European Union

The European Union and its member states must take "concrete and immediate" action to put sanctions on Russian food imports, Latvia's Agriculture Minister Armands Krauze stressed at the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council on Tuesday (23 January).

Farmers taking to the streets are making headlines all over Europe, and this is not their first season of discontent.

Before the ministry was disbanded in the latest government reshuffle, former energy minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher was preparing a joint paper to be co-signed by her German counterpart as a show of conciliation ahead of the EU elections - though whether the paper will now ever see the light is unclear.

After a year-long discussions, the EU Parliament and the Council of the EU reached their negotiating positions on the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. SBFE shares its take on the likely outcome of reuse and refill obligations, as well as suggestions for enhancing recyclability.

Lack of enthusiasm among national members of the European Left is driving the party to pick a widely unknown politician for its lead candidate in EU elections, echoing a general lack of appetite for the contested Spitzenkandidaten system.

French MEP Valérie Hayer has won the group's backing to become the new president of Renew Europe, EUobserver has learned, replacing France's new foreign affairs minister, Stéphane Séjourné.

Ukraine’s EU accession could help develop the country’s vast potential in agriculture, energy, and raw materials to the benefit of Europe’s economic security, write Philipp Lausberg and Svitlana Taran.

There are no longer 17.4 million Leave supporters and haven’t been for years.

Today, according to numerous polls by different pollsters, Rejoiners outnumber Brexiters by a significant margin – certainly bigger than the small margin for Leave in the referendum.

So, why don’t the Tories or Labour want to offer us, ‘the people’, a new democratic opportunity to reconsider Brexit?

Isn’t it a key purpose of democracy to give voters opportunities to change their minds?

Brexiters say we must wait 40 years for a new vote on Brexit, but that doesn’t make sense.

After the first referendum in 1975 – in which ‘Remain’ won by a landslide – there was another democratic opportunity to vote the UK out of the European Community just eight years later.

It’s now eight years since the 2016 referendum.

Won’t it soon be time for a new vote on Brexit? What’s holding back the Tories and Labour?

• 4-minute video: Brexiters-R-Outnumbered



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The post Today, Rejoiners outnumber Brexiters appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

French MEP Valérie Hayer will become the new president of Renew Europe with “overwhelming consensus” after current interim President Malik Azmani failed to gather enough support following widespread worries about his party’s involvement with coalition talks with the far-right. 

To make our food system more sustainable and resilient, MEPs support new rules for some NGT plants, but those not equivalent to conventional plants must follow stricter rules.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

To make our food system more sustainable and resilient, MEPs support new rules for some NGT plants, but those not equivalent to conventional plants must follow stricter rules.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Check out our timeline for an overview of how the EU and the European Parliament continue to support Ukraine in 2024.

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Check out our timeline for an overview of how the EU and the European Parliament continue to support Ukraine in 2024.

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Ever since the EU Commission published its hazardous chemicals strategy, the industry has lobbied to undermine and dilute its promises — and lobbyists can point to some clear wins.

Chinese officials just made an unprecedented, yet almost unnoticed, economic power grab. And instead of condemning the move, today, European officials could softly condone it -- by voting to implement a similar policy that would gut tech innovation across the EU.

The new rules aim to attract innovators to the EU and ensure EU consumers benefit from goods based on the latest cutting-edge technologies.
Committee on Legal Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

The new rules aim to attract innovators to the EU and ensure EU consumers benefit from goods based on the latest cutting-edge technologies.
Committee on Legal Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

On Tuesday, 23 January 2024 a joint hearing on “The European Union’s Strategy in the Sahel” will be organised by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Development and the Sub-Committee on Security and Defence. It will be an opportunity to critically reflect on the EU's policy and approach towards this important region in light of recent coup d’états.
The hearing will take a holistic approach that looks at the full picture of the root causes of instability in the region and the EU's policy towards the Sahel until now. It will allow MEPs to discuss ways in which the EU's strategy should be adapted to ensure that the EU's security, development, humanitarian and democracy-support assistance contributes to lasting sustainable development and enhanced security in this vital region and complements the efforts of the EU's partners.
Location : SPAAK 3C50
Draft programme
Hearing poster
Briefing on the new EU strategic priorities for the Sahel
Video recording of the hearing
Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

On Tuesday, 23 January 2024 a joint hearing on “The European Union’s Strategy in the Sahel” will be organised by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Development and the Sub-Committee on Security and Defence. It will be an opportunity to critically reflect on the EU's policy and approach towards this important region in light of recent coup d’états.
The hearing will take a holistic approach that looks at the full picture of the root causes of instability in the region and the EU's policy towards the Sahel until now. It will allow MEPs to discuss ways in which the EU's strategy should be adapted to ensure that the EU's security, development, humanitarian and democracy-support assistance contributes to lasting sustainable development and enhanced security in this vital region and complements the efforts of the EU's partners.
Location : SPAAK 3C50
Draft programme
Hearing poster
Briefing on the new EU strategic priorities for the Sahel
Video recording of the hearing
Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Thousands of kilometres of decaying asbestos cement water pipes are releasing possibly carcinogenic fibres into drinking water across Europe, but thus far, no EU measurement or reporting standards are in place.