European Union

A levy on carbon-intensive products is in the works in the EU, which would mean producers of EU goods pay for their emissions wherever they are in the world. It will have a serious impact on Europe's trading partners, making dialogue and understanding crucial to its success, writes Mohammed Chahim after a visit to the US.

CTS Eventim
Environment and consumers
Online purchase of tickets for cultural or sporting events: the Court of Justice specifies the cases in which there is no right of withdrawal

Technology companies and regulators in the EU and other western countries have the power to disturb the functioning of the Internet in Russia, and the malicious use of the Internet beyond Russia, without affecting the country’s essential data and infrastructure, nor harming the infrastructure of other countries. These digital sanctions can be implemented quickly, and removed easily when appropriate.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office has hired an American law firm to advise on Western sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion and help engage with US officials on policy matters, according to a filing with the US Justice Department.

Written by Stefano Spinaci.

The EU’s commitment to the objectives of the Paris Agreement, and the ambitious European Green Deal, require significant investment. It is estimated that hundreds of billions of euros are needed in the current decade to reach the carbon reduction targets.

The EU taxonomy is a classification system that aims to channel public and private investment into environmentally sustainable economic activities in order to achieve environmental objectives, such as those in the fight against climate change.

It establishes a dynamic list of economic activities considered to be environmentally sustainable, provided they contribute substantially to at least one environmental objective and do not significantly harm any other. The European Commission claims that such a common understanding of what constitutes environmentally sustainable investment can facilitate the funding of the transition to a more sustainable economy by bringing clarity to investors, avoiding market fragmentation and reducing the risk of greenwashing.

While the basic legal act for the taxonomy is already in force, the process of establishing detailed criteria on how to classify activities as green is ongoing. A first delegated act on reporting obligations of companies was adopted on 6 July 2021.

The focus of this briefing is the two delegated acts determining which activities should be considered as sustainable and contributing to the fight against climate change, and be reported as such. The first climate delegated act came into force on 1 January 2022, establishing criteria for activities helping to mitigate or adapt to climate change. Activities in the nuclear and gas sectors are the subject of a complementary delegated act proposed by the European Commission on 2 February 2022.

Read the complete briefing on ‘EU taxonomy: Delegated acts on climate, and nuclear and gas‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Listen to policy podcast ‘EU taxonomy: Delegated acts on climate, and nuclear and gas‘ on YouTube.

Spanish inflation hit a 37-year high in March over soaring energy costs following Russia's Ukraine invasion, official data showed Wednesday (30 March), amid a wave of social unrest over spiralling prices that has spawned protests, strikes and production stoppages.

Russian gas company Gazprom's offices in Germany were raided by EU antitrust regulators, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday (30 March), as the EU watchdog ramped up its investigation into the company's gas supplies to Europe.

As civil society, we welcomed Minister Cedric O’s commitment on Friday to prohibit targeted advertising to minors as well as the use of sensitive data for ad targeting in the DSA. Now the French Council Presidency must follow through and protect citizens, 35 NGOs write in an open letter.

The war in Ukraine has focused attention on liquefied gas (LNG) to replace Russian supplies coming via pipeline. Germany, France and Italy are all planning to rent or acquire special floating terminals in order to increase import capacity.

Russia would like to undermine the EU by the massive arrival of Ukrainian refugees, creating additional problems in EU countries’ economies economies and societies, writes Roman Rukomeda.

Rather than focus exclusively on alternative supplies to Russian energy imports, the EU can and should push for a radical improvement in energy efficiency with bolder policies on building renovation, argues Jessica Stromback.

In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about Zelenskyy asking Norway for weapons in a historical parliament address, Austria declaring an ‘early emergency’ plan to secure gas supply, and so much more.

Twelve of the Russian state’s nuclear weapons manufacturers use technology from Swedish industrial companies, an investigation by the Swedish newspaper Expressen has found. Equipment from companies such as Sandvik, SKF and Atlas Copco has been sold and supplied to organisations in...

Ukrainian forces are preparing for new Russian attacks in the east of the country as Moscow builds up its troops there after suffering setbacks near the capital Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday (31 March).

Russia's war on Ukraine, while devastating, could have 'positive' collateral effects on the European Green Deal. EURACTIV France reports.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was misled by advisers who were too scared to tell him how poorly the war in Ukraine is going and how damaging Western sanctions have been, White House and European officials said on Wednesday (30 March).

Elections in Serbia and an explosion of pro-Russian disinformation show why manipulation of social media in the Balkans by state actors is now a critical issue for Europe, writes Antoinette Nikolova.

Alqi Bllako, a Socialist MP, has resigned his parliamentary seat and is facing arrest for his role in a €430 million corruption scandal in what could be Albania’s largest government graft scandal to date. On Tuesday, the Special Prosecution against...

The Macedonian census of 2021 has revealed over 29% of the population is ethnic Albanian and half are Macedonian according to statistics published on Wednesday. The State Statistical Office (SSO) published partial results of the first census conducted in 20 years in...

Suad Arnautović was chosen as the new president of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) Central Electoral Commission (SIP) on Wednesday and said SIP is preparing for elections to be held in October, although an agreement on changing the election law has...