European Union

The European Union's anti-trust chief on Thursday (13 January) said she had asked gas companies including Gazprom about tight supplies after accusations the Russian giant was holding back extra production that could be released to lower soaring prices.

Lors de la conférence de presse qui a suivi sa rencontre avec le Premier ministre tchèque Petr Fiala à Prague, le président Michel a abordé les points clés de l'agenda européen pour les prochains mois, également dans le contexte de la prochaine présidence tchèque de l'UE.

Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the alignment of certain third countries with Council Decision (CFSP) 2021/1305 of 5 August 2021 amending Decision 2010/638/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against the Republic of Guinea.

The Council prolonged restrictive measures in view of Russia's actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine by six months.

Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the alignment of certain third countries with Council Decision (CFSP) 2021/2197 of 13 December 2021 amending Decision (CFSP) 2020/1999 concerning restrictive measures against serious human rights violations and abuses.

The press briefing ahead of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council will take place on 14 January 2022 at 15.00. The briefing will be "off the record".

Lower-income countries refused to take around 100 million donated COVID-19 vaccine doses in December alone, chiefly due to their short shelf life, the United Nations said Thursday (13 January).

The nine years spanning 2013-2021 all rank among the 10 hottest on record, according to an annual report a US agency released Thursday, the latest data underscoring the global climate crisis.

Europe's use it or lose it airport slot rule has not created issues for airlines during the COVID-19 pandemic, nor is there any evidence of carriers operating ghost flights because of the rule, a senior European Commission official said on Thursday.

The tensions with Russia over Ukraine are said to be at their most dangerous since the end of the Cold War. Talks with Russia are ongoing in various forms. However, there are no results, and no prospects of any breakthrough.

This week our Beyond the Byline podcast focuses on Kazakhstan, the demonstrations that caused significant unrest across the country, Russia’s involvement, and possible measures coming from the EU.

President Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday told ambassadors from the European Union that the bloc had not provided meaningful support in battling migration and that it had not reciprocated Turkey's efforts to improve relations.

Following a letter from thirty EU lawmakers, the European Commission appeared to stand by its embattled enlargement chief on Thursday (13 January) and the statements issued after allegations were made in December that he had indirectly contributed to secessionist moves of Bosnian Serbs.

Participatory budgeting (PB) - the shared decision between city leaders and inhabitants on spending a part of the municipal budget - is becoming an increasingly popular democratic tool in Europe.

Africa can’t rely on wealthy nations for help in the face of empty promises, and vaccine hoarding writes Peter Burdin, former BBC Africa bureau editor.

The EU's role in an anti–jihadist defence and security mission in the Sahel region is under increasing threat as relations with the military government in Mali continue to decline over delayed elections and the presence of Russian mercenaries, EU officials conceded on Thursday.

The EU on Thursday (13 January) blocked the merger of two South Korean ship-making giants over concerns the deal would restrict the supply of large liquefied gas carriers, posing a threat to Europe's energy security.

Written by Stefano Spinaci (1st edition).

Green bonds are committed to financing or re-financing investments, projects, expenditure or assets helping to address climate and environmental issues. Both governments and companies use them to finance the transition to a more sustainable and low-carbon economy.

Since the EIB inaugurated the green bond market in 2007 with its Climate Awareness Bond, the market has grown very fast, but it still represents only about 3 to 3.5 % of overall bond issuance. The green bond market needs to grow more quickly to achieve the targets in the Paris Agreement.

The Commission’s proposal aims to establish an official EU standard for green bonds aligned with the EU taxonomy for sustainable activities, based on a registration system and supervisory framework for external reviewers of European green bonds.

The proposal is currently being examined by the co-legislators. Within the European Parliament, the file has been assigned to the ECON committee. In the Council, the working party on financial services is meeting to discuss the dossier.

Versions

• January 2022: European green bonds: A standard for Europe, open to the world (1st edition)

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on European green bonds Committee responsible:Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON)COM(2021) 391
6.7.2021Rapporteur:Paul Tang (S&D, The Netherlands)2021/0191(COD)Shadow rapporteurs:Christophe Hansen (EPP, Luxembourg)
Gilles Boyer (Renew, France)
Bas Eickhout (Greens/EFA, The Netherlands)
Gunnar Beck (ID, Germany)
Andżelika Anna Możdżanowska (ECR, Poland)
José Gusmão (The Left, Portugal)Ordinary legislative procedure (COD)
(Parliament and Council on equal footing – formerly ‘co-decision’) Next steps expected: Consideration of draft report in committee

Fossil gas should be excluded from Europe’s list of sustainable investments, according to a group of climate investors with €50 trillion worth of assets. The group added it was still considering whether to consider nuclear as a sustainable investment.

Entry into office of three new Members of the General Court of the European Union