemption in EU Russian oil embargo

Energy
A train passes by Republika Power Plant in town of Pernik, Bulgaria, April 21, 2022. The only nuclear power plant, generating over a third of Bulgaria’s electricity, runs on uranium from Russia.

EU proposes oil ban after bloc’s largest economy drops opposition

Ukraine
A row of umbrells are shown standing upright in the sand with the blue Aegean sea in the distance.

EU takes big step toward relaxing travel for vaccinated

A passenger shows his PCR test result on his phone as he boards a plane at an airport

As Europe plans to reopen, travelers must read the fine print

Borders

After a year of travel restrictions, the EU commission has laid out plans that could see the continent open its borders by June. But several COVID-19 rules and restrictions will still apply.

A shellfish export truck with a protest sign written across the trailer "Incompetent Government Destroying Shellfish Industry" drives past the Palace of Westminster in London

Scottish fishermen say their industry is in crisis after Brexit  

Since Jan. 1, when Britain formally left the European Union, truckloads of fish have been stopped at ports on both sides of the English Channel.

Luke DeBoer, left, and fiancée Ida Marie Rygg on a trip to Kjerag mountain in Norway. Closed borders during the coronavirus pandemic separated them for months.

‘Love is essential’: Some EU countries relax rules for separated cross-border couples

COVID-19

Closed borders during the coronavirus pandemic have taken long-distance relationships to a whole new level. Now, some countries are providing sweet relief for cross-border couples. Norway’s new rules took effect July 15.

Several cafe tables are shown in St. Mark's Square with the St. Mark's Basilica in the distance.

EU travel recommendations may impede Americans and Russians

COVID-19

The European Union hopes to reopen borders for outsiders starting in July, but will review individual nations’ COVID-19 situation, according to diplomats and a document laying out criteria that could keep Americans, Russians and Brazilians out.

A man waves a British flag on Brexit day in London, Britain, on Jan. 31, 2020.

Brexit? It’s still a thing.

Brexit

Thought Brexit was over, right? Wrong. Britain did leave the EU at the end of January, but in reality, nothing much has changed. The real deadline is Dec. 31, and negotiations are set to take place until then. There’s just one problem: a pandemic.