European Union

Czechs and Slovaks are today celebrating the anniversary of the start of the Velvet Revolution on 17 November 1989, when Czechoslovakia's communist regime was toppled almost without violence in the struggle for freedom and democracy. Commentators reflect on what remains of those aspirations 32 years later.

The three parties negotiating Germany’s next government coalition plan to table a coalition treaty and propose new government ministers next week, Clean Energy Wire reported.

While carbon farming is a priority for the German government, farmers say they are not doing enough to support measures financially. Environmentalists add that some of the promoted practices have limited climate value.

The EU's ambitious plans to beat cancer would be complemented by taking greater account of how complementary therapies can improve quality of life alongside medical treatment, panellists argued at a EURACTIV event on ‘Integrative oncology’.

Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga accused EU judges in Luxembourg of making Budapest "practically support human trafficking" in her response to a ruling that found Hungary's 2018 law threatening jail sentences on anyone helping asylum seekers had violated bloc rules.

The Council adopted a decision launching the fourth wave of PESCO projects.

The Council has reached an agreement with the European Parliament on the 2022 EU budget.

While "significant changes" related to monitoring and transparency are needed in the European Commission's Code of Practice on Disinformation according to a report published this week, 16 new prospective companies have signed up to help with its drafting.

Twenty-six years after the Dayton Peace Agreement, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is facing its most serious challenge since the end of the war, writes Derek Chollet.

Discrimination in Europe is a topic high on the agenda of European leaders and policymakers. But despite all the legislation and policy aimed at its prevention, questions remain as to whether these laws and rules are being applied effectively.

In policy making, the decarbonisation of gas has left EU officials and lawmakers wobbling on a tightrope between Europe’s fossil-reliant past and renewable-led future.

Written by Marcin Grajewski.

The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties, also known as COP26, held in Glasgow, made limited progress on measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Leaders and government officials did agree on plans to limit deforestation and emissions of methane, one of the gases responsible for global warming, but they made little headway on curbing CO2 discharges. Notably, the leaders of China and Russia did not attend. Before the conference, scientists, analysts and many politicians had urged swift and radical action on climate change, pointing to this year’s weather anomalies – severe floods in Europe and China, fires in the United States, Australia and many other countries, and more frequent hurricanes.

This note offers links to recent commentaries, studies and reports from international think tanks on climate issues, notably the European Green Deal, a set of policy initiatives by the European Commission with the overarching aim of making Europe climate neutral by mid-century. Links to more studies on COP26 will be published in a forthcoming item in this series in the next few weeks.

Top takeaways from the UN world leaders summit at COP26
World Resources Institute, November 2021

The European Green Deal: How to turn ambition into action
European Policy Centre, November 2021

A new economic geography of decarbonisation?
Bruegel, November 2021

Is the ECB right to take on climate change?
Bruegel, November 2021

How green are electric vehicles?
Bruegel, November 2021

COP 26: L’Europe ouvre la voie vers la neutralité climatique
Institut Jacques Delors, November 2021

Conditions are ideal for a new climate club
Bruegel, Energy Policy, November 2021

What near-term climate impacts should worry us most?
Chatham House, October 2021

COP26 and the foreign policy blind spot in Europe’s climate action
Carnegie Europe, October 2021

Climate politics: Why the old diplomacy no longer works
Chatham House, October 2021

BECCS deployment: The risks of policies forging ahead of the evidence
Chatham House, October 2021

Zero emissions, zero problems?
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, October 2021

Fonds social pour le climat pour une transition énergétique juste
Institut Jacques Delors, October 2021

COP26 in Glasgow
Centre for European Policy Studies, October 2021

Green democracy in Europe
Carnegie Europe, September 2021

Can climate change be tackled without ditching economic growth?
Bruegel, September 2021

Climate change risk assessment 2021: The risks are compounding, and without immediate action the impacts will be devastating
Chatham House, September 2021

Winners and losers of energy and climate policy: How can the costs be redistributed?
Bruegel, Ifo, September 2021

