European Union

As the EU Commission gears up to scrutinise EU government plans, we take a look at how the recovery policy and politics will shape the next months.

Spanish far-right party Vox is expected to help form a regional government in Madrid with the conservative People's party (PP) following local elections Tuesday, in which the PP won 65 out of 136 seats in the regional assembly, but fell short of a 69-seat majority. The main opposition Socialist party won just 24 seats, while the left-wing Más Madrid won 24. Vox got 13 and the far-left Unidas Podemos 10.

The EU is suspending plans for a trade deal with China, while reviving those for a pact with India, in a dispute on Chinese human-rights abuses.

The European Union aims to help industries slash greenhouse gas emissions by promoting a rapid expansion of investment in low-carbon technologies, partly through schemes with easier state aid rules, according to a draft policy plan seen by Reuters.

The United States and the EU expressed support for the territorial borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which have recently been called into question, and for the UN envoy to the country, who has been criticized by Russia.

Dried yellow mealworm can now be sold across the 27-nation bloc, after a decision from EU governments and a food safety assessment, the European Commission said, Bloomberg writes. EU officials suggest this insect could be used as a protein boost for cookies, pasta or baked goods. The market for edible insects is set to reach €3.8bn by 2027, according to one report earlier this year.

The European Commission on Tuesday condemned the deaths of those who killed during ongoing protests in Colombia against a proposed tax reform, Reuters reported. "It is really a priority to stop the escalation of this violence and to avoid any disproportionate use of force by security forces," an EU spokesman said. At least 19 people and one police officer have been killed, while hundreds were injured.

Scotland's first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has claimed the right to hold a second independence referendum by the end of 2024, should the SNP win a majority in the Scottish elections this week. She told Sky TV that Boris Johnson was "not entitled to stand in the way of the democratic choices of the people of Scotland" and would have to go to court to stop the referendum.

Algeria has detected its first cases of the coronavirus variant first discovered in India according to the state research centre the Pasteur Institute, the Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reports. Six cases of the variant have been confirmed in the coastal province of Tipaza, some 70km west of the capital, Algiers.

US drugmaker Pfizer expects to see €22bn in revenues from sales of its Covid-19 vaccine this year, with the product accounting for more than a third of the company's annual income, The Guardian reports. The jab is priced at €32 for two doses in the US and about €25 in the EU. The company said takings from the jab would boost profits.

The number of crimes committed by far-right extremists in Germany jumped to the highest-level ever recorded last year, including 13 attempted murders and 11 killings.

The European Commission declined to comment on the latest tax scandal revelation, where Amazon managed to pay no corporate sales tax in Europe - despite declaring €44bn in sales income.

With the Biden administration and EU leaders both pressing the reset button on relations with Turkey, could press freedom begin to be restored? Ankara is currently one of the world's biggest jailers of journalists.

Sexism may have played a role, but the deeper meaning of Ursula von der Leyen's humiliation in the palace of Turkish president Erdoğan is political and geopolitical.

There is a is a clear security threat for the European Parliament that needs to be urgently addressed.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, relations between the EU and Kazakhstan have continued to develop, with a milestone in-person EU-Kazakhstan Cooperation Council on 10 May expected to draw the lines of cooperation for the 2021-2027 period.

With China and the U.S. trying to assure their dominance in Artificial Intelligence (AI) development and deployment, the European Union is making its first steps to take the global lead in the governance of AI, grounding its approach on EU founding rights and values.

Ahead of the EU-Kazakhstan Cooperation Council on 10 May, EURACTIV spoke to an EU official to gather information about the EU's expectations for the cooperation with Kazakhstan and with Central Asia in the years to come.

Poland's lower house of parliament on Tuesday (4 May) approved legislation essential to the European Union's €750 billion COVID-19 recovery fund, bringing the 27-nation bloc a step closer to implementing the plan.

The German government is planning a new green financing strategy to steer capital towards environmental projects and developing Germany into a leading hub for sustainable finance, plans seen by Reuters show.