EU plus

In a press statement following the meeting, EU leaders welcomed the new agreement as an "important milestone" that would give European companies "unparalleled market access" to China, thus promoting the "level playing field". 

Charles Michel, President of the European Council: "On major issues, the European Union stands ready to work shoulder to shoulder with the United Kingdom. This will be the case on climate change, ahead of the COP 26 in Glasgow, and on the global response to pandemics, in particular with a possible treaty on pandemics. On foreign affairs, we will seek cooperation on specific issues based on shared values and interests."

A Europe-wide mass vaccination against the covid-19 virus started on Sunday (27 December) as part of an EU-wide effort co-ordinated by the European Commission. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had been delivered to all 27 member states.

In a recent controversial decision, the European Court of Justice has upheld a ban on kosher and halal slaughter in Belgium.  Deutche Welle's religious affairs expert, Christoph Strack says that bans on such forms of animal slaughter in Belgium, and elsewhere, arose over debates over the way Islam is practiced in Europe. Individuals sought to impose tighter rules on Islam on the continent — yet also hit Europe's Jews.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was established in the 1990s as a multilateral security organisation for Europe and Eurasia. Following an organisational crisis this year, Will Murray speaks to Dr Walter Kemp about the organisation's history and approach to security, and what can be done to ensure its effectiveness going forward.

European Council president Charles Michel and Turkish president Recip Tayip Erdogan on Tuesday (15 December) held a telephone conversation to discuss EU-Turkey relations in view of recent decisions by EU leaders to maintain pressure on Ankara over its energy exploration policy in the East Mediterranean.

The General Intelligence and Security Service of the Netherlands (AIVD) has uncovered an espionage operation being conducted from the Russian embassy in The Hague.

The Conference on the Future of Europe is an initiative that intends to bring all the voices in the EU together to chart a course for the future of the bloc. In this episode of Global Europe Unpacked, Will Murray speaks to Robert Micallef about what’s happening with this initiative, when and how it will take place, and how EU citizens can make the most of it.