European Union

European Union governments on Wednesday (23 October) rejected EU lawmakers' plans to increase the bloc's spending next year, sparking a row that could delay funding on climate and research projects.

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An explosive investigation by a Pulitzer-winning journalist has revealed how relatives of the Cambodian regime stashed tens of millions of dollars abroad using EU golden passports.

Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Wednesday (23 October) plans to kickstart the country's real estate market through tax cuts and investments in the construction sector, Greek daily Ekathimerini reports. In his speech on his "vision for the next four years," Mitsotakis announced that "all new constructions, as well as real estate built in the last 14 years and not yet sold, are exempt from value added tax".

A Russian migrant started a hunger strike to protest Latvia's refusal to give his 71-year old mother-in-law a residency permit without having passed the required language exam, the Moscow Times reports. According to the man, the woman has developed dementia since they moved to Latvia in 2014, which is being denied by the Latvian health authorities. About one third of Latvia's population are Russians, many of whom have no citizenship.

British billionaire Richard Branson said a new Brexit referendum was needed to keep the UK in the EU, Reuters writes. According to Branson, Brexit "has done enormous damage to companies, to jobs and money [consumers have] in their pockets, so if there is a second referendum and if you look at all the polls ... they would vote conclusively to stay in Europe."

BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, Total, and their lobby firms have spent over €250m in lobbying the EU to water down climate goals since 2010, a new study shows.

Japanese carmaker Honda has brought forward a goal to only sell electric and hybrid cars in Europe by three years to 2022, a leading company executive said on Wednesday (23 October).

The five biggest publicly listed oil and gas companies and trade groups representing them spent more than 250 million euros lobbying the European Union to influence climate action since 2010, environmental groups said Thursday (24 October).

Turkey expects that disagreements with the United States over production of F-35 jets will be overcome, its defence minister said on Wednesday (23 October), adding that Ankara remained at the centre of NATO despite criticism from allies of its incursion into Syria.

Cyprus said on Wednesday (23 October) it would investigate the circumstances under which relatives of Cambodia's prime minister were granted citizenship and did not rule out revoking passports if necessary.

No running water, putrid portable toilets and surrounding woods littered with land mines - these are the bleak conditions of a camp where hundreds of migrants brace for winter in Bosnia.

EURACTIV.com contacted eight politicians, decision-makers and analysts from different countries to review Mario Draghi's eight-year mandate at the European Central Bank.

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Momentous changes are underway in European intelligence, propelled by new technology, but is democratic accountability keeping up?

EU lawmakers on Wednesday condemned Turkey's offensive in northeast Syria. "We demand that Turkey immediately withdraw from Syria," German center-right lawmaker Michael Gahler said, speaking on behalf of the largest political group in the EU assembly. In a draft resolution that will be adopted on Thursday, EU legislators urge "appropriate and targeted economic measures against Turkey", such as freezing Turkish agriculture exports to the EU, Reuters writes.

If EU countries cannot agree on a Brexit extension, EU leaders may meet on Friday or next Monday, Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar warned Wednesday. "If there is no [consensus], well then we will have to convene a meeting of the European Council, possibly next Monday, maybe even on Friday to discuss whether or not to grant an extension, for how long and under what conditions," he told parliament.

MEPs approved an amendment Wednesday calling on governments to end corporate sponsorships to cover costs of the rotating presidency of the EU Council. "Member states are expected to finance their own presidencies," says the text, warning that this practice may have a "possible reputational damage and the risk of loss of trust" in the EU. The current Finnish presidency has only one sponsor, carmaker BMW, a spokesperson told EUobserver.

MEPs urged EU countries to agree on draft rules making multinational companies publicly disclose their profit and tax paid in each country, during a plenary debate on 22 October.

Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

MEPs urged EU countries to agree on draft rules making multinational companies publicly disclose their profit and tax paid in each country, during a plenary debate on 22 October.

Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP