EU

There has been visible discontent with Albania’s government in recent weeks, with protestors hurling petrol bombs at government buildings and calling out Prime Minister Edi Rama by name.

Belgian prosecutors have charged two people close to former European Commissioner Didier Reynders as part of a money-laundering investigation that until now had focused on Reynders alone.

Belgian police raided European Commission offices in Brussels on Thursday as part of an investigation into potential irregularities in the sale of EU real estate assets.

The European Commission has proposed a blanket ban on cryptocurrency transactions linked to Russia and new trade restrictions on Kyrgyzstan in an effort to close loopholes used by Moscow to fund its war in Ukraine. 

The European Union’s new Anti-Money Laundering Authority said it is on track to become fully operational in 2028, setting out a multi-year plan that flags emerging illicit-finance threats ranging from crypto-assets to “novel payment channels.”

When the digital avatar “Diella” was launched by the Albanian government last year, its purpose was clear: to serve as an incorruptible public servant in a country known for widespread corruption, according to new reporting by The New York Times. 

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas is preparing to push for new sanctions on Iran following a security crackdown that has “reportedly claimed hundreds of lives” since protests began nearly two weeks ago, Euronews reported Monday. 

European banks could cut more than 200,000 jobs over the next five years as lenders accelerate adoption of artificial intelligence and continue closing branches, according to estimates cited by the Financial Times.

The EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) on Thursday published draft technical standards intended to unify how financial supervisors assess risks and how the supervisory body will select the “most complex” high-risk institutions and groups it will directly oversee. 

European lawmakers will push for wildlife trafficking to be recognized as organized crime by 2030 and for tougher global enforcement at next month’s United Nations meeting on endangered species, Euronews reported.