European Union

Fortress Europe (German: Festung Europa) was a military propaganda term used by both sides during World War II, which referred to the areas of continental Europe occupied by Nazi Germany, as opposed to the United Kingdom across the Channel.

The EU-Tunisia Memorandum of Understanding is in its early stage of implementation, for instance, when it comes to the €105 million for migration announced in July 2023, a European Commission spokesperson told Euractiv. 

Armenia’s recent attempts to diversify its security partnerships have left it with increased narratives of the country's “Ukrainisation”.

Electricity prices on the EU wholesale market have been on a downward trend in recent months, a development some governments see as an opportunity to remove subsidies introduced in response to the energy crisis, while others see as a bad signal for the energy transition. 

The EU will be able to reach its energy goals and reduce CO2 emissions as long as policy makers take a “more pragmatic” and science-based approach when it comes to biofuels, Valérie Corre, President of the European Renewable Ethanol Association (ePURE), told Euractiv in an interview. “I believe that we need to have much more pragmatism in our decision making process, looking at facts and science and not let dogmatism in the way. Because when you take a dogmatic approach, you are missing the pointn […] you are killing opportunities that are really at our disposal to act today as we speak”, she said.

This week, a debate erupted between central bankers on whether economists are better described as a "tribal clique" (European Central Bank boss Christine Lagarde) or "violinists" (former deputy governor of the Irish Central Bank.)

The next ordinary meeting of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 14 February 2024 from 9.00-12.30 and 14.30-17.30hrs and Thursday, 15 February 2024 from 9.00-12.30 in Brussels (room SPAAK 5B1).

The meeting agenda and documents will be published here.

SEDE missions 2023:

• India - 17-21 December 2023
• Israel and OPT - 8-10 December 2023
  
• Germany and Poland - 24-26 July 2023
  
• Armenia - 19-22 June 2023
  
• Romania and Moldova - 15-18 May 2023
  
• Djibouti and Somalia - 1-4 April 2023
  
• Bosnia and Herzegovina - 20-23 February 2023
  

SEDE meetings' calendar 2024
EP calendar 2024
Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

French 'farmerfluencer' Étienne Fourmont, who is using his YouTube and social media to make farmers' voices heard at a time when they are protesting heavily in France and the rest of Europe, told Euractiv about the urgent need to change the way farming is viewed.

On 24 January, SEDE MEPs will hold an exchange of views on the spill-over from the Israel-Hamas war in the escalation in the Red sea and in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. They will also exchange views with Jiří Šedivý, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency, on EU's defence capability priorities and progress in addressing critical capability gaps.

Ukraine remains high on the SEDE agenda with its regular update - in camera - on the European Peace Facility's role in providing military equipment for Ukraine and on the EU's Military Assistance Mission for Ukraine, with Lt Gen Michiel van der Laan, Director General of the EU Military Staff.

Meeting agenda and documents
Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

The Belgian EU presidency wants to implement a recent overhaul of EU asylum laws, amid warnings that detention-like centres will mushroom as a result.

Six European NGOs and five in France announced on Thursday they had filed two separate requests to the European Commission for an “internal review”, the first step of a legal challenge, over the recent reapproval of the contentious but widely used weedkiller glyphosate.

The EU is already implementing projects together with Italian, French and German state apparatus development partners to strengthen the Tunisian navy and coast guard's capacities to intercept migrants at sea, several documents and a European Commission spokesperson confirmed to Euractiv.

Freshly-elected Renew Europe president Valérie Hayer is looking to address farmers’ concerns ahead of the EU election campaign while ensuring a “balanced view” on agricultural policy and refusing to reopen Green Deal files as right-wing political forces urge, she told Euractiv in an exclusive interview.  

On Thursday, Irene Shashar, a survivor of the Warsaw ghetto, addressed MEPs in a plenary session in Brussels to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

On Thursday, Irene Shashar, a survivor of the Warsaw ghetto, addressed MEPs in a plenary session in Brussels to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Our role is not to 'judge' the elections, but observation does provide an additional level of transparency, scrutiny and public accountability, writes Matteo Mecacci, director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

The Turkish parliament on Tuesday voted clearly in favour of Sweden joining Nato. For eighteen months Turkey opposed the move, after also blocking Finland's membership for a long time. Once President Erdoğan has signed, only Hungary's approval will still be pending. What does this mean for the three countries - and the transatlantic alliance?