Opinion
Inconvenient Facebook truths ahead of EU election
With the declared aim to protect the integrity of the European elections, Facebook new political ads rules are preventing these elections from being truly European.
News in Brief
- New socialist group leader to push for Timmermans
- Romanian ex-PM frontrunner to head new liberal group
- France, Germany and Spain in fighter jet deal
- Tusk grilled in Poland over role as PM
- Italy is 'most credible' US partner in EU, says Salvini
- EU blames Sudan junta for killings and rapes
- Report: EU may suspend Turkey customs union talks
- Swiss stock exchange could lose EU access in July
'No evidence' ECB bond-buying helped euro economy
Models used to claim ECB policy have boosted eurozone economy were discredited by economists who inserted random figures.
EU agrees draft copyright reform, riling tech giants
After marathon talks, EU negotiators agree on provisional copyright reform, requiring companies to filter content to prevent unauthorized work on their platform. Online platforms and open-internet advocates warn it will hurt the free flow of information.
EU want Facebook pan-EU advert fix for May elections
EU institutions want Facebook to relax its rules, to allow pan-European political groups to carry out EU-wide campaigns. Facebook has yet to implement the demands - posing questions on the extent to which Europe relies on the US tech firm.
Wifi or 5G to connect EU cars? MEPs weigh in
The European Parliament will vote amidst a battle of technology standards. The European Commission is accused of favouring one technology over another.
Single EU railway signalling system faces delays
'A reality check shows that we are already falling a little bit behind in the first few years,' said the new coordinator for the European rail traffic management system (ERTMS).
Investigation
How Apple lobbied EU to delay common smartphone charger
iPhones and Android products don't use the same charger. This is annoying for consumers and harmful for the environment. Old chargers produce more than 51,000 tons of electronic waste per year.
EU lawmakers pass contentious copyright law
The European Parliament backed a law on copyrighted content online. Defenders says it will safeguard right holders from being exploited by big tech firms. Critics say it spells the end of internet freedoms and curtails expression.
EU rolls out €525m for military projects, but bars illegal tech
The European Commission will publish calls for proposals in the next few days following an announcement of €525m for joint defence industrial projects.
Focus
US concerns about Chinese tech giants challenge Europe
The European Commission is about to address the issues raised by the US concerning Huawei and the development of Europe's new digital infrastructure.
Stakeholder
Digital 'Iron Curtain' makes no sense in 5G era
5G technology is a product of global innovation and cooperation. Drawing an Iron Curtain would therefore have an impact on all: Chinese, Europeans, Americans, and others alike.
Interview
EU should clarify rules for plant burgers and lab meat
Chatham House research fellow Laura Wellesley discusses her new report, which looked at how alternative meat products are regulated. 'It's not about everybody becoming vegan,' she said.
British MPs condemn Facebook CEO's misrule
Cambridge Analytica scandal exposed "profound failure of governance within Facebook", British MPs said, while blaming Zuckerberg for his contempt for democratic scrutiny.
Exclusive
ESA pushback against new EU space agency plan
The European Space Agency, which is independent of the EU, has asked the European Commission not to rename an EU agency as the similar-sounding European Union Agency for the Space Programme.
Stakeholder
Startups told to pack their bags after three years
Politicians need to stop romanticising past economic ideas and establish rules that allow the next generation of success stories to happen in Europe.
Focus
EU official: 'weak politicians' appease taxi drivers
Henrik Hololei, director-general for Mobility and Transport at the EU commission, riled against "old-fashioned, totally non-future-oriented taxi companies".
EU tells tech giants to fight harder against disinformation
With only four months to go until the European elections, the EU commission is upping the pressure on US internet giants to do more on combatting disinformation.
Stakeholders' Highlights
- No evidence that social media are harmful to young people
- Canada to host the joint Nordic cultural initiative 2021
- Cast your vote for your favourite EUSEW Award finalist. You choose the winner of 2019 Citizen’s Award.
- Education gets refugees into work
- Sign the petition to help reform the EU’s Bank
- Child rights organisations encourage candidates for EU elections to become Child Rights Champions
- UNESDA Outlines 2019-2024 Aspirations: Sustainability, Responsibility, Competitiveness
- Record citizens’ input to EU bank’s consultation calls on EIB to abandon fossil fuels
- Annual EU-Turkmenistan Human Rights Dialogue takes place in Ashgabat
- New campaign: spot, capture and share Traces of North
- Leading Nordic candidates go head-to-head in EU election debate
- New Secretary General: Nordic co-operation must benefit everybody
Latest News
- EU urges Swiss to move on talks or face sanction
- Frontex transparency dispute goes to EU court
- Commission goes easy on scant national climate plans
- Macron and Mogherini decline to back US accusation on Iran
- EU summit must give effective answer on migration
- Spain's Garcia set to be next Socialist leader in parliament
- Erdogan mocks Macron amid EU sanctions threat
- The most dangerous pesticide you've never heard of
European Space Force should only be for defence, says MEP
German centre-right MEP Monika Hohlmeier said it was up to defence ministers to give shape to the idea introduced at a space conference this week.
