European Union

Ahead of next year's parliamentary elections in Hungary, EURACTIV spoke to the two contenders who hope to end the 12-year-long rule of Viktor Orban's nationalist Fidesz.

Ahead of next year's parliamentary elections in Hungary, EURACTIV spoke to the two contenders who hope to end the 12-year long rule of Viktor Orbán's nationalist Fidesz.

A Hungarian government with Péter Márki-Zay at its helm would be like winning the “grand prize” for the EU, the independent Christian conservative mayor of Hódmezővásárhely told EURACTIV in a phone interview. Péter Márki-Zay is one of the two candidates...

Almost three in ten black employees feel discriminated against by their employer while four in ten have left a job due to a lack of workplace diversity and inclusion, according to a new UK survey published on Friday (15 October).

Ewa Myślińska is a 29-year-old patient who has been fighting cancer for four years now. She remembers it was 9 October when she touched her breast incidentally and felt a strange hardness. EURACTIV Poland reports.

Written by Liselotte Jensen.

Adopted in 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has gathered the nations of the world with the common goal to limit dangerous global warming. In December 2021, after having been postponed for a year due to the coronavirus crisis, world leaders will meet in Glasgow for the 26th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP26) to continue negotiations on the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

The latest assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) underscores the of role human activities in causing global warming. The UNFCCC-commissioned IPCC special report on impacts of global warming of 1.5°C (SR1.5) also outlines the risks of current trajectories. There is therefore strong pressure on world leaders to deliver progress in Glasgow.

Parties to the Paris Agreement were required to update their nationally determined contributions to fight climate change and its impacts before COP26. Some Parties are yet to do so, while analysis of submitted contributions as of July 2021, shows action to reach the agreed targets remains insufficient. Most key emitting nations continue to rate poorly on their climate action performance.

While COP24 and COP25 both failed to finalise the Paris Agreement rulebook, and developed nations so far fall short of fulfilling their climate finance promises, expectations are mounting for Glasgow to finish the job. At the same time, Covid‑19 restrictions and impacts continue to create challenges to participate in person, especially for developing countries’ delegations.

Recent Eurobarometer surveys show citizens have a clear expectation that their governments should handle the climate change challenge, with research also pointing to a growing acceptance of the need to change personal habits in view of transitioning to more sustainable economies.

The European Parliament will vote on a motion for a resolution on COP26 at the October II plenary session in Strasbourg. The draft highlights the urgency of action and calls upon leaders to ensure a just transition and adequate support for areas and states vulnerable to climate change impacts.

Read this briefing on ‘Looking to Glasgow: A scene-setter ahead of COP26‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

• Share of NDCs mentioning use of Article 6 options
• Historical and projected total global emissions according to NDCs
• Timeline of IPCC scientific reports publications in support of policy-making

With a growing demand for sustainable products, reliable data is key for farmers to improve their production practices and prove their green credentials. But how can this be done in practice? EURACTIV takes a closer look at one protocol putting this into action.

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven home to policymakers the urgency of expanding connectivity, but further work is needed to ensure that its roll-out across the EU is comprehensive and inclusive, say experts working on the programme.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the lack of medical stockpiles across the EU and the vulnerability of EU supply chains for critical medical countermeasures, reinforcing the message that political leadership remains at the core of creating resilient healthcare to fight future health crises.

The information captured by the cyberattacks carried out against Bundestag lawmakers during Germany's federal election by a hacker group said to be associated with the Russian secret service GRU was not used for disinformation but could still give Russia a strategic edge, officials and experts have said.

Several officials on the ground, as well as first-hand testimonies given to EURACTIV by migrants, have detailed signs of systematic illegal border violence and pushbacks by Croatian police against people attempting to cross over from Bosnia. EURACTIV travelled to the...

Plenary Session, Strasbourg

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Brussels has offered to ease the customs controls that have been in place at the Irish Sea border since Brexit, saying it would waive those on goods explicitly destined for Northern Ireland, among other things. Britain's Brexit Minister David Frost had called for renegotiation of the Northern Ireland Protocol and threatened to suspend it entirely. Commentators advise Brussels to adopt a clear stance.

The man suspected of killing five people with a bow and arrow in Kongsberg, Norway, has confessed to the crime. Police said they had long been keeping an eye on him over fears that he might become radicalised after converting to Islam. Europe's press focuses on how democracies can best protect themselves against such attacks.