Flavoured cigarettes, including menthol, strawberry, or vanilla, are set to be banned in the European Union. The EU health commissioner also wants to make pictorial warnings occupy 75 per cent of the pack. ­The draft legislation on measures to curb smoking were unveiled on Wednesday. However, they still need to be approved by EU governments and the European parliament, which could take up to three... 

File photo shows veiled women holding signs during a protest by Muslim men and women in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek (Molenbeek-Saint-Jean), in Brussels. Two candidates from Islam Party have won their way to the local councils in two major districts of the Belgian capital Brussels. The local elections were held in Anderlecht and Molenbeek on Sunday. The party reportedly plans to field candidates for the regional... 

Less than a week has passed since ACTA was defeated by a comprehensive vote in the European parliament. But some copyright activists believe its provisions may get in through the backdoor via the CETA treaty. ­The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is a wide-ranging set of agreements between the EU and Canada. Only a small part of it concerns intellectual property, but this part appears... 

Used software licenses may be resold by both individuals and companies, the European Court of Justice has ruled. A major victory against copyright holders comes as the European Parliament prepares for a vote on the controversial ACTA treaty. ­A major blow has been dealt to any company trying to restrict the resale of its software on the European market, after the court in Luxembourg put an end to... 

EU countries have agreed that border control in the Schengen zone can be restored temporarily under “exceptional circumstances.” The measure is moved by the uncontrolled flow of migrants into the EU in the wake of the economic crisis. Under the proposal, which was approved at a meeting of EU home affairs ministers in Luxembourg, the control of national borders the Schengen Area would be... 

The European Parliament has opposed the controversial ACTA treaty, after three of its influential committees said the trade agreement should be rejected. The Legal Affairs Committee (JURI), the Committee for Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) and the Committee for Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) all voted against implementing the agreement, which caused mass protests in several... 

The European Parliament adopted an ambiguous resolution on the presidential elections in Russia. The resolution serves two masters, as they say. On the one hand, the European Parliament described the electoral process in Russia as “not free and unfair.” On the other hand, the parliament is optimistic about the future and the further dialogue with Russia. However, Russia could expect nothing... 

Belarusian MPs have blasted a recent resolution of the European Parliament on death penalty in Belarus as an attempt to interfere in the country’s internal affairs. ­The Belarusian parliamentary commission on international affairs has issued an official statement saying that the European Parliament’s resolution on the death penalty in Belarus was a continuation of the practice of pressuring Belarusian... 

Protestors, some wearing Guy Fawkes masks, take part in a demonstration in Stockholm. Germany has delayed signing the ACTA treaty on intellectual property theft after its Justice Ministry voiced its concerns about the legislation. It is the fifth EU country to challenge approval of the debated treaty. ­The Justice Ministry said that the European Parliament should vote on ACTA before it is considered... 

Poland's ambassador to the Vatican delivered a message to the Holy See urging it 'to take action to stop Father Rydzyk harming Poland's reputation abroad'. Poland’s government has asked the Vatican to censure a radical and influential Polish priest after he described Poland as uncivilised and governed by a “totalitarian” regime during a meeting at the European Parliament. The... 

Nick Griffin MEP left climate change Eurocrats lost for words this week after a stinging attack on the global warming hoax during a speech in Brussels. Speaking at a debate of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, of which he is a member, Mr Griffin called EU biofuel policy a disaster, anthropogenic global warming “non-existent” and wind farms “Mickey Mouse technology”. His... 

Members of the European Parliament have responded critically to new demands for data by Washington for people traveling to the United States. US officials are demanding access to additional European police databases in their hunt for potential terrorists traveling to the US. The demands include DNA samples, fingerprints, access to criminal registers and other information. The request is being opposed... 

Secretive and elite, the Bilderberg group, which unites some of the world’s most powerful people, has been meeting behind closed doors for decades. An investigative journalist Daniel Estulin has just revealed to the European Parliament all he claims to have discovered about the Bilderbergers, and expects the results of his findings to have the ‘effect of an atomic bomb’.  Read More »

Israeli soldiers in West Bank arresting a Palestinian protester. Thousands of European Jews, including a number of EU parliament members, have signed a petition warning against systematic support for Israeli policies. The petition, which was slated to be delivered to the European Parliament on Sunday, is signed by more than 3,000 European Jews, including renown French philosophers Bernard-Henri Levy... 

Bukovsky and Belien Vladimir Bukovksy, the 63-year old former Soviet dissident, fears that the European Union is on its way to becoming another Soviet Union. In a speech he delivered in Brussels last week Mr Bukovsky called the EU a “monster” that must be destroyed, the sooner the better, before it develops into a fullfledged totalitarian state. Mr Bukovsky paid a visit to the European Parliament...