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4th Jun 2023

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Spanish PM to delay EU presidency speech due to snap election

The Spanish government has officially requested to postpone the presentation of its upcoming EU presidency priorities in the European Parliament's plenary chamber until September. The presentation and a debate with MEPs over the programme of the council's ...

EU data protection chief launches Frontex investigation

Warsaw-based Frontex is likely violating rights by data dumping migrant testimonies with the EU's police agency Europol, according to a data protection authority. Such testimonies are collected by Frontex agents seeking to figure out how and to what extent ...

Madrid steps up bid to host EU anti-money laundering hub

The application process has not yet opened, nor is there an official list of candidate cities, but Spain is confident the headquarters of the EU's new anti-money laundering authority (AMLA) should be in Madrid. "We believe that Madrid deserves to host an ...

Opinion

How EU leaders should deal with Chinese government repression

Josep Borrell, the European Union's high representative for foreign affairs, in a recent commentary, offered a hint of how the EU may adjust its three-part policy towards the Chinese government ("partner, competitor, and systemic rival"). Borrel and EU ...

MEPs pile on pressure for EU to delay Hungary's presidency

MEPs have adopted a non-binding resolution that "questions" if Hungary is fit to hold the EU's presidency in the second half of 2024, given persistent concerns over the country's democratic backsliding. The resolution, passed on Thursday (1 June), had ...

IEA: World 'comfortably' on track for renewables target

The global energy crisis has become a driving force behind the rapid growth of solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind power, according to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) published on Thursday (1 June). Renewable power capacity is expected to ...

Exclusive

Europe's TV union wooing Lavrov for splashy interview

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is wooing Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov for a splashy TV interview, despite his record of bizarre anti-Ukraine hate speech. The EBU in Geneva, the same organisation which put on the Eurovision song contest in ...

ECB: eurozone home prices could see 'disorderly' fall

The European Central Bank (ECB) has issued a warning that high mortgage rates are rendering homes unaffordable for households and unappealing for investors, potentially leading to a 'disorderly' decline in EU home prices. As of March 2023, the average ...

Adapting to Southern Europe's 'new normal' — from droughts to floods

Extreme weather events — including major droughts, unusual heat waves and severe flooding — have recently exacerbated agricultural production difficulties in southern Europe. The first thing rain washes away is the memory of the drought, as the saying goes ...

Germany unsure if Orbán fit to be 'EU president'

Germany has raised doubts on Hungary's 2024 EU presidency, amid an European Parliament vote on rethinking prime minister Viktor Orbán's eligibility. Hungary is "currently isolated in the EU because of problems with the rule of law that are really serious," ...

EU clashes over protection of workers exposed to asbestos

Asbestos has been banned at EU level for more than 15 years, but many workers, especially in the construction sector, are still exposed to this harmful mineral which is the main cause of workplace fatalities. In September 2022, the EU commission proposed ...

Exclusive

EU to blacklist nine Russians over jailing of dissident

EU countries are preparing to blacklist nine Russians for jailing dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, if Hungary backs down. The draft list names Russian deputy justice minister Oleg Sviridenko, four Russian judges, a notorious prison chief, and three officials ...

Column

Russia-Ukraine relations the Year After the war

In the beginning of June this year, Brussels will host an impressive roundtable discussion bringing together EU representatives and pro-democratic Russian activists. The title of the meeting, "The Day After", refers to a coveted window of opportunity for ...

Opinion

Why creating a new legal class of 'climate refugees' is a bad idea

It is imperative that the international community focus on tempering the negative consequences of climate change and developing adaption measures, so that people in the affected areas do not find themselves displaced from their homes and may build their ...

Analysis

Equatorial Guinea: a 'tough nut' for the EU

Equatorial Guinea, EU officials concede, is a "tough nut". The relationship shows little sign of improvement, even after the European Parliament recently broke its 20-year silence on human rights in the country. The resolution, passed last February, ...

Agenda

New EU ethics body and Moldova conference This WEEK

The EU Commission is finally unveiling long-awaited proposals for setting up an EU ethics body, with commission vice-president Vĕra Jourová set to unveil plans on Wednesday (31 May). The European Parliament, which voted by a large majority in February for ...

Opinion

How the EU's money for waste went to waste in Lebanon

Across Lebanese neighbourhoods, uncollected garbage piled up steadily, rotting in the blazing heat, and stinking the place down. In fact, pollution from trash fires and waste chucking in the Mediterranean was spilling over the country's borders. What ...

EU criminal complicity in Libya needs recognition, says expert

EU and Italian complicity in crimes against humanity in Libya has yet to grip the public debate among EU circles, says the lead author of a new European Parliament study. "There is still a lack of willingness to recognise the European Union's indirect ...

Investigation

Europe's missing mails

On 16 January 2015, Catherine Day, then secretary-general of the EU Commission, internally announced a new policy concerning the archiving of emails — or, rather, their deletion. "You will notice that unregistered emails will be automatically deleted after ...

MEPs to urge block on Hungary taking EU presidency in 2024

In an unprecedented move, the European Parliament is questioning if Hungary should be allowed take on the EU's rotating presidency next year, according to a new draft resolution to be voted on next week. The parliament "questions how Hungary is able to ...

PFAS 'forever chemicals' cost society €16 trillion a year

The global cost to society of so-called 'forever chemicals' — technically known as PFAS — amount to €16 trillion per year, a report found on Thursday (25 May). This includes healthcare costs related to PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) exposure as ...

EU will 'react as appropriate' to Russian nukes in Belarus

The EU has condemned plans by Belarus to host Russian nukes, following an agreement signed between Minsk and Moscow. "This is not a step towards deescalation, this is not a step towards decreasing the tension," Peter Stano, spokesperson for the EU's ...

Opinion

The EU needs to foster tech — not just regulate it

Negotiations over the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act entered their end game this week after a vote in the European Parliament paved the way for a final round of negotiations with member state governments. Some commentators have questioned ...

EU: national energy price-spike measures should end this year

The EU Commission told national capitals on Wednesday (24 May) that they should end measures designed to support offsetting the energy price shock by the end of the year. "Governments should bring down the fiscal measures taken to respond to the energy ...

Five Moldova coup-plotters face EU sanctions

Five Moldovans are to have their EU money frozen and lose access to Europe to help stop Russia from usurping power in Chișinău. Two alleged white-collar bank robbers and Russia-coup masterminds — Ilhan Şor and Vladimir Plahotniuc — top the new blacklist ...

EU relying on 'ineffective' Greek body to probe pushback video

The European Commission says it is up to Greece to investigate illegal pushbacks of refugees after the New York Times published video evidence of Greek authorities abandoning people at sea, including a six-month old baby. Such an investigation would ...

Double rejection for EU flagship nature restoration plan

MEPs on the fisheries committee on Wednesday (24 May) voted to reject the EU's flagship nature restoration proposal, a day after a similar rejection from the European Parliament's agriculture committee. Now all eyes are on the environment committee (the ...

Gaps in social security legislation leave non-EU workers at risk

Third-country nationals do not have access to full social protection when they come to work in Europe on a short-term basis, according to a new study issued by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI). Although in principle all workers in the EU should be ...

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