European Union

Vice President Kamala Harris opened up a marginal two-percentage-point lead over Republican Donald Trump after President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign and passed the torch to her, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

Sunday 21 July was the hottest day ever recorded, according to preliminary data from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service, which has tracked such global weather patterns since 1940.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday (23 July) praised the Vatican's efforts in seeking peace and releasing prisoners of war in talks with a senior official, a contrast from previous tensions between Kyiv and the Holy See.

Nearly a third of Ukrainians would accept some territorial concessions to Russia for a quick end to the war, a more than three-fold increase over the past year, although most still oppose giving up any land, a poll showed on Tuesday.

Palestinian rivals including Hamas and Fatah agreed to form a unity government at talks hosted by China, Beijing said on Tuesday (23 July), a deal meant to deliver a post-war Gaza administration but quickly rejected by Israel as it seeks to crush Hamas.

The EU has an obligation to pro-actively enhance climate change and biodiversity policies at the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) by endorsing its Plan of Action & establishing a dedicated working group this fall. This would bring the EU’s approach at Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) up to par with statements and speeches shared at multilateral organizations like COFI, UNFSA, and other international fora. If the EU does not champion climate change adaptation at ICCAT, they would prove to only be providing lip service and their agreements, mere paper tigers.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF on Tuesday (23 July) urged Bosnia's authorities to raise the measles vaccination rate among children after two adolescents in the Balkan country died in an outbreak of the highly infectious respiratory illness.

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania is an important part of both Lithuanian and Belarusian history. But the mutual past is creating tensions between the two nations, which only benefits Russia.

The EU’s onshore wind and solar energy needs can be met without undermining food production or nature protection efforts, according to a report by the European Environmental Bureau released on Wednesday (24 July). However, this depends on human choices, at an individual and political level.

Hungary will block European Union refunds for member states that gave munitions to Ukraine until Kyiv allows the transit of oil from Russia's Lukoil through a pipeline over its territory, the Hungarian foreign minister said on Tuesday (23 July).

It’s no secret that Europe is facing some of the biggest challenges in its history, from the digital and green transition to climate adaptation and mitigation, along with the need to boost its security and defence resources and enhance its competitiveness.

The gentleman’s agreement among the EU's centrist parties to keep extremes at bay held as the European Parliament elected chairs and vice chairs of its committees, but rows over gender balance exposed tensions between the mainstream parties.

The UK, US, and EU competition authorities specified common fair competition principles on foundation artificial intelligence (AI) models like ChatGPT but did not commit to joint action, according to a joint statement on Tuesday (23 July). 

Carmen Crespo Díaz, a Spanish lawmaker from the European People's Party (EPP), was elected by acclamation chair of the European Parliament's Fisheries Committee on Tuesday (23 July), an appointment welcomed by the industry and environmental NGOs.

Germany’s government and the centre-right opposition have struck a deal to ringfence the Constitutional Court against blockades and hostile takeovers, amid fears that the far-right could try to undermine the rule of law if it continues to gain ground. 

After decades of the same elites ruling through largely undemocratic means, Armenia has in recent years seen a surge in political polarisation that is threatening its ongoing democratic transformation.

The constitutive meetings of the European Parliament's standing committees and subcommittees are taking place in Brussels on 23 July 2024, following the appointments of their members in the plenary sitting of 16-19 July. During the constitutive meetings, each committee and subcommittee is electing its respective bureau, made up of a Chair and Vice-Chairs, for a two-and-a-half year mandate. The newly set up committees will then start holding their regular meetings during the same week following their constitutive meeting.
The AFET constitutive meeting took place on Tuesday 23 July from 09.00 to 09.30 in room József Antall 2Q2 (Brussels).
The meeting was webstreamed.
AFET-SEDE-DROI calendar of meetings 2024
Meeting documents
Webstreaming
Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

The European Commission opened a formal antitrust investigation into food delivery apps Delivery Hero and Glovo, examining whether the two are participating in a cartel, according to a Tuesday (23 July) press release.

While the political balances of the new European Parliament started to be redrafted on Tuesday (23 July) as MEPs picked the leading roles for each policy committee, the influential economic and monetary affairs (Econ) and budget committees remained firmly in the hands of incumbent parties – S&D and ECR respectively.

Length of video : 32'

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP