European Union

About half of all Gazprom's gas buyers opened accounts at Gazprombank, after Russian president Vladimir Putin demanded "unfriendly countries" pay for gas in roubles, Russia's deputy prime minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday according to the Financial Times. 54 companies have an agreement with Gazprom Export, with "about half" having opened rouble accounts. Most buyers of Gazprom's gas are on the list of unfriendly countries, including much of Europe.

Former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Austria's ex-foreign minister Karin Kneissl should be blacklisted if they don't step down from top Russian state-owned companies, while EU countries should sanctions Europeans who take key jobs at Russian state firms.

French president Emmanuel Macron said in Paris Thursday while meeting Moldovan president Maria Sandu the EU should give a "quick opinion" on her country's eligibility to become an official EU enlargement candidate. But German chancellor Olaf Scholz warned Ukraine in Berlin the same day "there are no shortcuts on the way to the EU", prompting a rebuke by Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba that Kyiv was getting "second class" treatment.

In a debate between energy commissioner Kadri Simson and MEPs, some lawmakers called for a stronger response to Russian energy aggression.

The leader of the Catalan government, Pere Aragonès, denounced the use of the Israeli-made Pegasus spyware against Catalan politicians and MEPs during a visit to Brussels.

German chancellor Olaf Scholz told the Bundestag Thursday that he will tour the Western Balkan capitals before the next EU summit to assure them of their European future. "Honouring our commitments to them is not just a question of our credibility. Today more than ever, their integration is also in our strategic interests," Scholz said, Reuters reports. He warned that "external powers", including Russia, were seeking influence in the region.

The UN's human rights office has confirmed 8,089 civilian casualties in Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion in February, with 3,811 killed and 4,278 injured. "Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons ," the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a statement on Thursday. "The actual figures are considerably higher, as many reports are still pending corroboration," it added.

France is "ahead of the curve" when it comes to treating rare diseases, but with 36 million Europeans affected, cooperation at the EU level to advance research and make treatments more accessible is essential, an expert warned. EURACTIV France reports.

The European Commission has issued formal notices to 13 countries, calling on them to transpose the EU’s Copyright Directive, almost a year on from the deadline. 

The surrender of the Azov battalion in Mariupol is a milestone in Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. In terms of what will follow, there are two options.

A Joint Investigation Team combines prosecutors, police and judges from different countries who come together under the coordination of Eurojust to synchronise cross-border investigations —with a track record of achieving results: from the Bataclan attacks to the MH17 investigation.

The French EU presidency is pressing to make some last-minute headway on the EU's migration and asylum reform but is still meeting resistance from a handful of member states.

This week in our Beyond the Byline podcast, we are focusing on the European Commission’s decision to increase the Ukrainian government’s short-term budgetary aid by 9 billion and set up a reconstruction platform to help with financing the rebuilding of...

Prices of cereals, fertilisers, and oilseed have shot up drastically in several European markets due to Russia's war on Ukraine, prompting some member states to seek EU aid.

The war in Ukraine has brought the European Union’s energy dependency issue front and centre. Driven by a commitment to reduce imports from Russia, which currently makes up nearly 45% of the bloc’s total gas demand, the EU must look at alternative means for securing its energy supply.

European Union negotiators on Thursday (19 May) agreed on mandatory gas storage obligations for EU countries, aiming for the the bloc's storages to be at least 85% full by 1 November 2022.

The European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) does not support the Council’s position on network contribution because making big tech firms pay does not follow the principle of net neutrality. 

The European Parliament and member states agreed on minimum gas storage obligations on Thursday. The new rules were prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The bloc aims to get rid of Russian energy addiction while maintaining energy security. This year EU countries will need to reach a minimum 80 percent gas storage level by 1 November and from 2023 the target will be 90-percent full gas storage by November.

The European Parliament adopted an EU Commission proposal to reinforce the mandate of the EU agency for criminal justice cooperation, Eurojust, on war crimes evidence. It will now have to be agreed by EU governments, and expected to come into force in June. Eurojust will now be allowed to preserve, analyse and store evidence centrally, and exchange evidence with national authorities, the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other countries.

Vladimir Putin's Ukraine war has threatened to be a public relations disaster for hard-right gatherings like the Conservative Political Action Conference — now meeting in Budapest and featuring Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán, who remains highly-cordial with the Kremlin.