TOP HEADLINES

• The EU's drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency, says it could make a ruling on vaccines seeking regulatory approval by the end of the year, as the bloc secured 160 million doses of Moderna's inoculation, taking its potential stock of shots to nearly 2 billion.

•  Germany's federal states plan to allow gatherings of up to 10 people over Christmas and New Year celebrations, relaxing coronavirus restrictions so families and friends can get together.

• Italy reported 853 coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday, jumping from 630 the day before and the highest daily toll since March 28.

• "Serious shortcomings" in coronavirus care at Sweden's nursing homes have been uncovered by a health watchdog, including findings that one-fifth of patients were not assessed by a doctor, while others were put on end-of-life treatment without a positive test. 

• Spain is set to propose a six-person cap for gatherings over the Christmas period, El Mundo newspaper has reported, citing a health ministry draft document.

• Switzerland is on its way to halving the number of new infections every two weeks thanks to restrictions in the west of the country, officials have announced. 

• Czechia, one of Europe's worst-hit countries during the second wave, could offer free antigen testing by Christmas for any citizens who want it, according to Prime Minister Andrej Babis.

•  Travelers arriving in England from abroad will face a shorter time in quarantine from December 15 if they test negative for the coronavirus five days after their arrival.

• The mayors of capital cities Budapest and Warsaw have criticized the Hungarian and Polish national governments for vetoing the EU budget and COVID-19 recovery fund, saying the EU should work directly with regions of member countries.

• Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has warned Italians not to ski during the Christmas holidays, calling for a "common European protocol" on the issue as neighboring Austria says the EU should offer Alpine countries cash if the slopes are closed. 

• The acting head of a Russian state fur company has suggested vaccinating the country's mink population against the coronavirus after other nations identified cases of the virus in the animals.

AROUND EUROPE

Andrew Wilson in the UK

Travelers entering the UK from high-risk countries will soon be able to reduce their quarantine period if they test negative for the coronavirus after just five days. The new system will be introduced from December 15 and will have to be paid for privately, costing between $100 and $150 per test.

Discussions continue over UK measures for the Christmas period. Whatever is decided, the Prime Minister has told the public they will need to be especially careful. Leaders from the UK's four countries have yet to agree how long the period might be and what defines a "household."

The government will announce on Thursday which areas will go into which tier of restriction after lockdown ends on December 2. The tiers are stricter and more detailed than before, with remote working encouraged across all three, and pubs and restaurants remaining closed in the top tier.

Toni Waterman in Brussels

The stakes are rising ahead of Friday's Consultative Committee meeting to determine the next steps in Belgium's lockdown. Minister for the self-employed, David Clarinval, said he will "plead for the reopening of shops and the hospitality sector to be seriously considered." A new survey from the Union des Classes Moyennes showed that 87 percent of self-employed shopkeepers said they risked bankruptcy if stores weren't allowed to reopen before the holiday season. 

But others in government say deconfinement must be gradual as Belgium awaits a vaccine, which could be more widely available in early spring. The Walloon minister of health said: "We feel that the efforts made are useful, but we must not deconfine everything too quickly."

A strict nationwide lockdown came into force on October 30 and is set to run until December 13. New infections continue to fall with an average daily rate of 3,298 cases a day in the past week.

Trent Murray in Frankfurt

The latest data from Germany's Robert Koch Institute indicate there have been 13,554 new cases recorded, as well as 249 new deaths. The number of new cases is the lowest recorded on a regular weekday in exactly four weeks, indicating lockdown measures are finally starting to slow the spread of the virus. 

Chancellor Angela Merkel is preparing to meet with state leaders tomorrow to determine whether those measures should be extended. There are reports in local media that, while an extension is likely, discussions are under way to allow families to create special "bubbles" to meet over Christmas. 

There has also been promising news on the delivery of a vaccine as Germany's Health Minister Jens Spahn indicated some doses may be ready for distribution in coming weeks. "As soon as a vaccine is available, we want to quickly begin offering vaccinations. There is reason to believe that we can start with vaccinations at the latest at the beginning of next year, maybe already at the end of this year," he said. 

Linda Kennedy in Budapest

Hungary has introduced "no-go" grocery time zones, tightening restrictions on supermarket shopping. A government decree says only seniors – those aged over 65 – can shop in supermarkets between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Monday to Friday, and 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at weekends.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has also talked about the introduction of "mass, targeted testing," with 2,000 university students being employed to help carry out the tests. The aim is to test 47,000 people in social institutions and 191,000 in education. The tests are voluntary.

And more than 3,300 new cases have been detected in Hungary, increasing the total to 177,952. There have been 91 new deaths reported, resulting in total death toll of 3,891.

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