On 27 January, the Commission sent a supplementary reasoned opinion to Poland, deeming its responses to the infringement procedure opened in April 2020 against one of the Justice reforms to be "insufficient". The Commission considers that Poland is infringing EU law by allowing the disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court, whose impartiality is questioned, to take decisions on judges. Poland has one month to reply, failing which the Commission may refer the matter to the Court of Justice.

On 28 January the Commission decided to extend until 31 December the relaxation of State aid rules introduced on 19 March 2020 to deal with the crisis caused by the pandemic. In particular, the measure doubles the aid ceiling and converts repayable instruments into direct subsidies.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended on 29 January that AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine be placed on the market for people aged 18 and over. This is the third vaccine authorised after those of Pfizer/BioNtech and Moderna. Earlier in the day, the Commission published the contract signed in August for the delivery of 300 million doses, with an option for a further 100 million doses. The publication follows a dispute between the Commission and the laboratory over an anticipated supply delay.

On 29 January, the Commission adopted a "targeted and time-limited system" making exports of any vaccine against Covid-19 subject to authorisation by Member States if it is produced by laboratories that have signed advance purchase agreements with the EU. The aim is to provide more transparency on the production and distribution of vaccines. On 1 February, the German laboratory BioNTech announced an acceleration of vaccine deliveries to the European Union, promising up to 75 million additional doses in the second quarter. On 31 January, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced that AstraZeneca would deliver 9 million more doses to the Union in the first quarter, making a total of 40 million doses.

On 28 January, the Home Affairs ministers discussed the proposal for a pact on migration and asylum, stressing the need to strengthen cooperation and dialogue with third countries of origin and transit, to increase Frontex's resources to maintain border control and to preserve the Schengen area.

At a meeting on 29 January, the Justice Ministers reiterated the need to improve the protection of vulnerable adults and to fight against medical crime. They called for the ratification of the Hague Convention on the Protection of Adults of 2020 and the Council of Europe Medicrime Convention of 2010, which criminalises the sale of illegal and falsified medicines.

In 2019, total defence spending by Member States (excluding non-EDA member Denmark) stood at €186 billion, an increase of 5% over 2018, according to a report published on 28 January by the European Defence Agency. The report notes a significant increase in the acquisition of new equipment but a drop in total cooperative equipment purchases from other States, down by 20% against a target of 35%.

On 27 January, Europol announced that it had coordinated an operation with the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Lithuania, Canada and Ukraine against the EMOTET software, which allows cybercriminals to break into computers via email to steal data. The operation took control of hundreds of servers used by the cybercriminals and dismantled their systems from the inside.

In its guidelines adopted on 28 January, the Council of Europe calls for the regulation of facial recognition technologies to ensure privacy, data protection and the prohibition of discrimination.

Asylum applications fell by 33% in the first 10 months of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, according to a report published on 29 January by the Commission. 390 000 applications were filed. The number of arrivals by sea decreased by 10%, with 114,300 new arrivals. This decrease is mainly due to lower arrivals in Greece (down 74%), with arrivals in Italy and Malta (+154%) and Spain (+46%), however, showing a sharp increase.

According to a study published by the Commission on 26 January, the 12 trade agreements in place between the EU and other countries will have a positive impact on the EU's agri-food trade balance by 2030. Exports are expected to increase by 25-29% and imports by 10-13%. The consequences for the climate have not been taken into account in the study.

The Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris is organising its 'Hors Pistes' festival, which focuses on contemporary art and current issues. This year it is being held online until 14 February on the theme "Can we imagine and engage in an ecology of images?

Many museums in Italy reopened their doors on 1 February, including the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the site of Pompeii and its renovated Antiquarium, the Royal Museums of Turin and the Colosseum in Rome. The Academy Gallery in Venice will reopen on 8 February.

Das Filmfest, a festival of German-language films organised by the Goethe Institute Prague and the Austrian Cultural Forum in Prague to introduce the Czechs to German culture, is taking place from 8 to 14 February. This year's edition is online and accessible to all due to the pandemic and offers a selection of 7 films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Every evening at 7pm, one film is put online and is accessible for 48 hours.

The National Ossolinski Institute in Cracow is offering a virtual exhibition on "The Golden Age of the Jagiellonian Dynasty". Prepared on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the birth of King Sigismund Augustus, the last king of the dynasty, the exhibition traces the 200 years of the dynasty's reign.

From the 6th to 9th of February, Barcelona's Grand Teatre del Liceu will offer the dance show 'Solstice', created by choreographer Blanca Li. This show is about the upheavals in our ecosystem and the degradation of nature, expressed through dance.

The National Gallery in Dublin offers tours of its collections through a virtual walk through four of its exhibition rooms: the Grand Gallery, the Shaw Room, the European Art Room and the Irish Art Room.