European Union

Latest data shows that the market-based solution alone is not enough to cut carbon pollution from heavy industry in line with the Paris Agreement goals. A new industrial policy mix is needed to ensure Europe is on a pathway to net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, writes Agnese Ruggiero.

The French and Italian presidents will on Thursday commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci at a French castle where he lived out his days. It comes after some Italian politicians accused France of trying to hijack his identity. "Leonardo is Italian, he only died in France," Lucia Borgonzoni, Italy's junior culture minister said.

Violent antisemitic incidents in Europe went up from 342 in 2017 to 387 last year, according to the European Jewish Congress (EJC). Numbers of incidents including harassment, vandalism, as well as physical assault went up by 74 percent in France and 70 percent in Germany. "Antisemitism has recently progressed to the point of calling into question the very continuation of Jewish life in Europe," EJC head Moshe Kantor said.

Greece (18.5 percent), Spain (14 percent), and Italy (10.2 percent) have the highest unemployment rates in the EU, compared to the EU average (6.6 percent) and to Germany (3.2 percent) and the Czech Republic (1.2 percent) at the lower end, according to European Commission statistics out Tuesday. The Greek figure was lower than last January (20.6 percent), but unemployment for under 25s was 39 percent, the statistics said.

Britain has terminated a contract with ferry companies Brittany Ferries and DFDS despite having to pay more than €58m to scrap the accord. The contract was to see ships take EU imports to other ports than Dover to ease pressure in the event of a no-deal Brexit on 29 March, which never happened. "We sure as certain needed to be ready for it," British transport minister Chris Grayling said.

Eight million British voters have not registered to participate in the EU elections in May, according to Number Cruncher Politics, a British website. Green and Labour Party MPs voiced alarm that many young people, who had not registered, but who tended to oppose Brexit, will not have their say. Guy Verhofstadt, a leading Belgian liberal MEP, said Wednesday he would campaign in the UK to rally the "quiet pro-EU majority".

The election of 73 British MEPs on 23 May, just to get rid of them when Britain leaves the EU, perhaps in October, would create a "messy" situation, European Commission vice-president Jyrki Katainen said in Warsaw Wednesday. "We cannot be in a situation where some MEPs have a partial mandate," he said, but the MEPs' election of a new commission president via a "temporary majority" could cause "questions and troubles".

US firm Airbnb was a digital service provider free to operate across the EU, a senior jurist, Maciej Szupunar, at the EU court in Luxembourg said Tuesday in a non-binding opinion. A French holiday firm had brought the original case, saying Airbnb was a real estate agent and ought to respect local restrictions. The EU court opinion, which the verdict usually follows, said it was "an information society service".

At more than €100bn, Poland has received more EU funding that any other member state since 2004. The European Commission now wants Warsaw to contribute more to EU cohesion funds, join the euro, and stop backsliding on rule of law.

Hungarian PM Viktor Orban hopes to forge a European pact with Italy's Matteo Salvini at a meeting in Budapest on Thursday. In an interview with La Stampa, Orban said "the EPP is preparing to commit suicide and wants to tie itself to the left...we need to find another path via cooperation with Europe's right wing". On migration, Orban called Salvini the "most important person in Europe today".

The United States and Russia traded warnings against interfering in Venezuela on Wednesday (1 May), a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Moscow of stopping President Nicolas Maduro from leaving the country.

US energy secretary Rick Perry will sign two export orders for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Brussels today (2 May), in a move officials said will double America’s export capacity to Europe to 112 billion cubic meters per year as of 2020.

The European Commission’s cyber security recommendations for 5G, and the Joint Declaration from the EU-China Summit, point the way forward for ICT companies like Huawei, writes Head of Strategy & Policy at Huawei EU, Hui Cao.

Britain said Wednesday (1 May) it has cancelled ferry contracts intended to ensure the supply of critical products if it leaves the EU with no Brexit deal, at a cost of £50 million (€58m).

The Libyan coast guard has stopped 113 migrants trying to reach Italy over the past two days, the United Nations said on Wednesday (1 May), as boat departures resume following a lull in fighting between rival forces in Libya.

The Capitals brings you the latest news from across Europe, through on-the-ground reporting by EURACTIV’s media network. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. /// The 13 newest EU member states signed the Warsaw Declaration in a meeting in Poland on 1 May...

The UK must "set and vigorously pursue" a bold new climate change target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 'net-zero' levels by 2050 – replacing the current target of an 80% reduction against 1990 levels – according to a major new report from the Committee on Climate Change. EURACTIV's media partner edie.net reports.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said the European Parliament's main centre-right group must forge an alliance with populist, nationalist groups after impending EU elections, receiving a swift rebuke from Germany's conservative leader.

The European Parliament should have granted access to documents on a decision about how transparent MEPs should be in future with their office expenses, says EU Ombudsman.

Attacks on the rule of law by national governments have been spreading like a virus across Europe and the EU appears to be powerless to contain it.