European Union

Belgium's King Philip appointed two "co-formateurs" to create a government Wednesday, pushing the process into its final phase one year and five months after elections. The two were Alexander De Croo (from the Open Vld party) and Paul Magnette (PS). The so-called Vivaldi coalition (named after the composer's 'Four Seasons' masterpiece) will contain the socialists, liberals and greens from both sides of the language border, and the Flemish christian democrats.

As the aggression and empire building of Erdogan's Turkey becomes clearer, the EU faces a watershed moment, argues Robert Ellis.

Amnesty International on Thursday (24 September) urged the EU to reconsider cooperation with Libya over "horrific abuses" of refugees and migrants in the North African country.

The EU commission's newest pact on migration and asylum seeks to deter people from claiming asylum by speeding up procedures and sending most of them back home.

The world solar technology summit, which took place in India earlier this month, could in many ways be a model for the decarbonisation of the energy-intensive sector, which includes industries such as steel, cement, chemicals, non-ferrous metals and glass, writes Gauri Khandekar.

The special committee, only created in June, will start its hearings on Thursday with experts from the EU's foreign service on hybrid threats and disinformation.

Recent weeks have seen a sudden flare-up in anti-mask protests and coronavirus-denial - posing questions on how to regulate social media.

A new report details how the Covid-19 pandemic triggered bans on protests and demonstrations, censorship of free speech, denial of access to information and the weakening of democratic oversight on many of policy-making procedures.

The protests in Bulgaria clearly open the debate on whether the rule of law remains the central shared value for all Europeans.

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has been sworn in for a new term in office, in a hasty and secret ceremony attended by a few hundred people at the palace of independence in Minsk after racing through the city in his motorcade to get there, the BBC reports. The opposition had previously planned a massive rally and general strike for the occasion, which had been expected in November.

The long-term economic cost of a no-deal Brexit for the UK would amount to £160bn (€174bn), compared to government estimates for the coronavirus pandemic cost of £40bn, the London School of Economics said in a study. The UK left the EU in January but a transition period still allows for normal trade with the EU until 2021, amid faltering talks between the two sides to agree a long-term trade regime.

Around 200 miners from Poland's biggest coal-producer, PGG, are protesting against the government plans to restructure the industry, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Some of the miners have been underground since the beginning of the week, when the protests started in two mines - expanding later to 10. The government and the union representatives have met twice this week to discuss the new Polish energy strategy by 2040.

Direct and indirect CO2 emissions from the EU's animal farming industry amounted to 704m tonnes in 2018, compared to 656m tonnes from cars and vans, according to a new study by environmental pressure group Greenpeace. Meat and dairy production in there bloc also rose by 9.5 percent between 2007 and 2018, the CO2 equivalent of putting 8.4m new cars on the road, in a worrying trend, it added.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been discharged from the Berlin clinic where he was being treated for poisoning with a nerve toxin, the BBC reports. "My plans are simple: [go to] the physiotherapist ... Stand on one leg. Regain complete control over my fingers. Maintain my balance", he said. He could return to Russia "at any moment", a Kremlin spokesman said. The Kremlin denies accusations that it poisoned him.

Nutrition and nutritional care are eminently (cost) effective interventions and should therefore be a key component and integral part of any EU health initiative that strives for disease prevention, effective treatment and improved patient outcomes. Olle Ljungqvist is Professor of...

More than half of EU countries failed to safeguard people’s right to peaceful assembly during the pandemic, peaceful protests were violently disrupted by police, and tight restrictions on fundamental rights remained in place even after social distancing measures were scaled back for businesses, a new report by civil rights watchdogs found.

On Wednesday, Parliament’s new special committees, subcommittee and committee of inquiry held their constitutive meetings and elected their chairs and vice-chairs.
Committee of Inquiry on the Protection of Animals during Transport
Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age
Special Committee on Beating Cancer
Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation
Subcommittee on Tax Matters

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

On Wednesday, Parliament’s new special committees, subcommittee and committee of inquiry held their constitutive meetings and elected their chairs and vice-chairs.
Committee of Inquiry on the Protection of Animals during Transport
Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age
Special Committee on Beating Cancer
Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation
Subcommittee on Tax Matters

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

On Wednesday, the EP’s Committee on Culture and Education called for swift and concrete measures to close the digital education gap in Europe.
Committee on Culture and Education

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

On Wednesday, the EP’s Committee on Culture and Education called for swift and concrete measures to close the digital education gap in Europe.
Committee on Culture and Education

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP