European Union

Germany should put more emphasis on international cooperation in the fight against climate change, the country's Council of Economic Experts said in its annual report. EURACTIV's media partner Clean Energy Wire (CLEW) reports.

Cyprus said Wednesday (10 November) it would seek to suspend asylum applications to cope with an influx of irregular migrants entering the eastern Mediterranean island that it blames on Turkey. Data showed EU member Cyprus was facing “demographic change” and...

The President of the Eurogroup, Paschal Donohoe, is in Rome (Italy) today to meet with Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Finance Minister Daniele Franco and Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri.

The EU issued a declaration strongly condemning the Belarus regime for the orchestrated instrumentalisation of human beings for political purposes, and for stirring up the crisis at the EU’s external borders.

Le président du Conseil européen Charles Michel a tenu une conférence de presse conjointe avec le premier ministre polonais Mateusz Morawiecki à Varsovie à propos de la situation à la frontière entre la Pologne et la Biélorussie.

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.

Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the alignment of certain third countries with Council Decision (CFSP) 2021/1800 of 11 October 2021 amending Decision (CFSP) 2019/1720 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Nicaragua.

Press briefings ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council meetings of 15 and 16 November will take place on 12 November 2021.

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.

Press briefing ahead of the upcoming Agriculture and Fisheries Council will take place on 11 November 2021 at 10.00.

The EU must stand united in its response to the Belarusian regime’s inhuman instrumentalisation of migrants, MEPs said in a debate on Wednesday.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

The EU must stand united in its response to the Belarusian regime’s inhuman instrumentalisation of migrants, MEPs said in a debate on Wednesday.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Written by Alex Wilson (1st edition).

On 14 July 2021 the European Commission adopted the ‘fit for 55’ package, a set of legislative proposals to meet the new EU objective of a minimum 55 % reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. The fit for 55 package is part of the Commission’s European Green Deal, which aims to set the EU firmly on the path towards net zero GHG emissions (climate neutrality) by 2050.

The fit for 55 package includes a regulation establishing a new social climate fund (SCF). The aim of the SCF is to help vulnerable households, micro-businesses and transport users meet the costs of the green energy transition in the buildings and road transport sector. The SCF is designed to counter the additional costs that vulnerable consumers may face when the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) Directive is revised to cover these two sectors, as proposed in the fit for 55 package.

The SCF aims to provide over €72 billion in EU funding over the 2025-2032 period, to be paid for mainly by ETS credits in the buildings and road transport sectors. The SCF funds will need to be matched by equivalent social climate funding from Member States, which must prepare social climate plans. As a new budget line to be financed from EU ‘own resources’, the SCF will require amendments to the Own Resources Decision and the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework. The file has been referred to the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), where the rapporteur is preparing a draft report.

Versions

• Social climate fund: Fit for 55 package (1st edition)

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Social Climate Fund Committee responsible:Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI)COM(2021) 568
14.7.2021Rapporteur:Esther De Lange (EPP, the Netherlands)2021/0206(COD)Shadow rapporteurs:Petar Vitanov (S&D, Bulgaria)
Ondřej Knotek (Renew, Czechia)
Sara Matthieu (Greens/EFA, Belgium)
Joëlle Mélin (ID, France)
Andrey Slabakov (ECR, Bulgaria)
Petros Kokkalis (The Left, Greece)Ordinary legislative procedure (COD)
(Parliament and Council on equal footing – formerly ‘co-decision’) Next steps expected: Publication of draft report

European Council President Charles Michel attended the "Berlin Conference 2021" organised by the the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and delivered the 12th "State of Europe" keynote speech.

The past year’s crisis underscored the need for a more united Europe. We must seize this opportunity to make the Conference on the Future of Europe a true forum with citizens to work together to achieve a more sovereign and democratic Europe, says UEF President and Renew MEP Sandro Gozi.

UK Brexit minister David Frost played down on Wednesday (10 November) the prospects of London suspending the Northern Ireland protocol in the coming days, saying that it was “not inevitable” that the UK will trigger Article 16 of its Brexit deal with the EU.

Meta, the company that owns Facebook, will no longer allow advertisers to target users based on data related to sensitive categories such as political affiliation, religion, race or sexual orientation.

In a major victory for the EU's competition regulator, a judgement by the EU General Court has confirmed the European Commission’s sanctions against Google for self-promoting its shopping service.

Vice-President Metsola opened the 10-11 November session in Brussels.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Vice-President Metsola opened the 10-11 November session in Brussels.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP