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PRAGUE
China is organising a “last minute” high-level summit with heads of Central and Eastern European states under the so-called 17+1 format, which should take place “at least online” in February, EURACTIV.cz’s media partner
Hospodářské noviny reported. Read more.
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EU PRESIDENCY
Breton: Jab certificates not enough to ensure free movement. COVID-19 vaccination certificates are “important but not sufficient” to ensure the resumption of free movement within the EU during the pandemic, EU Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton said on Tuesday (19 January), adding instead that rapid tests should also be introduced. Read the full interview here.
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EU INSTITUTIONS
Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva set off to Mozambique on Tuesday as part of an EU mission in response to Maputo’s request for cooperation in the face of armed violence attributed to extremist Islamic groups.
In response to Lusa‘s questions about the mission, a spokesman said on Monday that “the EU is following closely the persistent and destructive armed violence in northern Mozambique, recognising the serious humanitarian consequences and the threat of regional spread”.
Portugal’s foreign minister will visit Maputo from 19 to 21 January, representing the EU’s Chief Diplomat Josep Borell for “high-level political contacts with the Mozambican authorities”.
Britain's decision to suspend flights from Portugal because of concerns about a new coronavirus strain in Brazil is "absurd", Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva said.
Britain’s transport chief says the government banned travel from South America and Portugal to ensure a new variant of COVID-19 found in Brazil doesn’t derail the country’s vaccination program, although there are no signs the variant has reached the U.K. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the ban, which took effect Friday morning, was extended to Portugal because many people who come to Europe from South America travel through Portugal.