European Union

The scale of the energy transition required in Europe and the wider world is huge, as is the financial bill attached to the shift. Companies are already starting to align their business models around green policies but is there appetite...

Greece's prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on the EU to re-open accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania in an interview with the Financial Times. Referring to the veto of French president Emmanuel Macron, he said "I hope that this mistake is going to be corrected". He also criticised Macron over his quote that Nato is "brain dead", calling Nato "a pillar of peace in the post-World War Two world".

EU antitrust regulators are investigating how Facebook and Google collects and monetises its data, the EU Commission said on Monday, adding to existing scrutiny of Facebook's online marketplace. The EU executive said it had sent out questionnaires as part of preliminary investigations into both Facebook and Google's data. The probe looks into how the tech giants leverage data gathered to block their competitors.

Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte called upon the right-wing opposition to act responsibly in talks over the reform of the eurozone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).

The European Central Bank (ECB) will embark on a strategic review of its mandate and instruments to achieve its inflation target of 2% with an “open mind”, its president Christine Lagarde said on Monday (2 December).

Russia shunned an extradition request after the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 and let a suspect leave the country, Dutch prosecutors said on Monday. The Netherlands demanded Russia deliver Volodymyr Tsemakh, believed to be a commander of pro-Russian separatists and an air defence specialist, who shot down the commercial plane. Dutch prosecutors argued that Tsemakh is a Ukrainian citizen, therefore there was no legal obstacle to the extradition.

Protesters in Malta on Monday evening blocked lawmakers from leaving parliament in frustration over the 2017 murder of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Around 4,000 demonstrators blocked prime minister Joseph Muscat amid shouts of "Prison!" and "Assassins!" and calls for his immediate resignation for his possible role in attempting to whitewashing the murder. Muscat, who promised to leave in January, was eventually able to exit via a secondary exit.

MADRID. With its illegal activities in the Eastern Mediterranean, Ankara is undermining EU efforts to tackle climate change, Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at a meeting with other EU leaders on the sidelines of the COP25 climate summit in Madrid.

A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel found Monday that the EU had failed to remove illegal subsidies to Airbus, the centre of a dispute between Washington and Brussels, AFP reported. A WTO panel upheld a decision to give green light for the US to put tariffs on EU imports. WTO also said the US has given illegal subsidies to Boeing, and is yet to set the amount of retaliatory tariffs.

French magistrates have charged ex-defence minister Sylvie Goulard over a fake jobs scandal. The affair largely caused her to be rejected by the European Parliament as an EU commissioner, after being handpicked by president Emmanuel Macron. Goulard was indicted for embezzlement of public funds in employing parliament assistants after a hearing on Friday, AFP reported. Several figures from Goulard's small MoDem party have already been indicted or are being investigated.

Hungary is ready to start talks with Russia's Gazprom about a new long-term gas supply deal, Hungary's foreign ministry said Monday. Foreign minister Peter Szijjarto met Gazprom's chairman in Budapest earlier the same day. Hungary imports most of its gas from Russia under a supply agreement due to expire by 2020. The US has been trying to convince allies, such as Hungary, in the region to diversify their gas supplies.

An ideological 'fight' is tacking place worldwide between those who want to restrict open access to the internet and those who want to maintain a free and open web within necessary regulatory frameworks, Facebook's VP for Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, has said.

Gearing up for EU spending on arms procurement will be a top priority for the subcommittee on security and defence, according to its French chairwoman - but ethical questions remain.

There is a significant risk that Nato will be weaker and more divided after the London meeting than it was before. What was supposed to be a low-key celebration of the 70th anniversary takes place against multiple crises.

The European Commission is working on a first-ever methane strategy that could play a “very significant role” in enabling the EU increase its climate ambitions for 2030, EU officials have said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with representatives of foreign media ahead of the 9 December summit in Paris, which will return to the effort of finding a solution to the crisis in Eastern Ukraine after a long break.

It appears the South Caucasus is not a foreign policy priority of the new European Commission. But it should be, write Dennis Sammut and Amanda Paul.

Russia has refused a Dutch request to hand over a suspect in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, in violation of European law, prosecutors said on Monday (2 December). Until recently the suspect was in Ukrainian custody, but was sent to Russia in a prisoner swap.

France's first pick for the EU Commissioner post, Sylvie Goulard, has been indicted by the Court of Paris for embezzlement of funds in the employment of EU parliamentary assistants, raising questions about French President Emmanuel Macron defending her candidacy after MEPs rejected her on ethical grounds. EURACTIV France reports.

The family of murdered investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia called Monday (2 December) for police to investigate Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, as a European Parliament delegation was set to arrive in Malta on a fact-finding mission.