European Union

Energy ministers from European Union countries are meeting in Brussels on Thursday (2 December) to debate their response to high gas and electricity prices, with countries still divided over whether the recent price spike calls for an overhaul of the bloc’s energy market rules.

The legal adviser of the top EU court said on Thursday (2 December) Budapest and Warsaw's legal challenges to the EU law that links disbursement of bloc funds to rule of law standards should be dismissed.

The energy price crisis is creating fierce political debates over the block’s energy security with renewed pushes for centralised energy supply solutions such as hydrogen or nuclear energy.

Amid continuing silence from the European Commission, international media freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders has asked both the EU executive and the European Parliament to “firmly denounce” Greece’s new defamation law as “an attack on press freedom.”

The German coal states are victims of political whiplash: the country’s planned coal exit date went from 2038 to “ideally” 2030 within months. But their economic transition away from the coal industry is far from complete, say some.

The first hearing in the European Parliament on the proposal for standardising electric chargers brought about a cross-party consensus to also include wireless chargers, laptops, smartwatches and other electronic devices. However, the European Commission stood its ground on technical reasons.

With different chemical-related proposals on the table, it is crucial to ensure that EU legislation is adapted to not include testing on animals, according to an industry expert.

Hungary v Parliament and Council, Poland v Parliament and Council
Principles of Community law
AG Campos Sánchez-Bordona: the actions brought by Hungary and Poland against the regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget in the event of breaches of the principles of the rule of law should be dismissed

Facebook Ireland
Principles of Community law
According to Advocate General Richard de la Tour, the Member States may allow consumer protection associations to bring representative actions against infringements of the protection of personal data

Germany's incoming foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock from the Green party, on Wednesday (1 December) pledged "dialogue and toughness" in dealing with China, and did not rule out a boycott of Beijing's Winter Olympics.

Written by Györgyi Mácsai and Giulio Sabbati.

The economies of most ASEAN countries contracted due to the turmoil caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Three of them, however, (Brunei, Myanmar/Burma and Vietnam) still managed to grow in terms of GDP, although at a much slower rate than in previous years. Despite the fact that the value of trade in goods declined by 10 % to €189 billion, the ASEAN countries remain an important partner for the EU, collectively representing 5 % of the EU’s overall trade in 2020, ranking in sixth place after China, USA, APEC members (other than ASEAN), the UK and Switzerland. At the same time the EU is the fourth biggest trade partner of the ASEAN group after China, other APEC members and the USA. Mechanical appliances, electrical equipment and agri-food make up half of the trade in goods between the two blocs, both for exports and on the import side.

Read this ‘at a glance’ on ‘ASEAN: Economic indicators and trade with EU‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Business environment and socio-economic indicators in ASEAN countries EU exports and imports of services_ASEAN EU exports of goods to ASEAN EU imports of goods from ASEAN EU trade with ASEAN and Top EU partners GDP growth and GDP per capita of ASEAN countries Main trading partners of the EU and of ASEAN Unemployment in ASEAN countries

The EU's energy commissioner, Kadri Simson, called for a "gearshift on investments" in nuclear power in order to extend the lifetime of existing power plants and maintain current production levels until 2050. EURACTIV France reports.

To close out 2021, the monthly “10 Most Urgent” list from the One Free Press Coalition presents “the year in press freedom.” The 10 cases encompass concerning trends in threats to journalists—from impunity to imprisonment, surveillance to harassment.

The chief diplomats of the US and Russia are to meet in Sweden on Thursday (2 December) as tensions soar after Washington expressed concern about Russia's military buildup near Ukraine and warned of "high-impact" sanctions.