Germany to ‘plug holes’ in budget with EU green transition money, critics say

Germany is set to dispense €40 billion to its regions affected by the country’s planned 2038 coal phase-out. But that number is a lot less grand than it looks, as the programme will swallow EU funds. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Africans do not yearn for Europe

The recent events in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta may have suggested otherwise, but (most of) Africa does not yearn to come to Europe, writes Oriol Puig.

MEP: Member states trying to preserve ‘absurd’ agricultural status quo

EU member states are trying to preserve “absurd” agricultural situations when it comes to redistribution of farming payments, according to one MEP, who stressed that the European Parliament is not willing to budge on the matter.

Portugal’s Galp moves to green hydrogen at refinery, eyes €1bn investment

Portugal's Galp Energia plans to install a 100-megawatt electrolyser to power its refinery in Sines with green hydrogen by 2025, a project which could be expanded to up to 1,000 MW and be worth €1 billion, Chief Executive Andy Brown said on Monday (14 June).

EU energy ministers support doubling renovation rates by 2030

Europe’s 27 energy ministers on Friday (11 June) backed calls to double Europe’s building renovation rates by 2030 in order to repair their crisis-hit economies, tackle energy poverty and “create green buildings for the future”.

Green on the outside only

The climate crisis and LGBTQ+ pride month have something in common – they’re both an opportunity for large companies to performatively demonstrate their values. But values that must contend with profits are fluid, more a river with divergent streams than an immovable mountain.

Infrastructure dispute reveals deep divisions in Europe over gas

The EU's 27 energy ministers on Friday (11 June) came to an uneasy compromise on the revision of EU rules covering investments in cross-border energy infrastructure, the so-called TEN-E regulation. The fraught debate sets an unwelcome precedent for future debates over gas.

No CAP reform without trade reform

Negotiations to attempt to align the next phase of the Common Agricultural Policy to the EU Green Deal drag on. Yet the goal of a truly sustainable European agricultural policy will only be achieved alongside a courageous trade policy, argues Thilo Bode.

COVID crisis worsened corruption in EU: watchdog

The pandemic has worsened corruption across the European Union, Transparency International said Tuesday (15 June), with citizens at times needing personal connections to get medical care and some governments using the crisis for their own gain.

Biden assures he has the allies’ backing ahead of Putin meeting

On the eve of his bilateral meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, US President Joe Biden told NATO allies he would tell Moscow he was not looking for conflict with Russia, but that NATO would respond if Russia continued its...

Thousands protest Russian-style LGBTQI bill in Budapest

Thousands of people took to the streets of the Hungarian capital to protest ahead of a vote in parliament on Tuesday (15 June) on a package of laws lumping sexual minorities in with paedophiles and seeking to erase homosexuality and...

EU countries clash over scale of future hydrogen imports

The EU has historically been a major energy importer, with a majority of its oil and gas coming from Russia or the Middle East. Now, as Europe decarbonises its industry, some countries fear it could increasingly become dependent on imported hydrogen.

Spanish immunologist: variants may need third vaccine dose

Spanish immunologist Carmen Álvarez-Domínguez has warned that the COVID-19 vaccines available in Spain and other EU countries could adapt to new variants, potentially necessitating a third dose in 2022, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reported. 

How the competition against China could improve NATO

Allowing the US to focus its military resources in the Pacific requires a division of labor within NATO that requires the Europeans to take responsibility for the defense of their continent, writes Antonia Colibasanu.

EU lawmakers demand strong security against cyber threats

MEPs have called for calling for beefed-up EU security against cyber threats in a resolution on the bloc’s Cyber Security Strategy, known as EUCSS, for the digital decade.

The Brief, powered by ITI – What is the EU doing at G7?

At the G7 round table, there are actually nine seats. At last week's three-day G7 summit in Cornwall, two of them were taken by European Council President Charles Michel and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (both of whom managed to grab a seat this time).

A historic day for children growing up in poverty in the EU

Today marks a historic day for the rights of the millions of children growing up in poverty in the EU, as the EU launches an unprecedented revolutionary framework to tackle child poverty and social exclusion, write Anita Bay Bundergaard and Jana Hainsworth.

The new kid on the EU bond block

The European Union is set to become the continent’s largest supranational bond issuer within the next five years as a result of its SURE and NextGeneration programmes, aimed at helping the bloc’s economies recover from the damage caused by the COVID–19 pandemic.

The Parliament and the Rule of Law: an elephant in a china shop

The European Parliament is going beyond its mandate in its pursuit of punishment for Hungary, writes Judit Varga.

An ETS for transport and buildings is essential

An EU-wide emissions trading system for the transport and building sectors would secure the financing of low carbon solutions and support lower-income households and member states through the redistribution of carbon pricing revenues, argue Matthias Buck and Andreas Graf.

MEP: Clear EU definition of plasma would pave way for better awareness

Communication about the importance of plasma donations can be improved by focusing on a clear definition in the EU legislation, ensuring that more awareness is raised about the role it plays in producing life-saving medical products, a centre-right EU lawmaker told EURACTIV.