European Union

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's support for a boycott of French goods is a further setback to Turkey's already stalled bid to join the EU, the European Commission said Tuesday (27 October).

Now is the time for member states to renovate buildings and make them energy efficient, the EU's climate chief Frans Timmermans said today (27 October), despite a lack of clarity on minimum requirements at EU level, which won’t be introduced until next year.

The parliamentary group of the German Social Democrats (SPD) is expected to adopt a position paper on EU policy on Tuesday (27 October). In it, the MPs call for open asylum centres throughout Europe, a CO2 border tax to raise the EU's own resources, and more leeway for state resources in digitalisation. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Some “Russophobe” EU member states directed by Washington are hindering the strengthening of the relations between Russia and Croatia, Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov has been quoted as saying ahead of his tour of the Balkans, which excluded Croatia.

EU finance ministers are expected to call for an EU authority against money laundering and urge the bloc to harmonise rules and close the door to illicit money, according to draft conclusions seen by EURACTIV.

The European Union is betting big on circular economy initiatives that boost recycling and reuse, while decreasing resource consumption. But ambitious policies need industry buy-in to work and they appear to be getting it already.

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Belgium violated human rights when deporting Sudanese refugees. According to the court, the refugee was "prevented from pursuing the asylum application that he had lodged in Belgium, and the Belgian authorities had not sufficiently assessed the real risks that he faced in Sudan." Former asylum and migration minister Theo Francken cooperated with the Sudanese regime to deport Sudanese refugees.

European governments are alarmed by the dramatic increase in corona infections. In some countries, such as Ireland or the Czech Republic, shops have been closed again, in Spain a curfew has been in force since Monday, and Italy is trying to deal with the situation by, among other things, closing restaurants from 6 p.m. However, these measures are meeting with increasing opposition from the press.

On 3 November US citizens will elect a new president, members of the House of Representatives and part of the Senate. In the race for the presidency, former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden has a lead of around 8 percentage points against Republican incumbent Donald Trump. European observers discuss the election's international implications.

The Chileans voted for a reform of their constitution by a clear majority over the weekend. The current constitution was drafted in 1980 by the Pinochet military regime without the participation of representatives of the people. Its abolition was one of the demands of the 2019 social protests. President Sebastián Piñera has describe the decision as a victory for democracy and unity. Most observers agree.