Why Europe’s decarbonisation is failing
Fossil-fuel companies have built a network of lobbying organisations that top the list of meetings with the EU Commission
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Debt: Europe’s biggest financial advantage over US is also its weakness
Europe is the largest holder of US debt, which it could use as leverage. But even if governments could coerce investors into selling trillions in US holdings, Europe would be first to suffer.
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How the Kremlin turns schoolchildren into future soldiers in occupied Ukraine
When Russian forces occupy a Ukrainian town, schools are often targeted first. An investigation into hundreds of Telegram posts from Russian propaganda channels operating in occupied Ukraine since 2022 reveals a systematic campaign to militarise and indoctrinate children through schools.
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Threat of ‘tactical’ Russian nuclear strike in Europe growing, think-tank warns
The risk of a small Russian nuclear strike in Europe is rising as the US military deterrent wanes, a British think-tank has warned.
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EU defends measures to close ‘loopholes’ in carbon border tax
Influential. Investigative. Independent. EUobserver is a online non-profit news outlet reporting on the European Union.
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Artists and songwriters need updated EU copyright law for AI, parliament committee says
A European Parliament legal committee approved on Wednesday a report on copyright protections and AI — calling for updated laws, transparency in AI training, and artist compensation.
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Next EU budget will see member states pay 48 percent more, auditors find
The European Court of Auditors estimates that despite more instruments to increase ‘own resources’ revenues, member states contributions to the next 2028-2034 EU budget will increase by 48 percent.
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EU sets out plans to double aid for Greenland amid Trump threats
The EU will double its funding for Greenland and hopes to ramp up cooperation with Nuuk and other overseas countries and territories, the bloc’s international partnerships commissioner told MEPs on Wednesday, after weeks of heightened tensions and the threat of US military action to seize the island.
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Lithuania sounds alarm over possible arms-smuggling balloons from Belarus
Lithuania has warned that balloons used to smuggle cigarettes from Belarus could soon be repurposed to transport weapons, as Vilnius considers deploying anti-personnel mines along their shared border. Some of the balloons hover at 10km altitudes with speeds up to 200km.
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The animal cruelty the EU-Mercosur deal will be importing to Europe
Without meaningful safeguards, the EU-Mercosur agreement – as it stands – risks locking the EU into a system that expands imports of meat produced under conditions that fall far below EU regulations. The deal would lower tariffs — without requiring imported products to meet equivalent European animal welfare standards.
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Listen: Is it realistic to ban kids from social media?
France and several EU states want to ban social media for under-15s over mental health risks, but a lack of enforcement looms large. An e-ID system could enable age verification and revive debate on an EU-wide age limit.
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UN aid agency faces shut down, despite new EU Somalia funds
The UN World Food Programme’s operations in Somalia will be forced to close in April unless it can raise $90m [€75m] from international donors in the coming months — despite receiving €6.5m from the EU just last week.
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How Europe risks losing the battle against rising flood waters
Europe faces escalating flood disasters driven by warming seas and extreme rainfall, killing communities and hitting the poor hardest, while fragmented policies, uneven data, and weak adaptation leave countries unprepared, an investigation in six countries shows.
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EU states expand grounds for seizing suspect Russian tankers
Coastal EU states have signalled a harsher crackdown on Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’, as Ukraine peace talks falter.
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EU Commission argues preventing migrant arrivals is cheaper than deportation
The European Commission has argued that preventing irregular migrant arrivals to Europe is far cheaper than funding subsequent deportations.
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EU to specify Google’s AI-interoperability and data-sharing obligations
The European Commission opened two procedures to clarify for Google the bloc’s Digital Markets Act requirements for allowing alternative AI services to have the same access to Android as Google Gemini, and to explain Google’s search data-sharing obligations.
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Remind me: Why do EU politicians announce anything on social media?
Or maybe we should ask a harder question: what if the goal is not to actually communicate – but just to be seen trying?
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OP_ED Fear, power politics and migration: whatever happened to Germany’s ‘welcome culture’?
Influential. Investigative. Independent. EUobserver is a online non-profit news outlet reporting on the European Union.
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Cyprus’ EU presidency: The Mediterranean island that turned its back on Russia
Cyprus is in the first month of its EU presidency. The island took the role having spent more than a decade dismantling its reputation as a permissive financial hub, not least for wealthy Russians, and repositioning itself within the Western political, economic and security framework.
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Antisemitism reporting across EU lacks reliable data, report finds
A new report on Tuesday to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day calls out EU member states for not addressing antisemitism sufficiently due to inadequacies in monitoring and recording.
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Von der Leyen signs ‘tale of two giants’ EU-India trade deal
EU and Indian leaders signed a landmark trade pact on Tuesday, with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen describing it as “a tale of two giants”, at a signing ceremony in New Delhi. ‘We have sent a signal to the world that rules-based cooperation still delivers great outcomes,’ she added.