European Union

On 30 May, President Michel met with President Zourabichvili of Georgia.

The Council approved its annual report on public access to documents.

The Council adopted three regulations aimed at implementing the joint solutions agreed with the UK regarding public, animal and plant health issues, medicines and certain steel products.

The Council decided to provide €295 million of macro-financial assistance to Moldova.

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen will meet US President Joe Biden in Washington on Monday (5 June), amid speculation that the White House will use the visit to vet her as the first female NATO secretary-general.

Three more Europeans have been released by Iran in return for Iranian diplomat Asadollah Assadi as part of a prisoner swap in which Iran released Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele last week, a spokesperson for the Belgian government said.

After a rocky start to a week of negotiations, around 170 countries agreed to develop a first draft by November of what could become the first global treaty to curb plastic pollution by the end of next year.

The EU's financial aid provided to the 'frontline' countries neighbouring Ukraine has been controversial, with the €100 million support package funded with Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) money to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia extensively criticised by all sides.

The control of the EU’s food traditions should remain firmly in the hands of the EU executive, according to the European Parliament, which adopted its position on overhauling the EU’s food quality scheme on Thursday (1 June).

One year after EU governments backed Ukraine’s status as a candidate to join the bloc, Kira Rudik, a senior lawmaker in Kyiv, says that the country is on track for EU accession - but it needs political support from the bloc as much as ever.

Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton reiterated his support for nuclear, calling it a promising sector and a means to decarbonise the EU, as French MPs questioned him on the EU response to the US Inflation Reduction Act on Thursday (1 June).

In a sign that world geopolitics is shifting before our eyes, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said ahead of the ongoing summit of the BRICS states that the global order needs a rebalancing away from the Western powers, asserting the BRICS' wish to provide the necessary counterweight. 

Any further restrictions on auto emissions need to be imposed carefully and only after serious deliberation, with concern shown for both manufacturers and consumers.

Head of the European Parliament Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), Pascal Canfin,  wants to hold a hearing with agrochemical giants Bayer and Syngenta after researchers accused them of withholding information on the brain toxicity risk of pesticides. 

The Spanish government has officially requested to postpone the presentation of its upcoming EU presidency priorities in the European Parliament's plenary chamber until September.

A group of pro-Ukrainian forces said on Friday (2 June) they were fighting Russian troops on the outskirts of a village just inside Russia's western border, a day after Moscow said it had repelled three cross-border attacks.

The Spanish government has requested the postponement of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s speech to present the country's EU Council presidency at the European Parliament, originally scheduled for 13 July, to the September plenary session. 

In Cluj-Napoca, Romania, both young and senior citizens can take part in participatory budgeting processes implemented by the municipality and local organisations. These processes allow residents to propose and vote initiatives which are then funded through the local budget. To...

Welcome to EURACTIV’s Tech Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU

The European Parliament adopted its recommendations for the EU's response to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) on Thursday (1 June), calling for national strategies and boosting innovation.