European Union

The European Commission's proposal to halt advanced biofuels from being double-counted towards road transport energy targets would diminish the use of waste-based fuels in favour of cheaper crop-based biofuels, a leading industry organisation has told EURACTIV.

Hungarian Family Minister Katalin Novák has decried homophobic comments made by the commerce chamber chief about a hypothetical homosexual teacher amid outcry from teacher’s union representatives. “I find it hard when my nine-year-old son, for example, is helped up the ladder or...

Czech state attorney Jaroslav Saroch on Tuesday returned the Capi hnizdo (Stork Nest) case of a suspected €2 million EU subsidy fraud – in which Prime Minister Andrej Babis is one of two persons implicated – to the police for...

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has announced his intention to declare a state of emergency in 183 towns and villages situated within 3 kilometres from the border with Belarus due to security concerns. Responding to the announcement, Interior Minister Michał Kamiński...

Portugal has the financial capacity to receive “hundreds” of Afghan refugees, with priority for women, children, activists and journalists, when 84 people are already in the country, Portugal’s Internal Administration Minister Eduardo Cabrita said on Tuesday. Speaking to the Portuguese...

Italy is making its COVID-19 digital vaccine pass mandatory to show on long-distance transport and for school staff and university students from Wednesday, with several protests announced including threats from activist groups to block the movement of trains. The pass...

Alar Karis was elected Estonia’s president on Tuesday after receiving the required two-thirds majority in parliament during a second round of voting. The 63-year-old former rector of the Tartu University and the Estonian University of Life Sciences and a former...

French company Colas has acquired Destia, Finland’s largest infrastructure company from family-owned investment company Ahlström Capital Group for an undisclosed amount. The transaction has been hailed by both sides as a win-win arrangement as it remains to be approved by the relevant competition...

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Tuesday described the coalition between her Scottish National Party and the Scottish Greens as a “leap of faith” for both parties, as lawmakers endorsed the appointment of two Green ministers to her government. The...

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz met with German counterpart Angela Merkel on Tuesday for the last time before she leaves office. On the agenda was bilateral relations, the Afghan crisis and the green transition. The two noted the good bilateral relations...

As almost 50 million French people have received at least one vaccine dose against COVID-19, the country is “on the right track,” Prime Minister Jean Castex told reporters on Tuesday. So far, 48.5 million French have received their first injection,...

Maritime transport emissions must be drastically cut further if the European Union hopes to become carbon neutral by 2050, the European Maritime Safety Agency warned Wednesday (1 September).

As of 1 September, Belgium is relaxing a series of COVID-19 measures. However, most of them will apply to Flanders and Wallonia, but not to the Brussels-Capital Region as its local government has decided to maintain previous measures for at...

Europe may have fully vaccinated almost half of its population against Covid-19, but the richer countries are far outstripping the poorer ones. This disparity, often along West-East lines, has raised concerns from the European Commission and the World Health Organisation.

Food and water were thought to be the main ways humans are exposed to PFAS, but a new study points to risk of breathing them in. EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian, reports.

A surge in coronavirus infections coupled with a slowing uptake of vaccinations due to "lack of access to vaccines in some countries" and "vaccine scepticism and science denial" in others could see 236,000 more Covid-linked deaths in Europe by the end of the year, the World Health Oragnisation's Europe director, Hans Kluge, has said, in a situation he called "deeply worrying", especially in low-income countries in central and eastern Europe.

Poland has declared a state of emergency in a 3km-zone covering 183 towns along its border with Belarus, giving security forces more powers to keep out migrants being pushed across by Belarus authorities in retaliation at EU sanctions. "No trips, no happenings, and demonstrations will be able to be organised along this border zone," Polish interior minister Mariusz Kamiński said, referring to previous visits by pro-refugee NGOs to the area.

Germany rebuked Luxembourg for being too soft on Afghan asylum seekers, while Austria and Denmark bluntly told refugees to "stay there".

The minister-president of the Brussels region, Rudy Vervoort, wants to agree with the other Belgian regions to create a Covid Safety Ticket for congresses, fairs, nightclubs and discos, De Standaard reports. Vervoort hopes this will be possible by 1 October. "We don't oblige other regions to do the same, but autonomy means we should be able to do ourselves," Vervoort said, adding it is needed for the economy.

Croatian police robbed and illegally pushed back dozens of refugees fleeing from Afghanistan back into neighbouring Bosnia between 6 and 29 August, according to witness testimonies collected by The Guardian newspaper and a report by the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), an NGO. Half of the 60 or so people involved were minors. "We are calling for the EU to ensure dignified reception at the borders," the DRC said.