European Union

The European Commission's green light for a natural gas storage aid scheme in France was welcomed by infrastructure operator Storengy, which says it will allow the transition to 100% renewable gas. EURACTIV France reports.

The Hungarian executive issued a decree decrying the “crude and anti-democratic political attacks against Hungary” in response to controversial legislation banning the “portrayal or promotion” of LGBTQI+ content to minors. “The tone and the statements they made are reminiscent of...

Slovakia on Monday imposed stricter internal border controls aimed at halting the spread of the Delta variant and announced that from Friday all travellers entering the country will have to go into quarantine if they are not fully vaccinated, regardless of...

The ePrivacy derogation adopted by the European Parliament on Tuesday has prompted a heated reaction from EP Vice-president Marcel Kolaja (Pirates, Greens/EFA). The derogation enables surveillance of online messages allegedly containing material depicting child sex abuse. However, according to Czech MEP,...

Vaccinated people need not self-isolate even if they had contact with the Delta variant of the coronavirus, spokesperson for Poland’s health ministry, Wojciech Andrusiewicz, has said, adding that the vaccines deployed in the country are “fully effective.” So far, 113...

The more contagious Delta coronavirus variant is responsible for nearly 90% of COVID-19 cases in Portugal and recorded a strong increase in the Northern region of Madeira and Azores, EURACTIV’s partner Lusa reported. Delta was the dominant variant in Portugal...

As education becomes increasingly reliant on technology, the need for regulation and oversight of the EdTech industry becomes more urgent and Europe should lead in the efforts to protect children’s data and futures, write Velislava Hillman, Ioanna Noula, and Ben Wagner.

Italy’s Economy Minister Daniele Franco has said growth of more than 5% was “achievable,” in remarks to the assembly of the Italian banking association (ABI) ahead of the G20 meeting held under the Italian presidency in Venice on Friday and...

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin on Monday called on the UK government to engage with the EU to work out an agreement on the protocol, saying “there’s a window of opportunity now given the extension that has been granted to...

The UK is set to follow the lead of Denmark in seeking to establish offshore asylum processing centres as part of new legislation. The provision to allow asylum claims to be processed outside the UK, potentially in third countries, is...

Austria’s ÖVP-Green coalition, together with the Social Democrats in opposition, presented a bill that aims to have the country’s electricity run entirely on renewable energy by 2030. The agreement is an “enormous step towards climate neutrality,” Climate Minister Leonore Gewessler...

Germany’s ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU)  has launched the official stage of its campaign for elections in September with a slogan, “Making Germany Together.” During a press conference in Berlin, the centre-right party’s secretary-general, Paul Ziemiak promised “the most digital...

There is no other party or political organisation in the world that could boast what the Chinese communist party has achieved, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić told an online summit to mark the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Community Party, adding...

Transnational election lists and the Spitzenkandidaten system used during the EU elections to nominate the bloc’s leaders are no “miracle cures” to the “democratic deficit” in the EU, according to an information report presented by French senators on Tuesday (6 July). EURACTIV France reports.

In an exclusive interview with EURACTIV France, MEP Eric Andrieu expressed disappointment about the lack of communications between the two EU lawmakers that led to an unsatisfactory environmental part of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform

Nicaragua has arrested a sixth presidential contender and four other opposition figures, police said Tuesday (6 July), bringing to 26 the number of people rounded up by long-term leader Daniel Ortega's forces ahead of November elections.

Dutch police have detained three suspects in the attempted murder of well-known organised-crime reporter Peter de Vries, who was shot in Amsterdam on Tuesday and who is in hospital, fighting for his life, according to Dutch media. "He is a national hero to us all. A rare, courageous journalist who tirelessly sought justice," Amsterdam's mayor, Femke Halsema, said. De Vries was shot five times, including once in the head.

Ethiopia's "siege" on its restive Tigray region is creating a "man-made famine", the European Commission has warned.

A French court has ordered Twitter to explain within the next two months what the company is doing to tackle hate-speech on its platform, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Lobby groups, including UEJF French Jewish students association, SOS Racisme and SOS Homophobie, have put pressure on Twitter to do more. A UK bill, announced in May, would fine 10 percent of companies' turnover if they failed to prevent online abuse.

EU states should renovate three percent of public buildings a year to make them "nearly zero-energy buildings" by adding insulation and installing greener heating systems, the European Commission is planning to propose, Reuters reports. The EU construction industry will also have to cut energy consumption from the sector by 1.5 percent a year. The draft figures are double the current EU targets for renovation and consumption.