The Brief, powered by YARA – Why Macron doesn’t care about protests
For Stephane, a Parisian shopkeeper, today’s demonstration is one too many. "It’s not good for business", he says while closing his store just before the civil servants demo arrives. Emmanuel Macron doesn’t really care though.
EU energy chief courts Iran after Trump’s withdrawal from nuclear deal
Europe's energy and climate chief sought to reassure Iran's top ministers on Saturday (19 May) that the European Union wants to keep trade open despite the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
Culture Zone in Katowice: Welcome world, farewell locals?
Over the past decade, Katowice – capital of Poland’s Silesia region – has transformed from a coal and steel city into a booming centre of business and culture. Its Culture Zone hosts major European and international music, cultural and business events and boasts unique architectural pearls.
Theresa May unveils plan to halve building energy use by 2030
UK Prime Minister Theresa May vowed to halve energy use from new buildings by 2030, as part of a speech that championed the role science and technology will play in delivering her government's industrial strategy. EURACTIV's media partner edie.net reports.
Saving Europe’s biggest salt water lagoon
Clean-up squads, co-financed with European funds, stepped up their efforts in recent weeks in the Mar Menor region in southeast Spain, to remove dead algae and other waste from the shoreline of Europe's largest salt water lagoon.
EU in my region
Cohesion Policy is the EU's main investment policy, with a budget of 351.8 billion. It is also the bloc's second largest policy in terms of funding, after agriculture. This Special Report presents some of the flagship projects around the EU funded by Cohesion.OpinionPromoted content
The road to greener and smarter cities is paved with copper
The EU Green Week—taking place this week under the theme ‘Greener Cities for a Greener Europe’—offers a perfect opportunity to reflect on how cities can become more sustainable, smart and resilient. And on the role copper plays in all this, writes Bernard Respaut, Chief Executive of the European Copper Institute.
Soil is the underrated issue of food waste challenge, says World Biogas Association boss
Food waste processed via anaerobic digestion can significantly improve nutrient recovery in the soil, and the process may have significant use in sustainable agriculture and in fighting climate change, David Newmann, president of the World Biogas Association, told EURACTIV.com in an interview
Europe’s attempts to spark electric vehicle revolution
Transport is one of the EU’s few sectors where emissions are actually growing. Brussels believes that electric vehicle uptake is one of the main solutions to halt this trend but what steps are being taken to decarbonise our roads?
EU seeks US trade detente after China reprieve
EU ministers today (22 May) will refine a last-ditch bid to persuade US President Donald Trump to back off stiff tariffs on metals imports from Europe and win the bloc a similar break as handed China.
How did EU-founding member Italy go Eurosceptic?
All eyes are on Italy as the far-right League and rebellious Five Star Movement close in on power, ringing alarm bells in Brussels as the country inches towards becoming the first EU founding member to have a euro-sceptic government.
Erdogan holds controversial election rally in Bosnia
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday (20 May) addressed thousands of expatriate Turks in Sarajevo at his only election rally outside Turkey after other European countries banned such events.
Radev pleads in Moscow for ‘Bulgarian Stream’ pipeline
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev used the first day of an official trip to Moscow on Monday (21 May) to try and resurrect plans for a pipeline that would bring gas directly from Russia to Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, after it was cancelled in 2014.OpinionPromoted content
With a bad RED II policy we will not invest: V4+Sustainable Biofuel Alliance
EU crop based biofuels are currently the primary tool in the decarbonisation of transport in Europe: no small task. Their direct displacement of oil, high sustainability; huge GHG reductions and addition of high protein animal feed to the food chain...
Activist groups launch campaign to break up Facebook
A coalition of activist groups on Monday announced a campaign to break up Facebook, arguing that the huge social network "has too much power over our lives and democracy."
‘No alternative’ to Iran deal, Mogherini tells Pompeo
The EU's foreign policy chief warned Monday (21 May) there was "no alternative" to the Iran nuclear deal, after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed unprecedented sanctions against Tehran following Washington's withdrawal from the pact.
Clean energy growth is outpacing climate targets
This week's Clean Energy Ministerial must send clear signal on the role renewables can play in raising climate action targets, writes Jennifer Morgan.
Packaging industry calls for policy reform to boost plastics recycling
A host of UK packaging organisations have called for more recycling collection points, tax reliefs for recycled content and a universal list of acceptable materials as part of a desired regulation reform to make it easier for consumers to recycle packaging waste. EURACTIV's media partner edie.net reports.
Zuckerberg’s Parliament meeting ‘the right thing’, says EU justice chief
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s meeting on Tuesday afternoon (22 May) with European Parliament leaders is “the right thing for himself” after the company’s recent data collection scandal, EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova said in an interview.
Italian president hesitates as novice put forward as premier
Italy's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the far-right League on Monday (21 May) proposed Giuseppe Conte, a little-known law professor, as prime minister to lead their big-spending coalition government.
Europe’s e-mobility gamechangers
The European Union is starting to think in earnest about how to reduce the impact of transportation on the environment. But are plans to tackle a sector whose emissions continue to grow too strict or not ambitious enough?
Tackling EU child poverty through Child Guarantee
Based on figures from 2016, nearly 26.4% of children across the EU are experiencing, or are at risk of experiencing, poverty or social exclusion. But the EU has one potential policy development to deal with this worrying trend, write Joanna Hofman and Katie Stewart.OpinionPromoted content
Europe’s next digital network: power and responsibility
With great power comes great responsibility. Various versions of this quote were attributed throughout history to Churchill, Roosevelt and more recently to Spiderman.