Euractiv.com

Europe’s 340 million pets are unlikely to swing this year’s European elections, though with cats, one can never be sure. Jennifer Baker looks at Europe’s animal-related policy dynamics and how they could influence June’s electoral mix.

The EIT Summit 2024, which took place on 20 February, revealed the European Institute of Innovation and Technology’s (EIT) ambition to harness the power of the sun, focusing on solar technology innovation and the training of thousands of solar engineers.

Trade between the European Union and Russia kept sliding in the final quarter of 2023, as Brussels continues efforts to decouple itself from Moscow in the lead-up to the second anniversary of the full-scale war in Ukraine.

The EU executive proposed measures to loosen monitoring, controls and environmental requirements to alleviate the administrative burden of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on growers and member states, according to a document seen by Euractiv.

Pressure mounted on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine as lawmakers from his governing coalition voted on Thursday (22 February) for a resolution to deliver “long-range weapon systems” to Ukraine.

EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski blamed the bloc's “trade and climate policies” for farmers’ discontent after the European Parliament’s agriculture committee called on him to stand up for European farming. 

Addressing Europe’s shortage of affordable housing is crucial to tackling the continent’s cost of living crisis and establishing a viable social market economy, panellists convened by the EPP told a group conference.

"Freedom isn't free" is an idiom used to describe sacrifice during times of crisis, used widely in the US to express gratitude to the military for defending freedom.

The next European Commission that will be appointed after June's EU election will focus on implementing green laws adopted in the current mandate and boost investments in clean tech to meet the EU’s 2030 climate goals, a top official has said.

The new Pact on Migration and Asylum will not only violate human rights, but will also prove to be ineffective for the goals it has been conceived for, writes Gaia Romeo.

EU member states should find ways to increase support to Ukraine, particularly the delivery of badly needed ammunition, the bloc's chief diplomat Josep Borrell urged his counterparts in a letter seen by Euractiv.

The controversial appointment of German CDU MEP Markus Pieper as the new EU envoy for small and medium-sized enterprises has raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group’s new far-right friends have started making some more moderate national delegations uncomfortable.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ponders as a possibility for some parties within the conservative group (ECR) to join her centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) in the new European Parliament after June’s EU elections.

The European Union faces a looming threat to its (SMEs) due to the complexities of standard essential patent licensing. SMEs struggle with opaque negotiations, unfair pricing, and the risk of market exclusion. The proposed regulation promise transparency, fairness, and support for innovation.

In the wake of the farmers' protests, the German government has tried to pin the blame on supermarkets. The German Monopolies Commission has now concluded that there are indeed imbalances, although it warns against hasty political decisions.

The hot topic of the month in Brussels is industrial competitiveness and how it can be connected more closely to the European Green Deal. European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, appointed to lead the Green Deal portfolio last year, has a plan.

In recent decades, political institutions have witnessed a gradual erosion of trust among their constituents, a trend exacerbated by the economic and financial crisis. According to the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), over the past 20 years, vote turnout in both Western and Eastern democracies has dropped by an average of 10 percentage points.

French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said he would convene a meeting of pro-nuclear EU countries on 4 March to discuss the launch of an “Important Project of Common Interest (IPCEI)” in the field of nuclear power.

President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "crazy SOB" during a fundraiser in San Francisco on Wednesday (21 February), warning there is always the threat of nuclear conflict but that the existential threat to humanity remains climate. "