Euractiv.com

After tabling just a small part of the promised overhaul of legislation on animal welfare, the Commission told the European Parliament plenary on Thursday (14 March) that a revision must rely on a strategic dialogue with stakeholders.

Panama is increasingly becoming the hub of illicit tobacco trade, costing the country massive loss of public revenues and at the same time, raising questions over the policy response to this phenomenon.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen is expected to start an “intensive” EU election campaign in May with several “thematic” events across Europe, a source familiar with the matter from the European People’s Party (EPP) headquarters in Brussels told Euractiv.

Airdrops and a maritime corridor will not be enough to substitute humanitarian aid transported by trucks into Gaza, where people are on the verge of famine, European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said on Thursday (14 March).

The EU’s Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius is touring Paraguay, Bolivia, and Ecuador this week to address concerns related to the implementation of the world’s first ban on deforestation-linked products, a measure criticised as protectionist by some of the bloc’s trade partners.

When I think about the Russian elections, particularly the presidential one taking place this weekend, I cannot help but remember the totalitarian voting in which I participated as a youngster.

Animal welfare is one of those rare issues that is neither left nor right. Across the political spectrum and irrespective of nationality, you’ll always find politicians who care about the plight of animals; it is certainly not the exclusive domain of the Greens and the Left.

A key provision in the EU's AI rulebook to assess the risks of foundation models such as ChatGPT may become obsolete within a year due to the pace of developing technologies, experts told Euractiv.

Support in the US for NATO is high and the Europeans' investment into defence is higher than ever, Secretary-General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday (14 March), in a move to dismiss future criticism from Washington.

The European Commission announced its investigation into AliExpress on Thursday (14 March), about whether the online retail service violated the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA).

In a video seen by AFP on Wednesday (13 March), French President Emmanuel Macron said he was in favour of including the notion of consent in the criminal definition of rape - a significant U-turn, given that France opposed the idea in an EU directive in February.

One of the leaders of the liberals in the EU election campaign will be German defence expert Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, whose party in Germany has been obstructing significant legislative proposals related to business and the Green Deal in recent weeks.

On Wednesday (13 March), the European Parliament passed its first comprehensive regulation on artificial intelligence (AI), but major questions remain on how the law will be implemented.

On Tuesday (12 March), the French Senate approved a law protecting farmers against growing complaints from new rural residents about the nuisance caused by farm activities, such as the crowing of cockerels in the morning or the smell of manure.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday (14 March) called for broad public dialogue on the prospect of applying for EU membership, as the ex-Soviet country's ties with Russia fray.

As a strategic raw material, aluminium plays a crucial role in the EU's journey towards climate neutrality by 2050 and achieving a green transition ‘made in Europe’. Its applications range from wind turbines and solar panels to electric vehicles and batteries, illustrating its essential role in clean technologies. With forecasts indicating a significant surge in aluminium demand, it is imperative to establish a strong and globally competitive aluminium industry in Europe.

The European Parliament formally approved a deal on revised emissions rules for cars, trucks and buses on Wednesday (13 March), tightening microplastic emissions from brakes and tyres but leaving other emissions from cars unchanged from the current exhaust emissions limits.

The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill on Wednesday (13 March) that would give TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance about six months to divest the US assets of the short-video app, or face a ban, in the greatest threat to the app since the Trump administration.

Britain unveiled a new definition of extremism on Thursday (14 March) in response to an eruption of hate crimes against Jews and Muslims since the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel, although critics said the change risked infringing on freedom of speech.

In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about Denmark’s plans to push for ‘gender equality’ in its military service, Warsaw’s plans to spend €27 million on bomb shelters and security infrastructure amid the Ukraine war, and so much more.