European Union

Parliament today adopted its position on a new law to reduce methane emissions from the energy sector to reach the EU’s climate goals and improve air quality.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

While it would be possible and beneficial for Europe to completely replace Russian fossil gas supplies with green alternatives by 2028, it will require significant investment, upskilling and policy improvements, according to a study by the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group.

Regulators need to recognise the essential role of the chemical industry for the future innovation needed to realise a new, green economy.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola´s address at This is Europe -debate with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Europe Day, 9 May 2023.

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Georgia has implemented 80% of the European Commission's recommendations to earn EU candidate status, the country's Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili told EURACTIV, as Tbilisi races to convince it to progress to the next steps in the bloc's accession process.

Unlike Ukraine and Moldova, Georgia missed out on receiving EU candidate status last June and were instead granted the European “perspective” and given a list of 12 priorities to develop and implement in terms of domestic reforms. With an oral assessment of progress by the EU executive expected by June, EURACTIV looks at Georgia's prospect of receiving EU candidate status in the near future.

The European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) is striving to make Europe's patchwork of national railway regulations fit for pan-European travel, working with national authorities to delete rules that hamper border crossings.

A delegation of AFET Members will travel to Washington D.C. and Wisconsin, US from 15 to 19 May. The main goal of the mission will be to establish and deepen the political dialogue with the US administration and meet counterparts in Congress, following the US mid-term elections.
Members will hold meetings with Government and Congress representatives in Washington D.C. The visit to Wisconsin, a swing and bellwether State, will provide AFET members with an in-depth look into grass-roots America from a transatlantic perspective. On top of meeting the political authorities and institutions of the State of Wisconsin, Members will also meet management and students form the Jean Monnet Programme on European and Global studies at the University of Madison - Wisconsin.
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

The European Parliament adopted on Monday (8 May) a non-binding resolution on the use of Pegasus and other spyware in the EU, calling for an effective ban on the technology unless certain conditions are met by the end of the year. 

EP Today 9 May - Europe Day

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

One of the scenarios to eliminate the risk of new Russian aggressions is more risky than the other, but both should lead to the full denuclearisation of Russia, writes Roman Rukomeda.

In today's edition of the Capitals, find out about China cancelling on German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, Luxembourg mulling a 38-hour week, and so much more.

Russia launched about 15 cruise missiles at Ukraine's capital 9 May, the second attack in as many days, with air defence systems shooting all of them down, officials said, after air raid alerts blared over most of the country.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck's plans to subsidise electricity for energy-intensive companies to help them with increasing costs have prompted criticism from EU Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager.

A European Parliament special committee dealing with the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware (PEGA) has concluded that the EU should come up with a strong regulation framework as well as hold those responsible accountable for their illegal actions.

A number of structural reforms introduced by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2017 have brought employment back to pre-2008 levels. However, the French are growing more and more disenfranchised with their jobs. After months of political fights over a widely-rejected...

As the first EU act specifically regulating the EU's CRM supply, the proposed initiative aims to address an area previously identified as one of the EU's strategic dependencies. Following a clear problem description, the IA presents three (partially overlapping) policy options and a thorough analysis of their possible impacts, with a clear focus on economic impacts. The identification of the preferred policy option appears justified. The predominantly qualitative assessment draws merely on desk research and stakeholder input. In this respect, the IA admits to having 'significant data gaps' and a 'limited' evidence base, owing in part to 'the lack of a supporting study'. With regard to stakeholder input, the IA does not explain why the public consultation was open for only 8 weeks (instead of the default 12). It is notable that the proposed regulation deviates somewhat in scope from the IA: it adds a further specific objective – namely to diversify CRM imports in order to reduce strategic dependencies – and provides for a few measures that were either not assessed at all in the IA, or which were outside the preferred policy option.
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

EP spyware inquiry committee has adopted its final report and recommendations, condemning spyware abuses in several EU member states and setting out a way forward.
Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

President Metsola led MEPs in a minute of silence to remember the victims of the shootings in Serbia, at the opening of the 8-11 May session in Strasbourg.

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP