EU nears deal to fingerprint six year-old asylum seekers
The EU is set to reach a political agreement on legislation to fingerprint asylum seekers as young as six, to process facial images, and to use force if necessary.
Opinion
Can Green Deal survive the 2024 European election?
Six months ahead of the EU elections, knocking an 'elitist' climate agenda is looking like a vote-winner to some. Saving the Green Deal and the EU's climate ambitions starts with listening to Europeans who are struggling to make ends meet.
Column
Russia, the West, and the geopolitical 'touch-move rule'
In chess, if you touch a piece with the intent to move it, you are obliged to move that piece. That also applies to the West's defence of Ukraine.
Latest News
- EU nears deal to fingerprint six year-old asylum seekers
- Orbán's Ukraine-veto threat escalates ahead of EU summit
- Can Green Deal survive the 2024 European election?
- Protecting workers' rights throughout the AI revolution
- Russia, the West, and the geopolitical 'touch-move rule'
- Afghanistan is a 'forever emergency,' says UN head
- EU public procurement reform 'ineffective', find auditors
- COP28 warned over-relying on carbon capture costs €27 trillion
Orbán's Ukraine-veto threat escalates ahead of EU summit
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán has threatened to wreck the upcoming EU summit by blocking Ukraine accession talks — but a veto-fiasco might be exactly what some leaders want.
COP28 warned over-relying on carbon capture costs €27 trillion
Over-relying on carbon capture technologies at this year's COP28 climate summit in Dubai could have a €27 trillion price tag, Oxford researchers find.
Stakeholder
Protecting workers' rights throughout the AI revolution
The European Employment and Social Rights Forum brought together business leaders, academics, trade union leaders, and policymakers to discuss how AI is changing the world of work.
Afghanistan is a 'forever emergency,' says UN head
Afghanistan is a "forever emergency" rendered worse by an isolated country intent on dismantling human rights, says UN refugee agency (UNHCR) representative for the country, Leonard Zulu.
EU public procurement reform 'ineffective', find auditors
The EU Commission reformed procurement directives to make bids more attractive (and competitive), but the reform has failed, say auditors. Procedures now take longer, and the number of direct awards and individual tenders has increased over the past decade.
Stakeholder
Optimising Alzheimer's disease health care pathways across Europe
Despite challenges and barriers across European health systems in the timely detection and accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, policymakers have a unique opportunity to be remembered for improving the AD care pathway and transforming the way the disease is managed.
Investigation
Georgian far-right leader laughs off potential EU sanctions
Georgia has long sought a rapprochement with Europe, since its war with Russia in 2008. But behind the scenes, powerful actors are sabotaging the plans — spurred by increasing vigilantism.
Opinion
The EU's U-turn on caged farm animals — explained
A European citizens' initiative — signed by 1.4 million people — saw the EU Commission promise to ban cages for 300 million farmed animals. Then the farming lobby got involved.
Agenda
EU-China summit and migration files in focus This WEEK
This week, EU and Chinese leaders will meet in Beijing to discuss how to cooperate in the international area despite their rivalry. Meanwhile, a marathon trilogue on the five migration files takes place on Thursday.
COP28 debates climate finance amid inflated accounting 'mess'
Closing the gap between what's needed and what's actually distributed is one of the main topics at the COP28 UN climate summit in Dubai on Monday. One problem is that no one knows how much is actually being spent.
Opinion
Why EU's €18m for Israel undermines peace
The optics of a nine-fold increase of annual funding for Israel, in the middle of its devastating military campaign in Gaza, stands in contrast with the attempted suspension, delaying and constraining of EU development aid for the Palestinians.
Interview
Israel's EU ambassador: 'No clean way to do this operation'
Palestinians in south Gaza will have to flee to new safe zones, Israel's EU and Nato envoy tells EUobserver, as the war enters its next phase.
