European Union

Press conference of the European Council meeting, 16 December 2021

Press conference of the Eastern Partnership summit, 15 December 2021

The Council and the European Parliament today reached a political provisional agreement on the revision of the trans-European energy network (TEN-E) Regulation. The objective is to modernise, decarbonise and interconnect the EU’s cross-border energy infrastructure in order to help the EU achieve its 2050 climate neutrality objectives.

On Wednesday, Parliament took stock of developments in Poland, with many speakers calling for action to halt the backsliding on the rule of law and fundamental rights.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

On Wednesday, Parliament took stock of developments in Poland, with many speakers calling for action to halt the backsliding on the rule of law and fundamental rights.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

EU lawmakers adopted their version of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in a plenary vote on Wednesday (15 December), formalizing their mandate to enter interinstitutional negotiations on this key piece of digital legislation with the European Council and Commission.

Parliament gave its green light to begin negotiations with member states on rules setting out what big online platforms will be allowed to do and not do in the EU.
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Parliament gave its green light to begin negotiations with member states on rules setting out what big online platforms will be allowed to do and not do in the EU.
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

MEPs demand the EU and its member states propose concrete measures to uphold women’s rights and reduce gender inequalities in the EU.
Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

MEPs demand the EU and its member states propose concrete measures to uphold women’s rights and reduce gender inequalities in the EU.
Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

The EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Union’s largest ever package of economic support, must make the EU more resilient, more competitive, and more just.
Committee on Budgets
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

The EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Union’s largest ever package of economic support, must make the EU more resilient, more competitive, and more just.
Committee on Budgets
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Written by Magdalena Pasikowska-Schnass.

From his childhood in the Warsaw Ghetto to his tragic death in a road accident while working at the European Parliament in 2008, Bronisław Geremek faced many personal, professional and political challenges during a period of constant turbulence. A world-renowned historian, he was interested in the poor, the excluded and the marginalised during the Middle Ages, mainly working as a researcher at the Sorbonne and Warsaw University.

The Soviet army’s invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 marked the start of his political involvement with those opposing the communist regime. He secretly gave history lectures, spoke in defence of workers persecuted following the cost-of-living riots in 1976, and went to Gdańsk in August 1980 to support the strike led by Lech Wałęsa. Geremek subsequently became an adviser to the founder of the Solidarność trade union.

His involvement led to his imprisonment following the military coup in December 1981 and the loss of his position as a professor, but guaranteed his place in negotiations between the communist regime and the democratic opposition in 1989. As a member of the first semi-democratic parliament in the Soviet bloc, he subsequently became Foreign Minister and started the negotiations for Poland’s accession to the European Union. He was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2004.

His research as a historian focused on Europe as a civilisation, on questions of European identity and integration, and on civil society. Due to his historical research, he had a capacity for in-depth analysis that he used in his European political work and involvement. He concluded that a European public space was essential in order to encourage European civic engagement and awareness.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Bronisław Geremek: In search of a united Europe‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

The new European Commission-powered Alliance for Industrial Data, Edge and Cloud was officially launched on Tuesday (December 14). With 39 members, the initiative gathers some of Europe's top-notch tech companies to collaborate on next-generation computing technologies.

The European Commission has proposed the introduction of minimum energy performance standards for the 15% worst performing buildings in Europe, which would be rated “G” on the EU’s energy performance scale, whether they are residential or not.

In an emerging multipolar world, Germany will need to be more assertive to defend European and transatlantic values. However, it remains to be seen if the new Chancellor Olaf Scholz will rise to the occasion, and the first signs are not too promising.

The Commission’s newly proposed methane legislation offers important technical measures but ignores the bulk of Europe’s methane footprint from imported gas. It is now up to MEPs and member states to build on international momentum and bolster Europe’s ambition.

On the back of the COVID pandemic, experts point to mounting evidence suggesting that women's involvement in the agrifood sector creates businesses more able to withstand crises, yet women still make up less than one-third of agri start-up leaders.

Changing the names of institutions, forming transnational lists, and questioning the unanimity vote are among  39 recommendations approved by the citizens' panel on democracy at a Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) panel in Florence last weekend. But some of the recommendations headed for the Commission might be met with resistance.

The European Commission’s efficient and green mobility package aims to cut transport emissions by making urban mobility cleaner. But electrifying our vehicles is not enough: To reach Europe’s Green Deal goals, cycling must be championed, writes Jill Warren.