European Union

The European Commission will announce the launch of a new industry alliance this week, with a view to building a complete EU supply chain for raw materials like lithium, which are seen as critical for the bloc’s digital and green transitions.

Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney has indicated he might take up the country's EU commission post following the recent resignation of Phil Hogan for flouting anti-coronavirus restrictions. "I'm not ruling myself out but this is subject to a decision of the Taoiseach [prime minister] and party leaders," Coveney told Irish broadcaster RTE Monday. The 48-year old former MEP is a Brexit specialist hoping to retain Hogan's trade portfolio in Brussels.

Czech senate speaker Miloš Vystrčil "will pay a heavy price" for his "public provocation" of having visited Taiwan Sunday, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said in a statement Monday. "To challenge the One China principle on the Taiwan issue is ... an act of international treachery," Wang added. Wang spoke while on a tour of EU states that ends in Berlin Tuesday in his first overseas trip since the pandemic.

Paris city officials rolled out new testing labs on Monday and said it will soon be possible to get tested for Covid-19 for free in all 20 districts of the French capital, RFI reported. The spots will offer free testing for everyone, including those without social security. The city also launched three permanent laboratories to conduct free tests, and two mobile laboratories, as France faces rising numbers of infections.

A study from the University of Oxford revealed that only one-in-10 of global electric utility firms are investing in renewable energy. The author of the report, Galina Alova, told The Guardian that the research highlighted "a worrying gap between what is needed" to fight the climate crisis and "what actions are being taken by the utility sector". Most of the companies prioritising renewable energy were located in Europe.

German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday condemned an attempt by far-right protesters to storm the country's parliament building over the weekend, AP reported. Hundreds of people, who were part of a broader demonstration against pandemic restrictions, breached a security barrier outside the Reichstag. Steinmeier called right-wing extremism "a serious danger". He defended the right of those protesting but urged them not to join forces with the far-right.

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia on Monday imposed a travel ban on Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko and 29 officials involved in electoral vote-rigging, Reuters reported. "We see that we need to move forward and to show an example to other countries," said Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda, referring to the cautious approach taken by the EU and member states. The Belarusian foreign ministry said they will respond with similar sanctions.

The European Commission as of Tuesday will be able to impose €30,000 fines per car should an EU regulation on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles be violated. "From now on the Commission will be able to carry out checks on cars, trigger EU-wide recalls, and impose fines of up to €30,000 per car when the law is broken," said EU commissioner for internal market, Thierry Breton.

The European Commission is joining the Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility. Also known as Covax, the facility aims to hasten affordable vaccines against the virus for everyone. The Commission said it will also offer Covax some €400m in guarantees as part of those efforts. "Global collaboration is the only way to overcome a global pandemic," said commission president Ursula von der Leyen in a statement.

The European Commission warned closing borders was not an "efficient" measure to fight the coronavirus pandemic, after Hungary decided unilaterally to shut down its borders to all foreigners. Meanwhile, neighbouring countries are considering different approaches.

Concerning the op-ed "Sudan asylum decision signals Dutch moral collapse", we would like to rebut statements made in this article and signal that it contains factual mistakes and misleading statements about the use of EU funds in Sudan.

Hezbollah has flagrantly violated the UN mandate, as it continues arms-smuggling via Syria with Iran and digging tunnels along the Israeli border.

Many European politicians have praised Russia for keeping a neutral line toward developments in Belarus. However, this is not the case at all.

Dr Edward Best, Head of the Scientific and Editorial Committee of the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) introduces a new series of publications which address key issues for public management, EU governance and EU law.

It started five years ago with a music video uploaded by a teenage blogger on YouTube. Now, the Nexta Live channel, with more than 2 million subscribers on the messaging app Telegram, has become one of the main sources of...

Vodafone (VOD.L), Comcast unit SKY (CMCSA.O) and WindTre said on Friday (28 August) it was crucial that any single broadband network company in Italy be independent with the proper governance rules. The comments came in a joint statement following a...

Amazon.com said on Friday (28 August) it had ordered 1,800 electric vans from Mercedes-Benz for its European delivery fleet, as part of the online retailer’s plans to run a carbon neutral business by 2040. A majority of the electric vehicles from...

President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday France was not excluding any company including China’s Huawei from its next-generation 5G mobile market but that his strategy was one based on European sovereignty. Macron said Europe had two leading suppliers, Ericsson and...

Danish tax authorities have initiated a review of Google’s accounts in Denmark to determine whether the tech giant has any outstanding tax obligation, the company said on Monday (31 August).

Written by Katrien Luyten and Sofija Voronova,

© Dmitriy Sladkov / Adobe Stock

The EU has made substantial progress in terms of protecting its citizens since the early 1990s, often in response to dramatic incidents, such as mafia or other organised crime group murders, big money-laundering scandals, a steep increase in migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings following the 2015 migration crisis, or – more recently – a sharp rise in cybercrime, fraud and counterfeiting during the coronavirus pandemic.

Criminal organisations continue to pose big risks to the internal security of the EU. A rising number of organised crime groups are active in its territory, often with cross-border reach. Organised crime is furthermore an increasingly dynamic and complex phenomenon, with new criminal markets and modi operandi emerging under the influence of globalisation and – in particular – new technologies.

While the impact of serious and organised crime on the EU economy is considerable, there are also significant political and social costs, as well as negative effects on the wellbeing of EU citizens.

As organised crime has become more interconnected, international and digital, Member States – which remain responsible for operational activities in the area of police and judicial cooperation – increasingly rely on cross-border and EU-level cooperation to support their law enforcement authorities on the ground.

Recognising the severity of the problem and the need for coordinated action, the EU has initiated several measures to encourage closer cooperation between Member States and adopted common legal, judicial and investigative frameworks to address organised crime. Parliament has made fighting organised crime a political priority and has helped shape the relevant EU legislation. Future EU action will focus on implementing existing rules, improving operational cooperation – even beyond the EU’s boundaries – and information-sharing, as well as addressing some of the main criminal activities of organised crime groups. Furthermore, the EU aims to make sure that crime does not pay.

Read this briefing on ‘Understanding the EU response to organised crime‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.