European Union

In a sign of Russia's urgent need to bolster its war effort in Ukraine, parliament said on Friday (20 May) it would consider a bill to allow Russians over 40 and foreigners over 30 to sign up for the military.

When the EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, concluded the bloc’s first defence policy review, more than 18 months ago, he warned that “European defence suffers from fragmentation, duplication and insufficient operational engagement.”

Government incentives for the installation of new fossil fuel boilers should be stopped “much more quickly” because of Russia's war in Ukraine, an EU official explained, saying the current 2027 end date is “far too late” and must be brought forward.

India restricting its wheat exports amid the tense global market situation is understandable due to the prevailing drought in the country, German Economic Cooperation and Development Minister Svenja Schulze said. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Delegations

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

On World Bee Day, it is essential to pay homage to a variety of pollinating insects crucial for our food security. A number of EU projects contribute to their sustained survival.

Britain is likely to send just a few "hundreds" of asylum seekers to Rwanda for claims processing each year its justice secretary Dominic Rabb told the BBC Friday. "I'd be careful about managing expectations. It is not going to deal with the whole problem," but will send an "important message" to irregular migrants, he said. The first flights may take off in June, amid delays caused by civil-rights group appeals.

Environmental groups claimed victory earlier this week after the European Parliament's environment committee voted on new rules clarifying what can be counted as "sustainable biomass" under the revised renewable energy directive. Others were more cautious though, saying the battle is far from over.

Friday's knife attacks in a village in Norway were carried out by a Syrian man but linked to a domestic dispute rather than religion or politics, Norwegian police say. "This is a family from Syria where the perpetrator is married to one of the victims," a police statement said, Reuters said. "There is no longer a danger to other people," a police spokesperson added.

On the 30th anniversary of the Falcone murder by the Sicilian mafia, Italy remembers how one of the EU's founding members almost became a Mediterranean narco-state.

Swedish foreign minister Ann Linde has complained of "vastly-spread disinformation" that Sweden harboured militants from the separatist PKK party in Turkey, saying Sweden "was first after Turkey to list PKK as a terrorist organisation, already in 1984". Ankara has threatened to block Sweden and Finland's Nato bid saying they hosted "terrorists". Russia said Friday it would create 12 new military units on its western flank over the Nordic Nato move.

Former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder and a German businessman, Matthias Warnig, who used to work in the Communist-era Stasi secret police, have quit their jobs in Russian oil firm Rosneft, amid a political outcry over Russia's war on Ukraine. They both still work for the Russian-owned Nord Stream 2 gas consortium. German chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday rejected an EU parliament appeal to blacklist Schröder for his close Russian ties.

The Group of Seven leading industrial nations has agreed to provide €18bn in aid for Ukraine at a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Bonn, the Financial Times reported. According to estimates, Ukraine will need €4.7bn a month to pay wages and keep government services running. US treasury secretary Janet Yellen this week called on EU allies to increase financial aid to help Ukraine "get through" the Russian invasion.

Italian transport unions on Friday striked in protest against military aid for Ukraine and called for an immediate ceasefire. While most Italians blame Russia's president Vladimir Putin for the conflict, union leaders want the government to increase workers' wages instead, and some fear that sending weapons will prolong the conflict. Within Italy's coalition government, Giuseppe Conte's 5 Star movement and Matteo Salvini's League oppose Italy's supply of weapons to Ukraine.

On 23-25 May, six MEPs of the Civil Liberties Committee will assess progress in the investigations, trials, and reforms that followed the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

On 23-25 May, six MEPs of the Civil Liberties Committee will assess progress in the investigations, trials, and reforms that followed the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Written by Jaan Soone.

The European Commission’s ‘fit for 55’ package, adopted on 14 July 2021 under the European Green Deal, includes a proposal to revise the 2014 EU framework for the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure.

The proposal puts forward binding targets for electric vehicle charging and hydrogen refuelling points, electric charging for stationary aeroplanes at airports, and on-shore power supply for ships at ports. It also includes rules on refuelling points for liquefied natural gas for heavy-duty vehicles and in maritime ports.

The European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) is responsible for the file, with the rapporteur Ismail Ertug (S&D, Germany). His draft report puts forward several amendments to strengthen the Commission proposal, including in terms of power output targets and implementation dates for electric charging infrastructure for cars and trucks, and targets for hydrogen refuelling stations and shore-side electricity supply in ports. The vote on the draft report in TRAN is tentatively scheduled for July 2022.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Alternative fuels in transport: Targets for deployment of recharging and refuelling infrastructure‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Electrically chargeable cars: Global leaders, EU and top five EU countries, 2020 Public electric recharging points: Global leaders, EU and top five EU countries, 2020

Eurozone finance ministers will discuss the economic worries with the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, agriculture ministers are set to talk food prices, and EU affairs ministers will put Hungary on the spot in the Article 7 procedure.

Russia state-owned gas giant Gazprom told Finalnd's gas operator that it will cut gas supplies to Finland on Saturday, Finland's Gasum said on Friday. "We have been carefully preparing for this situation," Gasum's CEO Mika Wiljanen said, with the company continuing to supply gas from different sources. Gazprom's move comes as Finalnd last week announced that it wants to join Nato in light of Rusia's invasion of Ukraine.

In the run-up to the Seventy-fifth World Health Assembly starting on Sunday (22 May), the European Commission aims to align member state positions and ensure the EU-wide agreements are translated into WHO policies.