Government of Germany

Merkel and the leaders of 16 German states should meet tomorrow to discuss whether steps can be taken to mitigate the measures that have been in force since November, and were tightened in mid-December, Reuters reports.
"We have to wait until March 1. My goal would be not to have to correct the reopening by introducing another lockdown," the chancellor said.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has reiterated claims that Greece is in violation of international treaties by continuing to maintain troops on several islands of the eastern Aegean, adding that Greek military officials have even conducted "provocative" visits to these islands.

The Prime Ministers of Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark and Greece have sent a joint letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urging her for timely talks with vaccine producers to avoid the problems encountered with AstraZeneca.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Tuesday the disbursement of 728 million euros from its SURE unemployment scheme to Greece.

"I am pleased to announce that Greece has received an additional 728 million euros in loans through SURE to fund part-time systems and support employees," she said in a tweet in Greek.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Jan. 30 congratulated the new leader of Germany's ruling party.

In a phone call, Erdoğan said he believed Armin Laschet, head of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), will continue Germany's positive relations with Turkey, according to a statement from Turkey's Communications Directorate.

The European Commission gave approval on Friday for the use of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca, the final step to allowing Europe to use it across the continent.

"I expect the company to deliver the 400 million doses as agreed," Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission wrote on Twitter.

[Reuters]

The European Commission has announced that it is launching a European biosecurity program to combat pandemics and other potential biological threats. This was stated by EC President Ursula von der Leyen.

She spoke online at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

According to the daily "Bild", at the video conference with the heads of the CDU / CSU factions in both the Bundestag and the provincial assemblies, she spoke openly about the failure of the government.
"We lost control of the matter," the paper quoted the chancellor as saying.

Europe's battle against coronavirus entered a dangerous new phase this week as politicians pushed to tighten lockdown measures across the continent even after a weekend of rioting brought scenes of chaos to the Netherlands and Denmark amid warnings of 'civil war'. 

The European Commission has proposed the inclusion of a new category in the map of Europe, which identifies the varying degrees of coronavirus spread. It will be colored in dark red, that is, it will indicate areas where the infection spreads especially quickly.