European Union

Czech environmental organisations are calling for an immediate halt to the construction of a lookout tower on the top of Králický Sněžník, a mountain located on the border between Czechia and Poland. They say the tower, which has been under...

Polish politician Ryszard Terlecki, a prominent member of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, has told Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to “seek help in Moscow”. Terlecki’s comments came after Tsikhanouskaya participated in the celebrations of the 32nd anniversary of...

It is necessary to review the European Union’s Stability Pact before the end of its suspension, and to find a “harmonious and long-term vision between countries”, even if it is necessary “to be very attentive to the risks of inflation”,...

Continuing travel restrictions imposed by Finland are causing tensions between the neighbouring countries across the Gulf of Finland, prompting Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas to hold talks on Friday with the ambassador of Finland. Kallas called the restrictions “not proportionate.”...

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz attended the Economic Forum in St. Petersburg as the only EU leader amid increasing tensions between Russia and the EU. Kurz defended EU sanctions against Belarus but refrained from direct criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin. ...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received on Sunday (6 June) a delegation of the mostly Turkish-Bulgarian Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF). The delegation visit was led by DPS leader Mustafa Karadayi and included MEP Ilhan Kyuchuk. MRF has three...

The UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, met with finance ministers in London this weekend, with discussions leading to a historic agreement that G7 nations will mandate climate reporting in line with the recommendations of the global Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). EURACTIV's media partner edie.net reports.

Unambitious coal phase-out policies in central and eastern Europe threaten the just transition in the region and the European Commission should only accept plans that use the just transition fund to develop and diversify local economies for a greener future, writes Alexandru Mustață.

Ten EU member states are planning to switch to deposit schemes for beverage container recycling in order to meet new Green Deal requirements. Germany has 20 years of experiencing in operating the world’s largest such scheme.

The Covid-19 pandemic was responsible for its postponement but, with the health situation on the continent gradually improving, the delayed Euro 2020 finally kicks off on Friday (11 June) in Rome.

Italy's co-ruling 5-Star Movement has resolved a long-running internal legal battle, paving the way for former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to take over as leader of the divided party and try to revive its fortunes.

The European Commission wants member states to adopt measures to support workers’ hiring and retraining in the aftermath of the pandemic, as the green and digital transitions will shake up a European job market already in pain because of COVID-19.

The price of clean hydrogen can be cut drastically by mid-century if the EU creates a dedicated market structure to develop the fuel, according to the industry. Environmental groups, meanwhile, are sceptical about the emergence of a hydrogen economy.

Kazakhstan on Saturday (5 June) dismissed a senior Russian official's idea of a joint response to Western sanctions against Moscow and its allies such as Belarus by a Russia-led post-Soviet trade bloc.

The United States' reputation as the leading global power has suffered in France and Germany because of Washington's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic that has killed nearly 600,000 Americans, a poll showed, Reuters reports. On the eve of US president Joe Biden's trip to Europe, the survey said he had not won back the standing of the United States as it was before Covid-19 struck. China's reputation had risen slightly.

Finance ministers in London from the G7 group of wealthy nations agreed a landmark deal aimed at making the biggest companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Google and Facebook pay more tax, The Guardian reports. The two "pillars" of the deal would make companies pay a percentage of their profits in markets where they make large sales despite minimal corporate presence, as well as setting an unprecedented global minimum corporation tax.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives' resounding victory in a state election in eastern Germany on Sunday boosts Armin Laschet's hopes to become chancellor in September, Reuters writes. An exit poll from the Saxony-Anhalt election had the Christian Democrats (CDU) on 36 percent, up more than 6 points on five years ago, and far ahead of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), who were on 22.5 percent.

The UK's Prince William and his wife Kate are to spend more time in Scotland as a prophylactic against a new independence movement there, British newspaper The Times reports. "They think of it as their [British] Union. It was originally a union of crowns. They think the politicians have been losing Scotland for them," a royal source said. Some 69 percent of Scottish voters approve of William, a poll showed.

It would be "unimaginable" for Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz to stay in office if convicted of perjury, the country's vice chancellor and leader of the Greens, Werner Kogler, said in remarks broadcast on TV, Reuters writes. Kogler's comments suggest the coalition between his party and Kurz's conservatives could collapse if Kurz, whom prosecutors have placed under investigation over his testimony to a parliamentary commission, was charged and then convicted.

Thousands of young Hungarians marched through Budapest on Sunday to protest against the government's plan to build a Chinese university for €1.4bn, financed via loans from a Chinese bank, despite Chinese human rights abuses. "[Hungary ruling party] Fidesz portray themselves as anti-communists, but in reality the communists are their friends," student Szonja Radics told AFP at the march. The price tag is more than Fidesz national education budget for 2019.