European Union

Russia's Gazprom turned off supply to major Dutch trader GasTerra on Tuesday, escalating the economic battle between Moscow and Europe, Reuters reported. The move comes a day after Denmark flagged a potential end to its Russian gas supply. GasTerra, which buys gas on behalf of the Dutch government, said it had contracted elsewhere for the 2 billion cubic metres (bcm) it had expected to receive from Gazprom until October.

Latvian prime minister Krisjanis Karins said Tuesday he does not see the point of talking to Russian president Vladimir Putin after French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Olaf Scholz held another phone call with the Russian leader. "I don't see the point of talking with someone who is committing genocide in a neighbouring country. Putin will talk when he feels that he is losing," Karins told Bloomberg.

If the international community cannot fulfil its promises in Bosnia — given it's in the very heart of Europe, the leverage the EU and Nato possess, and the massive money invested — prospects for international state-building elsewhere are extremely grim.

The French parliamentary elections are around the corner and, as always, I find it difficult to explain to my fellow journalists and foreign friends how democracy works in my country.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has been in the spotlight following the eruption of violent clashes outside the Stade de France during the Champions League final on Saturday night (28 May). EURACTIV France reports.

The EU flag is nowhere to be seen, when Danish voters head to the polls on Wednesday — in the ninth referendum on the country's relationship to the European Union since 1972.

In an interview with EURACTIV, Witold Waszczykowski, the former foreign minister of Poland and a leading lawmaker in the European Parliament, gave a less than optimistic account of the extraordinary EU summit on Ukraine held on 30-31 May.

As ICT companies prepare for the future of connectivity, they remain mindful of our planet’s future. Forward-looking regulatory instruments, with a technology neutral approach to green transitions, will enable the enablers. Learn more during our fourth Digital Debate Series event.

Political parties are polarising, but society is not. Many citizens, in fact, remain where they once were — right in the middle of the political spectrum. Polarisation has, in short, become a political strategy.

The agreement is both a landmark diplomatic achievement and a realpolitik compromise. It is an end to Russian oil that still sees Russian oil flowing into the EU (call it Schrödinger’s oil ban).

It is "not justified" to conclude that the herbicide glyphosate causes cancer, an expert committee inside the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has said, invoking widespread criticism from health and environmental campaigners.

The partial oil embargo agreed by EU leaders is "not enough," Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of president Volodymyr Zelensky's office, said in Madrid on Tuesday, according to Reuters. "We are definitely not satisfied," he said, arguing that the deal has been "far too slow, far too late and definitely not enough". EU countries have been struggling to agree on the sixth package of sanctions against Russia for almost a month.

EU leaders on Tuesday (31 May) played down the prospects of getting a ban on Russian gas in a next round of sanctions, after struggling to secure a watered-down embargo on Moscow's key oil exports.

Written by Jaan Soone.

On 14 July 2021, the European Commission presented the fit for 55 package – including a number of proposals to help cut emissions from transport. The package includes a proposal to increase production and use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), also known as the ReFuelEU Aviation initiative. In this proposal, the Commission puts forward obligations on fuel suppliers to distribute SAF when supplying fuel at EU airports, in order to enhance SAF uptake by airlines and so help reduce emissions from aviation. The Commission also wants to ensure that jet fuel uptake does not go beyond what is needed for safe operation of flights, to prevent additional emissions related to extra weight of aeroplanes carrying excessive amounts of fuel. This, in conjunction with the SAF supply obligation, is intended to ensure that all flights departing from larger EU airports carry a minimum amount of SAF. 

In the European Parliament, the Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) is responsible for the file. In his draft report, the rapporteur Søren Gade (Renew Europe, Denmark) has proposed several changes to the Commission’s approach.

The TRAN committee draft report aims, inter alia, to provide aircraft operators and fuel suppliers with more flexibility to arrange SAF distribution, initially extending the transition period. Moreover, it suggests widening the rules’ scope to encompass more airports; wants to encourage investment in electric and hydrogen propulsion technology; and calls for the development of an environmental labelling scheme to further encourage SAF use.

The vote in the TRAN committee is tentatively scheduled for June 2022.

Read the complete briefing on ‘ReFuelEU Aviation initiative: Summary of the Commission proposal and the Parliament’s draft committee report‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Types of SAF and feedstocks as proposed by the European Commission Minimum share of SAF to be supplied according to the Commission proposal

European leaders at the EU summit in Brussels on the night of 30-31 May agreed on €9 billion in macro-financial support for Ukraine and committed themselves to help finance Ukraine's reconstruction, but they postponed decisions on the nature of the support and how it should be funded.

Ahead of the June and July plenaries, key MEPs will present important parts of the Fit for 55 Package in the context of the changing energy situation caused partly by the war in Ukraine.

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Ahead of the June and July plenaries, key MEPs will present important parts of the Fit for 55 Package in the context of the changing energy situation caused partly by the war in Ukraine.

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

This event will examine how RePowerEU plans could be implemented in ways that ensure a ‘win-win’ for both climate and biodiversity. It will examine the role of science and data to achieve this and draw on some existing examples to explore how best practice in renewable energy siting could be strengthened and scaled up in Europe to help make RePowerEU a success. It will also look at how Europe could harness the global interest and momentum behind RePowerEU to develop and help roll out best practice on renewable energy siting around the world, as part of its climate and biodiversity leadership for implementing both the Paris Agreement and the new Global Biodiversity Framework which global leaders are aiming for at COP15 later this year. ORGANISED BY: The Nature Conservancy MEDIA PARTNER: EURACTIV

After lengthy negotiations the EU has agreed on a partial oil embargo as part of its sixth sanctions package against Russia, with all imports via sea routes to be blocked. For countries like Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, however, the land route via the Druzhba pipeline will remain open. Germany and Poland plan to stop importing oil via this route as of 2023. Europe's media are unimpressed.