European Union

The European Parliament and the ministers of Member States have formally endorsed the one year delay of the European Deforestation regulation (EUDR).

The post A note to the EU: The European Deforestation Regulation is delayed but this isn’t time to relax appeared first on Euractiv.

France's highest appeals court upheld Sarkozy's 2021 corruption conviction.

The post France’s Sarkozy must wear electronic tag after losing graft case appeal appeared first on Euractiv.

A controversial German gas tariff contested by Central European countries will be abolished on Friday, Euractiv has learnt.

The post Berlin to abolish controversial gas transit fee with support from CDU leader appeared first on Euractiv.

"As far as we know, none of the big players on the AI scene are complying with the GDPR,” a noyb spokesperson told Euractiv.

The post EDPB clears path for AI training on personal data, leaving open questions appeared first on Euractiv.

The newly-upgraded committees will now be able to lead negotiations on EU legislation.

The post Parliament establishes new committees on health and defence  appeared first on Euractiv.

Written by Marcin Szczepański.

The UK’s withdrawal from the EU on 31 January 2020 was followed by a period of tense relations, mainly around the issues concerning implementation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. The economic consequences of Brexit started to materialise. In 2023, the new UK government of Rishi Sunak agreed with the EU on the Windsor Framework, designed to find solutions to issues related to the implementation of the Protocol. A period of gradually improving relations ensued.

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine made it clear that the EU and UK are facing a common threat and need to coordinate their policies better. Progress has been made in an increasing number of fields, from defence, through trade, research and innovation, to competition policies. With the change of leadership in the UK to a Labour government and the emergence of a new political cycle in the EU for 2024-2029, the reset of EU-UK relations has increasingly been gaining momentum.

While the UK has made clear that it will not return to the single market or customs union, the government of Keir Starmer has started to engage diplomatically with the EU, with a reset of the relationship as its priority. Both sides are interested mainly in a security and defence pact, the scope of which remains to be defined. The EU’s interests include improving mobility into the UK (including youth mobility), maintaining fisheries access, and ensuring rights of EU citizens in the UK. There are also a number of EU programmes that the UK may be considering joining, to mutual benefit, once financial contributions have been negotiated. The negotiations are set to intensify in early 2025.

The re-election of Donald Trump may complicate these negotiations, as it is likely to bring disruption, and its effects remain to be seen. The expert community sees possibilities for stronger cooperation on a range of issues such as climate and energy policies, resilience of supply chains, approximation of laws and building the defence industrial base. The European Parliament has been calling in numerous resolutions for closer cooperation in many areas not covered by the current arrangements.

Read the complete briefing on ‘EU-UK relations: Towards a stronger partnership in uneasy times in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Parliament has approved changes put forward by its Conference of Presidents, establishing two new standing and two special committees.
Committee on Constitutional Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Parliament has approved changes put forward by its Conference of Presidents, establishing two new standing and two special committees.
Committee on Constitutional Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

In a plenary vote on Wednesday, MEPs supported Italian candidate Bruna Szego’s appointment as Chair of the EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

In a plenary vote on Wednesday, MEPs supported Italian candidate Bruna Szego’s appointment as Chair of the EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was killed on Tuesday in an explosion outside his residence in Moscow. The day before, the Ukrainian secret service SBU had charged Kirrilov, who is responsible for Russia's radiation, biological and chemical defence forces, with war crimes and formally opened an investigation into the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. Europe's press assesses the situation.

On Monday the majority of the members of the German parliament withdrew its confidence in Chancellor Olaf Scholz, officially clearing the way for new elections on 23 February. Scholz will be running again as the top candidate of the SPD, but the leader of the opposition Friedrich Merz (CDU) is ahead in the polls. Europe's press takes stock.