A green fiscal pact: climate investment in times of budget consolidation
Bruegel, September 2021

The Green transition, finance and biodiversity
Centre for European Policy Studies, September 2021

5 big findings from the IPCC’s 2021 Climate Report
World Resources Institute, August 2021

Climate change, diversity, justice
Bertelsmann Stiftung, August 2021

Hydrogen development strategies: A global perspective
Bruegel, August 2021

EU-India cooperation in addressing climate risks
Clingendael, August 2021

The European Union’s carbon border mechanism and the WTO
Bruegel, July 2021

The risks from climate change to sovereign debt in Europe
Bruegel, July 2021

Fit for 55: Is the European Green Deal really leaving no-one behind?
Centre for European Policy Studies, July 2021

Fit for 55 marks Europe’s climate moment of truth

Bruegel, July 2021
European Green Deal

Centre for European Policy Studies, July 2021
Mission probable: The EU’s efforts to green security and defence

Clingendael, July 2021
The ‘fit for 55’ climate proposals explained

Centre for European Reform, July 2021
Avoiding the pitfalls of an EU carbon border adjustment mechanism

Centre for European Reform, July 2021
Climat: Comment votent les députés européens?
Institut Jacques Delors, July 2021

The external dimensions of the European Green Deal: The case for an integrated approach
Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik, July 2021

Wie die EU die 2030-Klimaziele in den Sektoren Straßenverkehr und Gebäudewärme erreichen kann: Optionen einer konsistenten EU-weiten Regulierung im Verkehr und Gebäudesektor
Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft Köln, July 2021

Der Effekt von klimapolitischen Maßnahmen auf CO2‐Emissionen und CO2‐Fußabdrücke
Bertelsmann Stiftung, July 2021

Between and within country distributional impacts from harmonizing carbon prices in the EU
Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung, July 2021

Measuring progress towards climate neutrality
Ecologic Institute, European Climate Foundation, Institut du développement durable et des relations internationales, July 2021

Ein CO2-Grenzausgleich für den Green Deal der EU
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, July 2021

‘Greening’ the EU’s cultural diplomacy: Uncovering the potential of the culture-climate nexus
Egmont, June 2021

The EU and climate security: Toward ecological diplomacy
Carnegie Europe, Open Society European Policy Institute, June 2021

Greening the European Green Bond market
Centre for European Policy Studies, June 2021

EU–UK climate cooperation post-Brexit: A case for optimism?
European Policy Centre, June 2021

Green concerns and salience of environmental issues in Eastern Europe
Free Network, June 2021

Is the EU’s building renovation wave ‘fit for 55’
European Policy Centre, June 2021

How to decarbonise EU road transport without summoning the gilets jaunes
Centre for European Reform, May 2021

Will only a green power remain a great power?
Egmont, May 2021

Read this briefing on ‘Climate change‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

The green transition will profoundly impact Europe's labour markets. While a few regions will be exposed to job losses in fossil fuel-reliant sectors like coal mining, the energy transition will keep generating demand for low- and medium-skilled roles, write Maroš Šefčovič and Bertrand Piccard.

In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about France launching an action plan to fight child prostitution, some Italian regions wanting to impose a lockdown on the unvaccinated like in Austria, and so much more.

Although the recent COP26 conference in Glasgow made progress on climate ambition, there is still a lot of work left to do to limit global warming to 1.5°C and prevent runaway climate change, according to Green MEP Bas Eickhout.

Albania’s lack of a spot market for electricity and a lack of plurality on the energy market was highlighted in a recent report by the Energy Community Secretariat published this week. All electricity for customers below 35 kV, including domestic and...

A Kosovo appeals court has upheld the prison sentence of Serbian ex-fighter Zoran Djokic for his involvement in attacks on ethnic Albanian civilians in Peja in 1999. Djokic was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the attacks, a sentence...

Oil is the only resource that can solve all Montenegrin financial problems by 2024, according to Vladimir Popović, a Canadian expert and consultant on geophysics and oil research of Montenegrin origin. He sent his project proposal to the Minister of...