European Union

Robust oil and gas revenue enabled Russia to go on a military spending spree ahead of its Ukraine invasion, according to researchers in Sweden.

Green liberal newcomer Robert Golob took advantage of Slovenian prime minister Janez Janša unpopular illiberal image and soundly defeated him in the Slovenian elections on Sunday.

The EU's judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust, is to join forces with the International Criminal Court in The Hague to document Russian war crimes in Ukraine under a new agreement unveiled Monday. The deal was meant to send "a clear message that all efforts will be undertaken to effectively gather evidence ... and bring those responsible to justice," Eurojust said. Lithuanian, Polish, and Ukrainian prosecutors are to lead the Eurojust taskforce.

The EU unveiled a plan to restrict the use of harmful substances — deemed by campaigners as the "largest-ever ban of toxic chemicals".

Russia has expelled 40 German diplomats in a tit-for-tat move for earlier German expulsions of suspected spies, its foreign ministry said Monday. "Russia is ... harming itself", German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said, noting that the German embassy in Moscow had been trying to mend ties. EU institutions also recently expelled 19 Russian diplomats, with Russia's EU envoy, Vladimir Chizhov, likewise threatening the EU mission in Moscow with looming retaliation.

The European Research Council, an offshoot of the EU Commission, has warned 98 British academics that their grants, totalling €172m, would not be paid out if the UK did not ratify its associate membership of the EU's Horizon Europe science programme, The Guardian reports. Ratification has been delayed due to the UK's non-implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol, a part of the Brexit deal governing customs matters.

Activists from environmental NGOs Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion briefly blocked a tanker from delivering Russian oil to a Norwegian firm Monday in protest at the Ukraine war. "I'm shocked that Norway operates as a free port for Russian oil, which we know finances Putin's warfare," Greenpeace Norway's Frode Pleym said, Reuters reports. The buyer, Esso Norway, said it bought the oil before the war started and had now stopped purchases.

On 29-30 April, the Plenary of the Conference on the Future of Europe will meet in Strasbourg for the last time, to finalise its proposals.

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

On 29-30 April, the Plenary of the Conference on the Future of Europe will meet in Strasbourg for the last time, to finalise its proposals.

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

US president Joe Biden named Bridget Brink, who currently represents the US in Slovakia, as the new US ambassador to Ukraine, as Washington plans to repon its embassy in the Ukrainian capital, the White House said in a statement Monday. The position must be confirmed by the Senate. The announcement came after US secretary of state Antony Blinken and US defense secretary Lloyd Austin made an undisclosed trip to Ukraine.

Around 50 European lawmakers from across wrote to Germany's chancellor Olaf Scholz, demanding he cut Russian gas imports.

On 24 February, Russia invaded Ukraine. The next day, EU leaders gathered for an extraordinary summit. At that time, they thought the war would only last a few days... This seems like ancient history now.

It is only by deepening political integration, presenting genuinely progressive and realistic solutions and gaining more influence in the European political space that we can deploy our ambitious social and economic agenda, write MEPs from three different groups of the European Parliament and members of the Progressive Caucus.

Europe's market for hydrogen-powered taxis is becoming increasingly competitive, with French company Hype, which has developed them in Paris since 2015, being among the frontrunners. EURACTIV France reports.

I was spied on using Pegasus while being an MEP in the EU Parliament — this attack on the home of European democracy must have consequences.

The European Commission last year received 2,142 alerts of dangerous non food-related products. Most of those dealt with cars, followed by toys and electrical appliances and equipment. In a statement, the commission said the issue with cars mostly involved "detection of technical problems" Toys mostly had issues with dangerous chemicals and button batteries, it said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday (25 April) said his main spy agency had foiled what he cast as a Western plot to kill a prominent Russian journalist.

With the ongoing French EU Council presidency and the upcoming parliamentary elections, Emmanuel Macron will enjoy no grace period at the start of his second mandate. The opposition in France, both on the left and the right, is more determined than ever to strip the newly re-elected president of his majority in parliament.

Twitter Inc is nearing a deal to sell itself to Elon Musk for $54.20 per share in cash, the price that he originally offered to the social media company and called his 'best and final', people familiar with the matter said.

The current rise in inflation is being driven by a rise in fossil fuel prices, and a tightening of the monetary policy by the European Central Bank (ECB) would not help against high prices and might even come at a great cost to the economy, argues Ernest Urtasun.