European Union

The Italian state broadcaster, Rai, has appointed a Eurosceptic journalist with a history of publicising fake news as its new president.

This week in Geneva, the Human Rights Council is expected to take a position on the follow-up to a draft Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other Persons Working in Rural Areas. Five years after the start of the negotiations, we are at a turning point, argues a group of European academics.

European businesses are rightfully concerned about keeping control of their data in the cloud. The proposed European regulation on access to electronic evidence by law enforcement (e-Evidence regulation) is an important step in the right direction, writes Kim Gagné.  

Addressing the UN General Assembly on behalf of the European Union, President Tusk supported multilateral action in a number of areas: trade, security, climate change and human rights.

A group of 19 countries officially launched the Carbon Neutrality Coalition in New York on Thursday (27 September), just weeks before the European Commission is expected to publish a document outlining policy scenarios to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

The UK's opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn met with Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier on Thursday in Brussels but insisted he was "not negotiating" on any future possible Brexit deal. "We are obviously not negotiating, we are not in government" he told reporters, stressing Labour would vote in parliament against any deal with Brussels obtained by prime minister Theresa May if it did not meet Labour's 'six tests'.

Written by Tarja Laaninen,

© Sergey Ryzhov / Fotolia

Eight EU Member States have launched, or are about to launch, national mandatory labelling schemes for certain food products, mainly for milk and milk used in dairy products, but also meat used in processed foods.

The regulatory basis for these national measures is the Regulation on the provision of food information to consumers, which allows Member States to adopt additional national measures concerning the mandatory labelling of foodstuffs, as long as these are justified by reasons specifically defined in the regulation.

The European Parliament has been supporting origin labelling in several resolutions. Consumer organisations have advocated it as well, while many industry stakeholders have highlighted the practical difficulties and costs it would bring. The European Commission has reiterated its position, based on its reports exploring the issue, that voluntary origin labelling is the best option at European level.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Mandatory origin-labelling schemes in Member States‘ on the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

With their populations set to double by 2050, the Sahel countries – Niger, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina-Faso and Chad – have to develop their agricultural productivity to feed their populations. EURACTIV France reports.

Healthy, active lifestyles and good dietary habits start in childhood. Schools have an important role to play in influencing young people and guiding them to adopt behaviours that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Talks on the successor to the Cotonou Agreement between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) community will start in earnest on Friday (28 September). Cotonou, it is fair to say, is not well-loved, particularly in Africa and Europe, the two main blocs.

The on-going transformation of the EU power industry is leading policymakers to re-evaluate the current design of electricity markets. Electricity generated from renewable sources has become one of the most important sources of electricity, paving the way for a transition towards a low-carbon energy system. 

On 27 September 2018 the Council adopted a regulation on the European Solidarity Corps. The regulation establishes a legal framework for young people to volunteer or work in beneficial projects across Europe under the auspices of the European Solidarity Corps (ESC).

On 27 September 2018 the Council adopted a regulation setting up a single digital gateway. The new gateway will provide access to online information and procedures, assistance and problem solving services to individuals and companies.

For four days a month, the entire European Parliament moves from Brussels to Strasbourg. In his documentary, Le grand déménagement (“The big move”), Olivier Lamour addresses the perennial European debate: should there only be a single European seat in Brussels? EURACTIV France reports.

The much-awaited digitisation of the EU farming sector has taken centre stage in the last few years. But its ultimate application in the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is still unclear.

Italian vice prime minister Luigi Di Maio abruptly cancelled participation in the Competitiveness EU Council in Brussels on Thursday (27 September) and flew back to Rome to smooth tensions with Economy Minister Giovanni Tria on Italy's draft budget, which seeks to increase spending.

Cohesion Policy represents one-third of the current EU’s budget and is the main investment policy of the Union. As the negotiations on the next Multiannual Financial Framework are about to kick off, we had a look at how funds are distributed across different regions in Europe and what kind of projects are funded with them.

Germany’s environment ministry revealed on Wednesday (26 September) that the Bundesrepublik will back an EU-wide 30% CO2 cut for cars and vans - lower than expected by green NGOs - ahead of an important vote in the European Parliament next week.

The EU faces an enormous challenge to counter the threat of disinformation ahead of the 2019 European elections, digital commissioner Mariya Gabriel and parliament president Antonio Tajani said on Thursday (27 September).

A study commissioned by the German Bishops' Conference and published on Tuesday sheds light on the extent of sexual abuse in the German Catholic Church. At least 1,670 priests sexually abused children and youths between 1946 and 2014, according to the report. Commentators outline how the Church should tackle the situation.