European Union

EU farmers are “quite worried” about the fact that the European Commission’s DG Agri is often disregarded when it comes to policy decisions that have a direct impact on the farming community, such as the biofuels debate.    

Scotch Whisky Association
Agriculture and fisheries
In order to decide whether there is an ‘evocation’ prohibited by EU law, the national court must determine whether a consumer thinks directly of the protected geographical indication ‘Scotch Whisky’ when he sees a comparable product bearing the designation ‘Glen’

Louboutin and Christian Louboutin
Intellectual and industrial property
A mark consisting of a colour applied to the sole of a shoe is not covered by the prohibition of the registration of shapes

The cogeneration sector is committed to creating a resilient, decentralised, carbon neutral European energy system by 2050 with cogeneration as its backbone.

Brexit will have many practical consequences for the regional economy. Port cities like Zeebrugge in Belgium, which trade a lot with Great Britain, will be particularly affected.  EURACTIV Germany takes a look at both sides of the Channel.

A minister in the British government of Theresa May quit Tuesday, in protest at the government's handling of Brexit, and ahead of 48 hours of key votes in the House of Commons on a future strategy. Phillip Lee, a former 'Remain' campaigner who was a minister within the justice department, said he "cannot, in all good conscience, support how our country's exit from the EU looks set to be delivered."

The European Commission’s proposal on the Renewable Energy Directive II reduces the cap on the contribution of conventional biofuels to transport fuel from a maximum of 7% in 2021 to 3.8% in 2030.

The European Union inched forward on Monday (11 June) in redefining the role of ACER, the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators. But more discussions still lie ahead, with some EU countries worried about “unlimited competences” granted to the agency.

MEPs in the European Parliament’s powerful Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) want the European Commission to suspend its Privacy Shield agreement with the United States unless the Trump administration introduces data protection safeguards by 1 September, in a move that comes amid mounting transatlantic political tensions.

New wind turbines, new photovoltaic panels, and gas-fired power stations have been built in Poland for many years. But we can have more of them and more of the energy they produce. To a large extent, this may result from the capacity market, argues Filip Grzegorczyk.

Louboutin and Christian Louboutin
Intellectual and industrial property
A mark consisting of a colour applied to the sole of a shoe is not covered by the prohibition of the registration of shapes

British MPs are voting on a Brexit bill that could keep the UK in the EU and destabilise the government, as the clock ticks to the exit date.

EU citizens who are 18 years old on 1 July may apply for the DiscoverEU travel programme as of noon Tuesday. Those selected will receive travel tickets worth on average €255, according to the rules. These also state that travel should be done by rail, but in exceptional cases by ferry, bus, or plane. Some 15,000 tickets will be awarded. Participants are "invited to report back on their travel experiences".

The Italian coast guard will send ships to take some of the 629 migrants on board during the voyage to Valencia, Doctors without Borders and journalists on the overloaded 'Aquarius' rescue vessel said on Tuesday. The migrants were refused access to Italy and Malta, causing a political and humanitarian crisis. Several Italian mayors criticised the decision of the new interior minister, the far-right Matteo Salvini.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili will inaugurate today (12 June) the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), a key element of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), media in the three countries announced.

France and Germany are "making progress toward reaching a Franco-German agreement on the roadmap for eurozone's future", said French finance minister Bruno Le Maire on Monday, according to Reuters. "We are on the right path. It's long and difficult, it takes a lot of time and determination," he said at a Parisian conference. The two biggest EU countries reportedly are trying finish the roadmap before the June EU summit.

A German PhD candidate has recently started conducting interviews about how the EU's behind-closed-doors 'trilogues' actually work. "Now the fun work starts," he says.

Greek foreign minister Nikos Kotzias said on Monday that his country and Macedonia have taken "the decisive step" needed to resolve the dispute over Macedonia's name, Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported, after prime ministers Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev had a phone call "in a good atmosphere". Kotzias reportedly said that three new names were still on the table for the country officially called Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The German government has ordered carmaker Daimler to recall 774,000 European diesel cars, because they contained illegal defeat devices that masked their real level of emissions during official certification tests, transport minister Andreas Scheuer said on Monday. The same day, German prosecutors revealed that Audi CEO Rupert Stadler is suspected of fraud for his role in the Volkswagen Group emissions fraud revealed in September 2015.

A unique coalition of businesses and investors representing over €21 trillion in assets have joined forces with local authorities and civil society groups to urge EU leaders to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon economy in order to keep global warming below 2°C.