European Union

Energy company Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) announced on Friday (4 September) that regular electricity production from its Olkiluoto nuclear plant – which is currently under construction – will not start in March 2021 as planned, but a year later, in February...

Over the weekend, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) indirectly threatened to halt construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in response to the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. “I hope the Russians will not force us to...

Following the announcement on Friday that Fine Gael MEP Maireád McGuinness and European Investment Bank (EIB) vice-president Andrew McDowell have been proposed as potential successors to former trade Commissioner Phil Hogan, talk is now turning to Ireland’s likely portfolio in...

Major economies promised to recover green after COVID-19 and accelerate climate action during a virtual ministerial meeting hosted by Japan on Thursday (3 September). EURACTIV's media partner, Climate Home News, reports.

Germany, the current head of the European Union, will discuss possible sanctions against Russia over the poisoning of Alexei Navalny if the Kremlin does not provide an explanation soon, its foreign minister said Sunday (6 September).

"The attitude shown by the EU in the eastern Mediterranean will be a test of sincerity from the perspective of international law and regional peace," Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said after a phone call with EU Council head Charles Michel Sunday. But an EU official told Bloomberg "all measures" were on the table, in terms of EU sanctions against Turkish oil and gas drilling in Greece-claimed waters.

"We came in after a government and negotiating team that had blinked and had its bluff called at critical moments and the EU had learned not to take our word seriously," British Brexit negotiator David Frost told the Mail on Sunday ahead of a new round of talks this week. The UK would "move on" if there was no post-Brexit trade deal by mid-October, British prime minister Boris Johnson said.

Belgian police made arrests and dispersed crowds after some 350 people protested against mask-wearing and other anti-coronavirus measures in Brussels on Sunday. About 1,000 people also held similar protests in Rome on Saturday, following much bigger demonstrations earlier in Berlin involving more than 20,000 activists, where a far-right mob also tried to storm the parliament building last weekend.

The EU and US should reveal where Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko hides his money overseas if they wanted to help the revolution, a Belarusian opposition leader has said.

Stopping a Russia pipeline over the Alexei Navalny poisoning would cost industry too much, Germany has said, making symbolic EU visa bans more likely.

The EU's lack of action over Belarus is undermining the credibility of its foreign policy, Lithuanian foreign affairs minister Linas Linkevicius told the Financial Times newspaper in an interview published on Sunday (6 September).

The European Union should include a “solidarity clause” in its climate law to ensure that member states most burdened by the EU's new carbon reduction targets are compensated for the additional costs of purchasing allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System, writes MEP Anna Zalewska.

The European Commission has unveiled recommendations, including common criteria for member states on coronavirus epidemiological risks and harmonised 'colour-coding' of risk areas.

Negotiations on the EU budget - between the parliament and member states - and on Brexit continue. Meanwhile, MEPs are voicing concern about travelling to Strasbourg during the pandemic for the parliament's next plenary session.

Protesters outside the parliament building in the capital Sofia clashed with police last week, in one of the most violent episodes of the two-month long anti-corruption demonstrations taking place across Bulgaria.

The lockdown period of this pandemic was an important reminder of the value of clean air and proof that it's still possible to achieve.

It's time for the EU Commission to get its house in order and close the doors to tobacco lobby influence once and for all.

The European Parliament's Conference of Presidents is set to discuss on 10 September efforts to suspend Aung San Suu Kyi from all Sakharov prize laureate activities. A parliament spokesperson confirmed the European Parliament's committee on foreign affairs had made the request. She won the prize in 1990, which she collected in 2013. She has since fallen from grace given Myanmar's abusive treatment of the Rohingyas.

A survey conducted by the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) in nine member states found that a large number of respondents say that they do not think that current legislation is adequate to effectively regulate AI-based activities. Only one-fifth of respondents say that current rules protect them from the potential harm artificial intelligence (AI) poses. Additionally, consumers believe that AI can lead to increased abuse of personal data.

Turkey's escalating conflict with Greece and Cyprus will be the main subject at this month's European Council meeting, when sanctions will be considered against Ankara, France said on Sunday (6 September).