European Union

Far-right populist party leaders will meet in Prague on Thursday, as their numbers are expected to surge at the EU elections next month. France's National Rally chief Marine Le Pen and Dutch Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders are among the speakers. Italian League leader and interior minister Matteo Salvini will send a video message. Czech lawmaker Tomio Okamura will host the event, who heads the Freedom and Direct Democracy party.

A priest at the funeral of Lyra McKee, the 29-year-old journalist killed in recent violence in Northern Ireland, asked politicians why it took her death to unite them after the power-sharing executive body in the region collapsed in 2017. Father Martin Magill's comments received a standing ovation at the funeral. The leaders of republican Sinn Fein and loyalist Democratic Unionist Party have pledged to enter talks to resume power-sharing.

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. /// PRAGUE Spitzenkandidaten and EC presidency: ECR Spitzenkandidat Jan Zahradil believes that his group will remain the third...

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order on Wednesday (24 April) simplifying the procedure for obtaining a Russian passport for residents of separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine, prompting calls from Kyiv for more international sanctions.

The EU adopted a regulation on Wednesday (24 April) to curb trans fat amounts in products like snack food as part of efforts to fight heart disease and strokes in Europe.

Written by Eamonn Noonan, with Atte Ojanen,

EPRS round table – Study visit

April 2019 marked the launch of the new European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS) report: ‘Global Trends to 2030: Challenges and Choices for Europe’. The report is a result of a multi-year joint effort by key European institutions. The collaborative nature of the ESPAS process was also reflected in the launch event, which featured variety of stakeholders as speakers.

Lead author of the report, Florence Gaub, from EUISS, highlighted the report’s structure, focusing on ‘mega-trends’, ‘catalysts’ and ‘game-changers’. ‘Mega-trends’ refer to decade-long trends, which are extremely hard to alter, such as climate change and increasing connectivity. ‘Catalysts’ on the other hand are short-term trends that are more easily influenced. These include trends like technological progress, increasing trade and migration. Finally, informed by mega-trends and catalysts, ‘game-changers’ are the key decisions that will shape our common future. The most pressing game-changers include responses to climate change and the populist threat to democracies.

ESPAS Chair, Ann Mettler, from EPSC, depicted the report as a call to action. Despite the somber challenges, we are still in a position to take action and shape the future for the better. Importantly, the ESPAS process has fostered the role of foresight and preparedness throughout European decision-making. Trends such as the decline of democracy, a global power shift towards China, and growth in connectivity, are now more widely acknowledged. The report helps frame the discussion concerning global challenges, which is crucial given the next institutional cycle. Not only can we shape our own future, but the European Union is also a normative superpower, standing for human rights, democracy and equality in an increasingly uncertain world.

The report lays the groundwork for a serious debate about the future, as expressed by Jim Cloos, Deputy Director-General for General and Institutional Policy at the General Secretariat of the EU Council of Ministers. It forces us to discuss Europe itself and its role in the world, rather than being trapped in a discourse on internal politics. Foresight is not a matter of predicting the future, but rather about framing issues, building a shared narrative and understanding. One cannot tackle the most challenging issues of the future without first agreeing what the problems themselves are. It is central therefore that the ESPAS report is not only circulated within the foresight community, but also finds its way into the hands of heads of states.

In spite of the grave challenges, one can also find a positive and motivating tone in the report. As Christian Leffler of EEAS noted, the EU is well positioned to respond to these challenges and provide stability for the world. Many of the problems are recognised in the institutions and policies of the Union, especially when compared to other global actors. While preparation and adaptation are still needed, the structural framework for effective response is in place. This is important given the contested and fragmented global context. The rules-based international order and multilateralism are giving way to competitive multi-plurality. The response lies in the EU’s strategic autonomy, ensuring the Union’s capacity to choose its own path.

The launch event also generated lively discussion. The severity of climate change, ‘de-growth’, the potential of Africa, the future of trade, and gender-balance figured in the questions from the audience. The questions highlighted the essence of foresight – reconciliation and balancing conflicting views. Ultimately, foresight is not a mere intellectual exercise, as these challenges are already affecting us profoundly. The launch day of this second ESPAS report marked the beginning of a new discussion, which aims to strengthen the culture of preparedness and anticipation throughout Europe.

Shareholders in Portugal’s biggest company, Energias de Portugal, on Wednesday (24  April) blocked a €9 billion takeover bid by the state-owned China Three Gorges (CTG) Corporation. The rejection of the bid by the Chinese energy behemoth comes amid growing unease...

Prague will on Thursday (24 April) host a meeting of populist far-right party leaders seeking unprecedented success in European elections next month following a steep rise of anti-EU movements across Europe.

Attempts to end violence against women and girls in the European Union are being stymied by a mix of right-wing politics and social media that inflames sexism and stereotypes, a top women's rights official said on Wednesday (24 April).

Bringing emissions from heavy industry down to net-zero by 2050 is possible but will require costly new production processes and a 25-60% increase in near-term capital investments to reach €40-50 billion per year, according to new research published on Thursday (25 April).

The EU needs an industrial strategy that helps basic material industries achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, and innovation needs to be a large part of it, write Tomas Wyns and Gauri Khandekar.

If Europe is serious about decarbonising its economy by 2050, then one quarter of the electricity produced in the EU will need to continue to come from nuclear.

The foreign affairs minister of Haiti calls for the replacement EU-Africa, Caribbean, Pacific 'Cotonou' agreement of 2000 to be updated to take account climate change, infrastructure and tourism to help the country transition away from aid-dependence.

President of the European Council Donald Tusk and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker congratulate Volodymyr Zelensky on his election as President of Ukraine.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon set out her timetable for a second independence referendum by May 2021 on Wednesday (24 April), blaming Brexit chaos for having “exposed  a deep democratic deficit at the heart of how Scotland is governed”.

A month before the European elections, EURACTIV’s partner Ouest-France offered subscribers the opportunity to visit the European Parliament in Strasbourg and meet 13 MEPs. The trip helped one student conclude that she and her peers know very little about how the EU works and how useful it is. EURACTIV’s partner Ouest-France reports.

Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic are talking more and more about a 'Green New Deal' as climate change concerns start to actually take hold. But can Europe’s leaders square the worries of the gilets jaunes with the gilets jeunes?

EU leaders will meet with Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, in Brussels on Thursday (25 April) to progress on the bilateral relations, although Tokyo has been reluctant to follow the European ambition on trade and climate action.

Russian president Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed a decree to allow residents in the eastern Ukraine territories, held by Moscow-backed rebels, to obtain Russian citizenship under a simplified procedure. The move piles pressure on Ukraine's president-elect Volodymyr Zelensky, who won by a landslide last Sunday and promised renewed peace talks with Moscow. Ukraine's foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin called Putin's move an "aggression and interference" in Ukraine's internal affairs.

Romania's lawmakers in the parliament's lower house approved on Wednesday amendments to the criminal codes that could shut down several ongoing high-level corruption cases, Reuters reported. Opposition politicians plan to challenge the new rules at the Constitutional Court. The EU commission already warned Bucharest not to adopt the new rules that would create an amnesty for high-ranking officials sentenced for corruption.