European Union

German chancellor Angela Merkel said the possibility that Social Democrat Olaf Scholz could try to form a coalition with the far-left Linke party after the September election was one "huge difference" between them, Reuters writes. "With me as chancellor there would never be a coalition in which the Linke is involved, and whether this (stance) is shared by Olaf Scholz or not remains open," Merkel said.

The Taliban celebrated the departure of Western "occupiers", hours after the last US plane left Afghanistan, but also said they wanted to have good diplomatic relations with the United States and the rest of the world, Deutsche Welle reports. US defeat in Afghanistan is a "big lesson for other invaders and for our future generation," a Taliban spokesperson said, adding "it is also a lesson for the world."

There was no evidence that Russian state agents were guilty of murdering human rights activist Natalia Estemirova in 2009, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg ruled Tuesday, but Russia did fail to investigate the case properly and should pay her family €20,000 compensation, it said. Her daughter, Lana, called the judgment "upsetting and infuriating". Russia has a track record of never paying ECHR court fines.

Poland's Constitutional Tribunal has delayed a ruling on the primacy of the country's constitution over the European Union, following a long-standing dispute between the European Commission and Poland's right-wing ruling party over judicial independence. A new date is now set for 22 September, reporters Reuters.

The digital industry now has more lobbying power than pharmaceutical, fossil fuels, financial, or chemical sectors - spending annually over €97m to influence EU decision-making, according to a new report.

The political group leaders in the European Parliament decided to pass the ball to the legal affairs committee - which will now draw up a recommendation to the parliament president, David Sassoli.

Around 70 percent of adults in the EU are now fully-vaccinated against Covid. But some member states - like Bulgaria and Romania - are falling behind, for a mix of reasons.

Better migration management is important and long overdue. But as the drawbridge goes up again, years of Europe's hard work in Afghanistan and elsewhere will perish in the shadow of Fortress Europe.

Chemical companies are watching the raw materials they need for future production go up in flames as the Fit for 55-package continues to support the burning of trees as a 'renewable' form of energy.

At least 525 people have died trying to make the Atlantic crossing between the African continent and Spain’s Canary Islands so far this year, one of the deadliest migrant routes in the world, the International Organization for Migration said Tuesday, EURACTIVS’s partner EFE reports. 

Facing sharp criticism over the tumultuous US withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Joe Biden said it was the best available option to end both the United States' longest war and decades of fruitless efforts to remake other countries through military force.

Follow the first steps of Michelle, a 25-year-old student from Barcelona (Spain), in Marrakesh (Morocco). She discovers how municipalities in the province of Barcelona joint efforts with municipalities in the Marrakesh-Safi region to strengthen citizens’ participation and promote gender equality...

The EU is determined to prevent uncontrolled large-scale illegal migration movements from Afghanistan by boosting aid to its neighbours in the region, a nemergency meeting of EU home affairs ministers concluded. However, they did not discuss sums or resettlement numbers.

European Commissioner for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, visited Poland on Monday and Tuesday (30-31 August), as tensions remain high over rule of law and media freedom in the biggest eastern member state.

Written by Mar Negreiro.

As part of its digital decade strategy, the European Commission’s March 2021 communication puts forward its vision for new strategic digital objectives for 2030. These should prepare Europe for the roll-out of the next generation of broadband infrastructure with gigabit speeds, including 5G, as well as for the digital transformation of public and private sectors, to enable an array of new innovative services that should transform the manufacturing, energy, vehicle manufacturing, digital government services and health sectors.

Given its importance for European Union (EU) competitiveness, the European Commission is speeding up the digital transformation by co-financing research, development and deployment of innovative technologies in 2021‑2027, under the €7.5 billion digital Europe programme, the first EU programme fully dedicated to the EU’s digital transformation. Other EU programmes will also play a major role in funding digital infrastructure, including the Connecting Europe Facility and cohesion policy. Furthermore, at least 20 % of the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility funds received by each EU country should be dedicated to the digital transition.

There is some concern that not all consumers and businesses in Europe will benefit from the digital transformation, given the current and future digital divide between urban and rural areas and across EU countries. Given the current climate, the high level of investment needed to achieve the transformation might prove difficult to raise.

To measure progress towards the digital decade, the Commission is working on a digital compass method with indicators, which should be put forward for this task later in 2021. This would enable measurement of four dimensions (or ‘cardinal points’): improved digital skills, secure and sustainable digital infrastructures, digital transformation of businesses and of the public sector.

Read the complete briefing on ‘The EU digital decade: A new set of digital targets for 2030‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

The crisis in Afghanistan may be prompting the EU to have a crisis of confidence and bout of self–examination about its role in the world, but it is not the only one. The same can be said of Britain. Twenty...

The Conference on the Future of Europe is now officially underway. But with its original political patron, French President Emmanuel Macron, no longer leading the project, and the Covid pandemic still around us, it is unclear where the conference will...

Over half of the heavily criticised free allowances, which allow certain EU companies to emit CO2 without paying, will remain unchanged under current plans for the tool designed to replace them, according to climate think-tanks.

The main organisational body of the European Parliament has given the go-ahead to continue the drawn-out procedure of suing the executive for failing to activate the budgetary conditionality linking EU funds to rule of law amid doubts over the action's speed and efficacy.

Instagram users will have to register their birthdate if they want to continue using the services of one of Facebook's flagship products, the social media giant announced on Monday (30 August). EURACTIV France reports.