Euractiv.com

As the EU embarks on discussions on possible regulatory measures to reduce its embedded deforestation, FEDIOL (the European Vegetable Oil and Proteinmeal association) shares its views about what will be needed to effectively curb deforestation at source and not only decrease the EU consumption-driven environmental footprint.

Representatives from member states in the EU Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (SCOPAFF) voted to ban the controversial pesticides chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl from the EU market on Friday (6 December).

Batteries that do not meet rigorous green standards could be banned from the European market, Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič warned on Monday (9 December), as the EU executive approved €3.2 billion of state aid for some home-grown projects.

Azerbaijan will hold early elections on 9 February, eight months ahead of schedule, after President Ilham Aliyev agreed to the ruling party's request to dissolve parliament. The move is in line with a recent major government shakeup and the country's drive to modernise and rebuild EU ties.

Austria's Green party is expected to join the government for the first time, with negotiations already underway. After Sebastian Kurz's ÖVP party governed alongside the Eurosceptic far-right group FPÖ from 2017-2019, this could now prompt a change in Austria's foreign and EU policy. EURACTIV Germany reports.

The Greek government is determined to take all necessary initiatives to ensure that the Western Balkan region’s EU ambition will become a reality soon, the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias has said.

Russia was banned from the Olympics and other major world championships on Monday (9 December) after sporting officials decided to punish it for tampering with doping-related laboratory data in another blow to Russia’s already tarnished sporting reputation.

Urgent UN talks on tackling the climate emergency are still not addressing the true scale of the crisis, one of the world’s leading climate scientists has warned, as high-ranking ministers from governments around the world began to arrive in Madrid for the final days of negotiations. EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian, reports.

Lega leader Matteo Salvini's recent scolding of the iconic hazelnut spread 'Nutella' has exposed flaws in the 'Italian first' formula that has led the Italian to past electoral successes.

The European Central Bank's new president Christine Lagarde has announced that the Frankfurt-based institute will soon undertake a strategic review, its first since 2003.

For the time being, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) will continue being part of Germany's grand coalition with conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU).

Roughly 1,000 Belarusians joined an unauthorised demonstration on Saturday (7 December) against the prospect of a closer union with Russia.

Britain votes on Thursday (12 December) in a crucial general election that will determine whether the country leaves the European Union next month or sets out a path to potentially reverse Brexit.

France is ready to go to the World Trade Organization to challenge US President Donald Trump's threat to put tariffs on champagne and other French goods in a row over a French tax on internet companies, its finance minister said on Sunday (8 December).

Health data belonging to millions of UK National Health Service (NHS) patients has been sold under license to US companies and global pharmaceutical firms, in a move that is likely to inflame tensions between the UK government and privacy campaigners in the run up to the December 12 election.

Arms sales rose by nearly five percent worldwide in 2018 in a market dominated by the United States, according to a new report published Monday (9 December) by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The COP is meant to pave the way for countries to raise their climate ambition before the end of crucial year 2020. Climate negotiators know that they are under tight scrutiny from stakeholders, first and foremost cities, businesses, and Fridays for Future.

Because there is still a small number of nations blocking progress in implementing the Paris Agreement, and cities already feel their impact of climate change, they are ready to take the lead in fighting global warming, Milan's mayor and C40 network Vice-Chairman Giuseppe Sala told EURACTIV in an interview. 

British cyber security officials are investigating whether classified UK-U.S. trade documents that were shared online ahead of Thursday’s election (December 12) were acquired by hacking or were leaked, two sources told Reuters.

Finland’s Social Democratic party appointed transport minister Sanna Marin as prime minister on Sunday (8 December), meaning all five leaders of the ruling parties are now women.