European Union

To meet the objectives of the Energy Union and support the transition to a clean energy system, funding will be needed to finance structural changes to ensure security of supply, due to lack of capacity and funding restraints.

NATO leaders wrapped up their acrimonious 70th-anniversary meeting in relative harmony on Wednesday (4 December), bridging a series of intense internal divisions and agreeing to focus more on the challenge of China's "growing international influence" and military might.

The EU’s digital agenda for the next mandate will be marked by a series of broad-ranging reforms, from artificial intelligence and data protection to digital tax. However, the issue of ethics in the digital field continues to be at the centre of the debate, namely in regulating AI and data usage.

Centraal Justitieel Incassobureau () and exécution des sanctions pécuniaires)
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
The competent authority of the State of execution may not refuse to recognise and enforce a fine in respect of a road traffic offence imposed on the person in whose name the vehicle is registered, provided that such a presumption of liability may be rebutted.

EVN Bulgaria Toplofikatsia
Energy
European Union law does not preclude a national law that provides that each owner of a property in a building in co-ownership is required to contribute to the cost of heating supplied to the common parts of that building

On the sidelines of a conference dedicated to Kazakhstan’s experience with the presidential model of governance, EURACTIV spoke to Sanat Kushkumbayev, a prominent foreign policy analyst, about Kazakhstan's diplomatic and geopolitical efforts, including its relations with China and the EU.

Globalisation and international trade can affect human rights, so the EU's trade policy include tools to protect them. Find out how.

Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Globalisation and international trade can affect human rights, so the EU's trade policy include tools to protect them. Find out how.

Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

French president Emmanuel Macron will face one the biggest strikes of his mandate on Thursday as unions organised more than 240 demonstrations. French rail workers, air-traffic controllers, teachers and public sector staff are expected to march across France against the proposed changes to the pension system. About half of the Eurostar trains between Paris and London have been cancelled. Many schools and shops will also be closed.

On Wednesday a new regulation by Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, came into force increasing its participation in border surveillance and support for EU member states and Schengen countries, Ekathimerini writes. It is a new step in the creation of a unified European border service of 10,000 border and coast guards to support national authorities with border control and migration management.

Bomb squad experts on Wednesday defused a grenade after it was thrown over the wall of a center for unaccompanied foreign minors in Madrid, El País reported. According to police sources, the device was a type of grenade used by the Spanish army. However, the amount of explosive was very small and there were no reported injuries. Far-right party Vox has repeatedly criticised the facility.

A study found that 500,000 hermit crabs died after being trapped in plastic bottles and other rubbish on two remote archipelagos at the Indian and Pacific Ocean, the Guardian reported. This could produce a possible global species decline. The researchers from University of Tasmania and the Natural History Museum in London previously revealed that the Cocos and Henderson islands are polluted with millions of pieces of plastic.

Israel's foreign ministry said on Twitter that it fully supports Greece, and expressed concern over Turkey's increasing activities in the Eastern Mediterranean. "Israel follows with concern recent steps taken by Turkey in the Mediterranean. Ignoring customary international laws of the sea can jeopardise peace and stability in the area," the ministry said, adding that "Israel reiterates its full support and solidarity with Greece in its maritime zones."

In today's edition of the Capitals, find out about Germany's diplomatic spat with Russia, as well as so much more. The Capitals brings you the latest news from across Europe, through on-the-ground reporting by EURACTIV’s media network.

A group of Irish content moderators are preparing to take legal action for personal injuries caused by exposure to "disturbing content" during their employment by third-party company CPL in Dublin, on behalf of Facebook, the Irish Times writes. Facebook said in a statement that it is "committed to providing support for those that review content for Facebook as we recognise that reviewing certain types of content can sometimes be difficult".

“People, planet and partnerships” will be the three pillars of the European Commission’s energy policy in the next five years, said Kadri Simson, the EU’s recently-appointed Energy Commissioner, announcing a “massive renovation wave” to tackle energy poverty.

Current Earth observation technologies are not accurate enough when it comes to monitoring carbon dioxide emissions, according to delegates at the EU’s space week in Helsinki. A new system set to launch in 2025 should change all that.

The European Parliament's development committee says its overarching priority will be to deliver on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Achieving that will require an action plan and targeted investments, says its chair Swedish centre-right MEP Tomas Tobé.

While planes, trains, and automobiles can expect particular attention under the EU’s upcoming Green Deal, the new Commission has already set its sights on cleaning up the transport industry - the only sector of the European economy where emissions are still growing. 

The EU's eastern neighbourhood is in flux. The collapse of the pro-reform government in Moldova and the stagnation of anti-corruption reforms in Ukraine was recently followed yet by another political crisis in Georgia.