European Union

Raw materials used in digital and clean technologies are expected to receive more attention from policymakers under a European Green Deal to be unveiled later today (11 December). A new industrial policy is expected to complete the picture next year. 

Britain's political leaders were to criss-cross the country on Wednesday's (11 December) final day of general election campaigning as a key poll showed the outcome could be hanging in the balance.

Since new breeding technologies such as gene editing are still new and evolving, risk assessments and regulations also need to be evolving, says a molecular biologist for Bayer Life Science company. Dr Larry Gilberston, Ph.D., spoke to EURACTIV about the...

As UN climate negotiations enter their second and decisive week, EURACTIV gives you a glimpse into the goings on of the 25th climate conference in Madrid (COP25) and what is driving the conversation there. In this edition: ambition, carbon pricing, dunce cap, and getting mad for climate.

Civil society activists launched on Tuesday (10 December) a five pledge ‘Citizens’ Rights manifesto for the 5 million’ demanding voting and citizenship rights two days ahead of a potentially decisive UK general election.

16 coal plants in the Western Balkans pollute as much as the entire EU fleet of 250 units, causing sickness and deaths across the continent. It’s high time to take action, write Viola von Cramon and Petros Kokkalis.

Hungary attempted to defend its rules on academia, the judiciary and the media questions by EU countries, while government spokesman breached EU rules by live-tweeting from the closed doors hearing.

Marking International Human Rights Day on 10 December, European Parliament President David Sassoli and Sakharov Prize laureate Lorent Saleh inaugurated the Sakharov Walk of Freedom.

Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Marking International Human Rights Day on 10 December, European Parliament President David Sassoli and Sakharov Prize laureate Lorent Saleh inaugurated the Sakharov Walk of Freedom.

Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Two big events this week will shape the EU’s climate ambitions and any slipups could do irreparable damage to its green credentials. Here are how the pieces line up ahead of what will be a defining 48 hours or so.

The Spanish King Felipe VI started 48-hours of meetings with the political leaders on Tuesday to determine whether the socialist caretaker prime minister Pedro Sánchez stands a chance of becoming the new head of government.

The US House and Senate agreed on Monday (9 December) a defence bill that would force Donald Trump's administration to impose sanctions on companies involved in the Russian-sponsored gas pipelines Nord Stream 2 and Turkish Stream.

Finland' EU affairs ministers Tytti Tuppurainen on Tuesday asked Hungary to give a written explanation and apologise, after government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs tweeted from a closed-door meeting on Budapest's adherence to EU rules. Tuppurainen noted that it is against the council of member states' rules to share information from closed-door meetings, according to an EU official. Member states were discussing the Article 7 procedure against Hungary for breaking EU rules.

OCCAR Director Matteo Bisceglia today visited EDA to discuss with Chief Executive Jorge Domecq bilateral cooperation and programmes of relevance to both organisations.  

EDA-OCCAR cooperation has deepened significantly since the signature of an Administrative Arrangement in 2012. As privileged partners in the field of defence capabilities development, EDA and OCCAR share information on projects and programmes of common interest throughout their lifecycle, helping to guarantee a seamless handover in each case, with both parties remaining involved and informed at every stage.  

Today was the second meeting between Mr Bisceglia and Mr Domecq, their discussions mainly focused on the state of play of bilateral cooperation to support key programmes and activities, including the Multi-Role Tanker Transport Fleet (MMF), MALE RPAS and ESSOR. Mr Domecq outlined EDA’s latest developments in these projects, notably the recent high-level coordination mechanism for RPAS ATI held at EDA and updates from the European Secure Software Defined Radio (ESSOR) workshops.  

“I believe that EDA and OCCAR cooperation avoids duplication in the European armament field. We have to take stock and make use of the available resources, and OCCAR has 20 years of proven record in the successful delivery of complex armament programmes. 

I am also convinced that together EDA and OCCAR, in line with our own complementary responsibilities, represent a real strong tool to launch and execute all sorts of programmes for the benefit of the European Nations”, Mr Bisceglia said.   

Mr Bisceglia and Mr Domecq also discussed EDA-OCCAR interaction in areas such as REACH and the Military Airworthiness Authorities Forum.     

“EDA and OCCAR are two important actors in European defence cooperation, our close relationship has been extremely positive for our organisations, programmes and defence cooperation in general, which have all benefited from each other’s expertise”, Mr Domecq commented.

 

The United States and the EU share common values and are at the front-line in defending human rights, US Ambassador Gordon Sondland writes on the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Transport accounts for a quarter of climate-harming greenhouse gas emissions and, at a glance, a quarter of COP25 talks are about cutting transport emissions. They’re the hardest kind to cut, writes James Cogan. James Cogan is a policy advisor to...

The EU Parliament's negotiating team said on Tuesday the proposal by Finland's presidency of the EU council for the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) would "condemn the European Union to failure". The Finnish presidency proposal contains no additional funding for any of the initiatives announced by the new president, such as a Just Transition Fund. MFF co-rapporteur Jan Olbrycht believes that the commission's plans "will be impossible to implement".

The constitutional affairs committee of the European Parliament agreed to support the "Conference on the Future of Europe." The committee offers to "host the conference on the premises of the European Parliament" but also stresses "the conference must go beyond an inter-institutional discussion", and should work with "a broad consultation". One of the topics should be "improving the lead candidate system and the issue of transnational lists".

A Eurobarometer survey published on Tuesday found that one-third of Europeans (32 percent) want the European Parliament to address climate change as its biggest priority, followed by social exclusion (31 percent), terrorism (24 percent) and unemployment (24 percent). However, EU citizens consider human rights (48 percent), freedom of speech (38 percent), gender equality (38 percent), and solidarity between EU countries (33 percent) as the core values of the EU.

As the new Commission President Ursula von der Leyen mentioned in her Political Guidelines in July, “circular economy is key for developing Europe’s future economic model.” However, to make this vision a reality, companies need to be convinced of Europe’s path towards eco-friendly production.