Brussels denies having no 'concern' on Spain's amnesty law
The Spanish government remains secretive about its negotiations with pro-independence Catalans, but claims the EU Commission has "zero concerns" about their proposed amnesty law for Catalan separatists. The EU executive denies that.
Opinion
Dubai's COP28 — a view from the ground
Discussion of the biggest existential threat humanity has ever faced is barely mentioned on billboards or signage in Dubai — yet visitors are made aware quite quickly that t world rugby sevens tournament is imminent.
Stakeholders' Highlights
- Artist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
- COP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
- Poems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
- World Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
- This autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
- Fostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
Germany moves to criminalise NGO search-and-rescue missions
Draft laws in Germany aimed at tackling irregular migration could lead to the prosecution of NGOs for rescuing endangered refugees and migrants at sea — triggering concerns among human rights lawyers.
Israel recalls ambassador to Spain in new diplomatic spat
In a new diplomatic spat between Tel Aviv and Madrid, Israel recalled its ambassador to Spain Rodica Radian-Gordon — after comments made by Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez.
Migrant return bill 'obstructed' as EU states mull new position
EU states may drop their 2019 position on a bill on returning rejected migrants and instead put forward new ideas that include "innovative solutions" to work around illegal pushbacks.
Paris and Berlin key to including rape in gender-violence directive
Inter-institutional negotiations on the EU directive to combat violence against women have stalled over the inclusion of rape in the text — which member states such as Germany and France say is outside the EU's remit.
Analysis
What are the big money debates at COP28 UN climate summit?
The most critical UN climate conference (COP28) ever will run from Thursday to mid-December — with talks on climate commitments and climate finance expected to determine the success of this year's summit.
Opinion
'Pay or okay?' — Facebook & Instagram vs the EU
Since last week, Mark Zuckerberg's Meta corporation is forcing its European users to either accept their intrusive privacy practices — or pay €156 per year to access Facebook and Instagram without tracking advertising.
EU offers Turkey upgrade, as Sweden nears Nato entry
The EU has offered Turkey almost all it wanted in return for ratifying Sweden's Nato entry, amid signs the saga is drawing to its climax.
Russia loses seat on board of chemical weapons watchdog
Russia lost its seat on the board of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for the first time in the organisation's history — while Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania were elected to the executive council.
Finland's closure of Russia border likely violates asylum law
Finland's closure of its land border crossing points with Russia likely violates both international and EU asylum laws, warns the executive director of the Finnish Refugee Council.
Opinion
The EU's 'no added sugars' fruit-juice label sleight-of-hand
The Food Information to Consumers package would have finally regulated the health or nutrition claims companies make on their products, claims like "heart-healthy" "30-percent less fat" or "no added sugar". Legislation on these claims is now 15 years overdue.
EU belittles Russia's Lavrov on way to Skopje talks
Europe's top diplomat won't meet Russia's foreign minister in Skopje, even though the Russian is getting special permits to bypass EU sanctions to reach there.
Member states stall on EU ban on forced-labour products
More than two years after the EU Commission first proposed a law on forced labour, inter-institutional negotiations have not started because member states cannot reach agreement — risking the text's adoption before the 2024 European Parliament elections.
EU calls for increased fuel supplies into Gaza
The EU has called for an increase in fuel supplies to Gaza and a faster screening process for trucks crossing the Rafah border.
People-smuggling profits at historic high, EU concedes
The European Commission says migrant smuggling has never been so profitable or so deadly — despite a decade of policies and so-called action plans to crush the trade.
EU bets big on fossil hydrogen and carbon storage
The EU Commission presented a list of 166 energy and power projects on Tuesday that will lay the foundation for Europe's future energy system.
Opinion
My experience trying to negotiate with Uber
After working with people in unusual employment situations for a decade, I thought I had seen it all as a union organiser. Then I began dealing with Uber.
Stakeholders' Highlights
- The European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
- The Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
- UNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
- Georgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
- Global interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
- 20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations
