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).
News in Brief
- Germany rings UN alarm on Libya fighting
- Farage's Brexit Party looks strong in EP polls
- EU officials attack Facebook election policy
- Romania defies EU on rule of law
- Greek MPs renew call for German WW2 billions
- Senior EU official still hopes UK will 'rethink' Brexit
- MEPs water down terrorist content law
- Poland should avoid euro membership, Kaczynski says
'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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.'
Stakeholders' Highlights
- 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
- 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
Latest News
- Romania drafts EU code on NGO migrant rescues
- Bulgaria, Hungary, and Malta shamed on press unfreedom
- EU drafts $20bn US sanctions list in aviation dispute
- Brunei defends stoning to death of gay men in EU letter
- US Democrats side with Ireland on Brexit
- Wifi or 5G to connect EU cars? MEPs weigh in
- How Brexit may harm the new EU parliament
- EU parliament backs whistleblower law
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".
Analysis
A post-Brexit rival to Galileo? Possible, but expensive
The United Kingdom and the EU need to figure out how much access the UK will have to the EU-funded satellite navigation system after Brexit. Now the UK will study whether to set up its own system.
AI experts tell MEPs ban on 'killer robots' is unrealistic
Wendy Anderson, a former civil servant from the Obama administration, said a ban would not work. "The AI train has left the station. However we feel about it is actually irrelevant," she said.
Exclusive
Despite pledge, Katainen met lobbyists without taking notes
Finland's EU commissioner, Jyrki Katainen told EUobserver in February his cabinet members "always" takes notes when he meets lobbyists. They did not on at least seven occasions, when talking about artificial intelligence.
EU tug of war over Prague-based space agency
A possible institutional battle is looming over a proposal to give the EU's agency in charge of the Galileo satellites more powers in the field of space.
Stakeholders' Highlights
- 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
- 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
Stakeholders' Highlights
- 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
- The vital bioeconomy. New issue of “Sustainable Growth the Nordic Way” out now
- The Nordic gender effect goes international
- Paula Lehtomaki from Finland elected as the Council's first female Secretary General
- Nordic design sets the stage at COP24, running a competition for sustainable chairs
