European Union

EU transport ministers agreed on Wednesday (11 March) that greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping sector need to be reduced significantly. But a looming dispute over whether to tackle the sector at EU or global level could scuttle efforts.

The European Commission unveiled its new circular economy action plan on Wednesday (11 March), confirming the EU’s intention of halving municipal waste by 2030, and suggesting to offer consumers a new “right to repair” for computers and smartphones.

The EU should continue its dialogue with Turkey to de-escalate the migration situation at the Greek-Turkish border, MEPs said in a debate on 10 March.

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

The EU should continue its dialogue with Turkey to de-escalate the migration situation at the Greek-Turkish border, MEPs said in a debate on 10 March.

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

In an interview with EURACTIV Germany, director of the Asia programme of the European Council of Foreign Relations, Dr Janka Oertel, described how Germany could play a pivotal role in changing the EU's relations with China and might even force the exclusion of Huawei from the planned 5G expansion across the EU.

The Ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday announced that nine plant protection products based on the active substances chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl are being withdrawn from the Croatian market. According to the Phytosanitary Information System from 2013, between 24 and 29.6 thousand...

The Russian State Duma voted on Tuesday in favour of a constitutional reform which will be presented to the people in April. One clause included at short notice allows Vladimir Putin to circumvent the two-term limit as president: his previous terms are simply to be annulled. This potentially paves the way for Putin to govern Russia until 2036. The European media shakes its head in disbelief.

The crisis meeting in Brussels on Monday between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President Charles Michel has ended without results. Erdoğan was seeking more support for measures to look after refugees and backing for Turkey's operations in Syria. Press commentaries reflect disappoinment with both Ankara and the EU.

A number of measures have been taken by both states and private individuals around the world to combat SARS-CoV-2: travel, production and transport have been restricted. In many places negative environmental influences have already been significantly reduced, albeit perhaps only in the short term. Commentators examine why so far the climate crisis hasn't driven us to take similar steps.