European Union

The shutdown of the last nuclear power plant in Schleswig-Holstein will unclog the electricity grid and unleash wind power in the northern German state, according to its environment minister Jan Philipp Albrecht, reports Clean Energy Wire.

Most Bulgarian citizens oppose concessions to Skopje and lifting the veto before bilateral issues are resolved. According to a Gallup International Balkan poll conducted from 25 November to 3 December, 71% of Bulgarians consider the settlement of Skopje’s relations with...

The EU has launched a €1.5bn programme aimed at promoting human rights and democracy during 2021–2027, the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday. The priorities include promoting equality, inclusion and respect for diversity, working towards the universal abolition of the death penalty, as well as supporting pluralist, participatory and representative democracies. EU funds will also support the UN high commissioner for human rights.

The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) on Thursday welcomed an agreement reached on extending and updating roaming rules – an initiative widely-regarded as an EU success. But BEUC regrets that the final agreement does not include cheaper calls or messaging to another EU country. "Consumers still face disproportionate surcharges" for the so called intra-EU calls, they say. The current rules were due to expire at the end of June 2022.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday warned rich countries against hoarding vaccines, following the emergence of the new Omicron variant. Experts argue that this is inefficient from the epidemiological and transmission perspective, Reuters reported. "There is risk that the global supply is again going to revert to high-income countries hoarding vaccine," WHO's vaccine director Kate O'Brien said. Just 7.5 percent of people living in Africa have been fully vaccinated.

The initiative is particularly aimed at protecting women and the LGBTIQ community as EU member states are already required to criminalise crimes committed with a racist or xenophobic motivation.

Resistance is emerging among some EU states to proposals to help distribute people saved in search-and-rescue operations as part of its pact on migration and asylum.

"Russia is not planning any attack on anybody," Russia's veteran EU ambassador, Vladimir Chizhov, has pledged.

The European Commission has unveiled a proposal aimed at improving employment conditions for gig workers, such as Uber drivers or Deliveroo riders. But industry players claim new rules would lead to the loss of thousands of jobs in the EU.

The first two chapters of the EU's sustainable taxonomy have passed - but the future of the ambitious labelling system for green investment is far from certain.

As the European Parliament's internal market and consumer protection committee prepares to vote on its opinion on the Digital Services Act next week, the fate of targeted ads will become clearer.

The Greens and the FDP disagree on major political issues. While they both support the climate battle, their ways of ushering change are vastly different: the Greens advocate tougher environmental laws and regulations, and the FDP calls for market-based solutions.

By taking concrete steps today, Europe can be prepared for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The burden of disease is growing, so there is no time to wait. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the need for health system readiness into sharp focus....

Slovakia’s automotive industry is facing the biggest transformation in history. While other European countries are rolling out support programmes for electromobility and preparing reskilling policies for employees, Slovakia has no transformation plan and is not ready to meet the European...

If the EU were to implement too vigorous changes in energy taxation, it could trigger massive resistance both from citizens and companies, Ondřej Kovařík, the Czech MEP of Renew Europe group, has warned. The European Commission has proposed revising the...

As the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma approaches its third month of activity, authorities said they are hopeful the eruption would subside before 2022, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reported. The regional president of the Canary Islands,...

COVID-19 cases rose 22.4% over the last seven days in Italy, an increase of 22.4% according to the Gimbe Foundation. A 12% increase in deaths and 16.3% of hospitalisations were also recorded. Nino Cartabellotta, president of the Gimbe Foundation said...

Brexit campaigner Gisela Stuart, the former Labour politician who led the successful Vote Leave campaign with Boris Johnson, has been appointed to oversee civil service appointments, a move which has been criticised as potentially politicising the civil service. The appointment...

Plans to axe up to 30,000 Volkswagen jobs amid business model transformation have exposed CEO Herbert Diess to multiple enemies, potentially weakening his position in the process. A board meeting meant to proudly announce an €89 billion investment into factories...

President Zoran Milanović called Prime Minister Andrej Plenković’s visit to Ukraine amid high tensions with Russia “plain charlatanism”, adding that Plenković would “flee to Brussels if things get rough.” “This visit to Ukraine has reinforced the friendship between Kyiv and...