European Union

Securing access to critical raw materials has become a strategic objective for the European Union as the bloc moves towards ever-more digitalisation and green, high-tech products. In this special report, EURACTIV looks at some of the essential building blocks of the 21st century economy.

The Green Deal communication by the European Commission is a priority initiative, which must mark the opening chapter for a transformational project. The aim of this project is to deliver prosperity and a brighter, cleaner future for our continent, writes Dacian Cioloș.

Slovenia v Croatia
Principles of Community law
Advocate General Pikamäe: the Court of Justice does not have jurisdiction to rule on an international boundary dispute that falls outside the scope of EU law

Most Europeans believe their country ought to stay in the EU, as British people prepare to vote in a Brexit-dominated election.

Czechs staged massive protests on Tuesday against prime minister Andrej Babis following renewed allegations of EU subsidy fraud and conflict of interest. Million Moments for Democracy, a civic group, demanded the cut in EU funds to Babis' former business Agrofert. They also demanded his resignation. The billionaire leader denies any wrongdoing but a leaked audit report by the European Commission says Babis still has control over Agrofert.

The General Affairs Council held a thematic hearing on Tuesday (10 December) on the ongoing Article 7 procedure against Hungary, tackling the alleged breaches of judicial independence, academic freedom and freedom of expression, particularly media freedom.

The European Commission on Tuesday announced it had disbursed €2.7bn for refugees in Turkey out of the promised €6bn in a deal cut with Ankara in 2016 to prevent people from arriving on the Greek islands. "Out of the total facility budget of €6bn, €4.3bn has now been contracted and €2.7bn disbursed," it said in a statement.

The BBC is reporting that plans are underway for EU border checks in Britain for trade bound for Northern Ireland. "The BBC has learned that freight could be diverted through ports with space for inspections such as Liverpool and Stranraer, despite the government denying checks will be necessary," reports the media outlet.

EU anti-trust regulators may take a tougher approach with tech giants like Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google when it comes to competition rules. "We may design more prescriptive and possibly restorative remedies in order to ensure that conditions for effective competition will be fully restored," said Cecilio Madero Villarejo, the acting director-general at the Commission's competition division, reports Reuters.

The EU must deliver soon on its promise to open membership talks with North Macedonia, the country's foreign minister has told AFP, warning that messages of hope were ringing hollow after three rejections.

The Chinese ambassador to Denmark, Feng Tie, threatened last month in a meeting with Faroese prime minister, Bárður Nielsen, that the islands could lose trade agreements with China if they refuse a 5G network agreement with Chinese telecom giant Huawei. Public broadcaster Kringvarp Føroy was afterwards banned from airing recordings about the meeting. US ambassador to Denmark, Carla Sands, earlier warned the Faroes and Greenland of partnering with Huawei.

The Capitals brings you the latest news from across Europe, through on-the-ground reporting by EURACTIV’s media network. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. Before you start reading today’s edition of the Capitals, we invite you to read Claire Stam’s...

Russia’s long-serving EU ambassador Vladimir Chizhov expects ‘a new beginning” in EU-Russia relations during the new EU institutional cycle, he told a reception he hosted on Tuesday (10 December) to mark 30 years since the then USSR started relations with the European Communities.

EXCLUSIVE / Croatia, which starts its first EU presidency stint in January, is "not quite happy" with Finland's proposal for the EU's seven-year budget and will seek to amend the proposal in order to preserve funding for Cohesion and the Common Agricultural Policy, the country's Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman told EURACTIV.

Belgian socialist MEP Marie Arena is chairing the European Parliament's sub-committee on human rights. Her biggest challenge? Finding ways to reach objectives that cover an enormous spectrum of issues - from climate to child protection.

As the EU launches its flagship Green Deal, the Greens call for shipping emissions to be included in carbon targets. Ships carrying goods to and from the UK emitted more CO2 than all the cars in Britain's 15-largest cities.

The company Home Credit owned by Czech tycoon Petr Kellner has financed a for pro-Chinese campaign in the Czech Republic. EURACTIV.cz reports.

Tens of thousands of Czechs rallied in central Prague on Tuesday (10 December) demanding the resignation of populist billionaire Prime Minister Andrej Babiš over fraud allegations.

The EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, highlighted the promotion of organic farming as a key aim for the new European Commission in his inaugural speech yesterday (10 December).

As the European Green Deal takes shape, it bears repeating that the state of EU buildings holds the potential to make or break whatever energy, emissions and environmental targets are set in the coming months, writes Adrian Joyce.