Euobserver.com

EU paid Russia €420-per-capita for fossil fuels since war began, new research shows.

Two years of tragedies, with well over 100,000 Russian war crimes now registered, underscore the urgent need to stop international LNG investments in Russia that continue to fund Vladimir Putin's war chest.

What would 'just peace' look like for Ukraine? How could we get there? And what does 'just peace' actually mean? Brussels Dispatches on how to get to long-term peace in Ukraine.

The launch of a new EU treaty with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states was overshadowed by disputes over the clean-energy transition, critical minerals, and the refusal of over 30 countries to sign the treaty this week.

Germany is expanding agreements to return rejected asylum seekers to their countries of origin as part of a wider shift in Europe to curtail migration. Berlin has reached deals with Georgia and Morocco since December.

Amazon is one step closer to being banned from the European Parliament after the employment committee complained of a lack of cooperation in recent years — what is the process, and when can a final decision be expected?

According to the European Commission, CBAM is supposed to prevent "carbon leakage". In other words, it seeks to prevent European industries relocating to jurisdictions with less stringent environmental policies, while also incentivising carbon pricing and industrial decarbonisation abroad.

New instruments to shield the EU's financial interests from rule of law breaches have provided a better protection in recent years, but not immune to "political bargaining", auditors warn.

The €723bn Covid-19 recovery fund, launched three years ago, has been a success, according to a mid-term internal review — but less effective than initially predicted. And according to one NGO, the commission painted an "overly positive picture".

Launching her campaign for a second EU Commission president mandate, Ursula von der Leyen rejected collaboration with extremist parties but left the door open to working with rightwing ECR — which may go from fifth to third-largest party in June.

Hungary failed to get three Russian and three Chinese names deleted, as the EU approved its 13th package of sanctions ahead of an anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

EU headlines, Russia after Navalny, the Munich Security Conference and an interview with Ian Bremmer, author and founder of the Eurasia Group on his main takeaways from the conference.

Despite the high risk of dying from war, starvation or disease, Gazans are still not allowed to enter Egypt. Except those who bribe the authorities. And the EU mission EUBAM Rafah cannot be deployed due to security reasons.

Fewer than one-in-ten Ukrainian refugees intend to settle permanently outside Ukraine, according to new research by the associate director of research and the director of gender and economic inclusion at the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development.

African leaders have promised to establish a continent-wide regime to buy medicines at this weekend's annual African Union summit in Addis Ababa. But momentum towards a pan-African medicines agency remains stalled.

The EU's cohesion policy has failed to tackle the widening gap between cities and regions — fuelling a growing discontent that is boosting eurosceptic parties across the continent.

The situation in Gaza provides egregious evidence that humanitarian aid is becoming selective, subjective and seeped in double standards.

Sweden could join Nato as early as next week after Hungary finally tabled a ratification vote for Monday (26 February) and the Swedish leader said he would travel to Budapest.

The EU-Israel association trade agreement enabled €46.8bn of trade last year. Exports rose for both parties by around 20 percent in 2022. As the bloc's foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said: "Yes, we have the capacity to influence [Israel]."

Viktor Orbán admits that 2024 "could not have started any worse" for his government. The sex-abuse scandal that led to the resignation of the president provides an opportunity for Hungary's opposition — but their fragmentation could be a major obstacle.