Feature
Apple moves Denmark from cows to clouds
US tech giant Apple will open its first data centre outside the US in 2019 in a tiny Danish village. Cheap electricity, plus stable societies, are the two main reasons for global high-tech companies to locate in the Nordic region.
Interview
Russian and US obstruction was 'insult' to climate scientists
Professor Richard Betts led an EU-funded research project into global warming. Although he sensed an increase in determination at UN climate talks in Poland, he condemned as an "insult" the refusal of several countries to welcome a new report.
From Malta to Poland: each EU state to have AI strategy
The European Union unveiled a new plan on artificial intelligence on Friday - which mandates member states to have their own national plans. The authors believe 'like the steam engine or electricity in the past, AI is transforming the world.'
Investigation
'Redacted' - what Google and Microsoft told Mogherini on AI
Is Mogherini's 'Global Tech Panel' just a talking shop, or does it contribute to EU policy? New documents suggest the latter, but give little clue how technology leaders from Microsoft and Google influence new AI strategy.
EU warns tech giants on Russian fake news
Social media platforms are told to tackle fake accounts and the spread of fake news more effectively before the European elections next May - or face regulation.
New EU digital tax to let most US giants off the hook
US tech giants AirBnB, Amazon, Apple, and Swedish company Spotify look set to get off the hook on new EU taxes, but Facebook and Google are still in the crosshairs.
Opinion
Car-makers ought to back Europe's CO2 cuts - for their own sake
Hard to comprehend why European automobile industry is pushing politicians into drastically speeding up transition away from the private car.
Feature
Rise of killer robots seems inevitable at EU conference
The EU defence establishment has locked itself into an arms race on autonomous systems, while locking out the voice of civil society from the debate.
Letter
Drones to killer robots: how EU is spending tax-payer money
EU funding of military research will not be without consequence. It will likely fuel an arms race.
CO2 storage still needed for carbon-neutral EU in 2050
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) must be deployed in the EU, the European Commission said in a new climate strategy paper.
Investigation
How the EU commission got tunnel vision on self-driving cars
Companies like the Boston Consulting Group, Google and Uber are pushing the EU to join the race for autonomous (self-driving) cars. But one key question is missing from the debate: should we?
Opinion
Does EU really want to make citizen politics work?
What is at stake during the final stages of EU talks on the legislative revision of the European Citizens' Initiative.
Dual EU 'expert groups' on AI risk duplication
The European Commission has set up a 'High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence'- meanwhile, the European External Action Service has initiated a 'Global Tech Panel'.
EU investment bank 'furious' at being duped by Volkswagen
The European Investment Bank gave a €400m loan to German carmaker Volkswagen in 2009 to help clear air pollution. Volkswagen was later caught cheating on emissions and deceiving regulators.
Europe debates AI - but AI is already here
Experts warn there is a lot of "hype and misunderstanding" surrounding artificial intelligence - but the interest in AI is justified. The future of AI "will be the defining development of the 21st century".
Stakeholders' Highlights
- MEP Kati Piri: “Our red line on Turkey has been crossed”
- 2018 deadliest year yet for children in Syria as war enters 9th year
- Nordic commitment to driving global gender equality
- Meet your defender: Rasul Jafarov leading human rights defender from Azerbaijan
- UNICEF Hosts MEPs in Jordan Ahead of Brussels Conference on the Future of Syria
- Nordic talks on parental leave at the UN
- Trial of Chechen prisoner of conscience and human rights activist Oyub Titiev continues.
- Nordic food policy inspires India to be a sustainable superpower
- Milestone for Nordic-Baltic e-ID
- EU bank urged to free itself from fossil fuels and take climate leadership
- Roundtable: Muslim Heresy and the Politics of Human Rights, Dr. Matthew J. Nelson
- Turkey suffering from the lack of the rule of law
Stakeholders' Highlights
- Soft Drinks Europe welcomes Tim Brett as its new president
- Nordic ministers take the lead in combatting climate change
- European Parliament takes incoherent steps on climate in future EU investments
- Kyrgyz authorities have to immediately release human rights defender Azimjon Askarov
- Seminar on disability and user involvement
- International appetite for Nordic food policies
- New Nordic Innovation House in Hong Kong
- Nordic Region has chance to become world leader when it comes to start-ups
- Theresa May: “We will not be turning our backs on the Nordic region”
- Open letter to Emmanuel Macron ahead of Uzbek president's visit
- Raising key human rights concerns during visit of Turkmenistan's foreign minister
- State of the Nordic Region presented in Brussels
