From the capitals
The Brief — Wanted: A grown–up debate on migration
Stop the press; migration from the Middle East and North Africa into Europe is not going to end.
French presidency to work on ‘European Hospital’ label project
French Health Minister Olivier Véran detailed the key health priorities of the French EU Council presidency on Thursday (27 January), highlighting the launch of a new label called "European Hospital" to strengthen health systems and support cooperation across Europe. EURACTIV France reports.
EU needs to make African offer on legal migration, says Greek PM
The EU needs to look at offering African states a new regime of organised legal migration routes, alongside cooperation between both sides on security and border control management, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday (27 January).
Putin says West has not addressed key concerns in Ukraine standoff
President Vladimir Putin said on Friday (28 January) the United States and NATO had not addressed Russia's main security demands in their standoff over Ukraine but that Moscow was ready to keep talking.OpinionPromoted content
Conference on the future of Europe: The fight over its conclusion and follow up
As the works of the Conference on the future of Europe proceed, the clashes within the Conference become apparent. The last plenary provided an interesting example and a clarifying debate. Roberto Castaldi is the editor-in-chief of EURACTIV Italy and the...
Far-right AfD chief Jörg Meuthen quits party
Jörg Meuthen, the longest-serving, moderate leader of the German far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), has quit due to concerns the party is veering too far right in its ideology.
Ukrainian minister faults Germany, says Russia may want GDR revived
Ukraine's defence minister said on Friday (28 January) Berlin's reluctance to supply Kyiv with weapons encourages Russian aggression, and suggested Moscow may hope to revive the German Democratic Republic in eastern Germany.
Agrifood Brief: CAP 2.0 or same old C*AP?
The UK’s departure from the EU now means that it is free to design its own menu of agricultural policies, à la carte, to replace the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). So naturally, like nosy curtain-twitching neighbours, we’re all wondering what...
Digital Brief powered by Facebook: WhatsApp under scrutiny, platforms vs trade unions, DSA prep talks
Welcome to EURACTIV’s Digital Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU.
MEPs ‘far away’ from an agreement on merging forest and agriculture sectors under LULUCF
EU lawmakers working on revising the land use, land-use change and forestry regulation (LULUCF) are split over the European Commission’s idea to merge the sector with the agricultural industry in the 2030s.
MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld: Efforts to defend old system in Bulgaria don’t work
In an exclusive interview, MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld shared some insights from Thursday’s European Parliament Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group (DRFMG) session, which she chaired, where the Bulgarian Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev and the new Prime Minister Kiril Petkov were auditioned.
Denormandie’s ‘climate soldiers’, reciprocity, new agri vice chair
This week, EURACTIV France's Magdalena Pistorius joins EURACTIV's agrifood team to explain how French agricultural minister Julien Denormandie's debut speech under the French presidency was received in the European Parliament.
Workers’ voice advocates: Franco-German overlap is “window of opportunity”
With France holding the EU Council presidency until July and a Social Democrat-led government in power in Germany, hopes are high in Brussels for progress on key labour-related files like the revision of the European Works Council (EWC) Directive.
Hacker group threatens to leak data from France’s justice ministry
Hackers from ransomware gang Lockbit 2.0 claimed to have hacked into the French justice ministry on Thursday (27 January). They said that if the ransom is not paid by 10 February, the stolen data will be published. EURACTIV Francre reports.
The Vertical Block Exemption Regulation and Europe’s online markets
The VBER revision will have an important impact on online sales for the next 10 years. We discuss how the regulation will affect digital markets with Maike Jansen, public affairs advisor at Ecommerce Europe.
Reaching critical mass: EU eyes increased collection of lightweight packaging
Getting enough volume is the first challenge for recyclers when it comes to dealing with lightweight packaging such as crisp packets and food wrappers. To boost quantities and make recycling worthwhile, the European Commission is looking at ways of harmonising waste collection across the EU.
French competition watchdog to look into ‘complex’ cloud sector
France's competition watchdog announced on Thursday (27 January) that it would look into the competitive functioning of the cloud market as local players accuse US tech giants of unfair practices. EURACTIV France reports.
German Supreme Court orders Facebook to allow pseudonyms
Facebook must allow the use of pseudonyms on its platform Germany's Federal Court of Justice ruled on Thursday (27 January). Until now, Facebook users were required to use their real names. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Commission: Pharma companies need incentives to develop orphan drugs
The market will not regulate itself when it comes to finding solutions to rare diseases, said Sandra Gallina, director at the European Commission’s DG SANTE, adding there is pressure to kickstart innovation on orphan drugs.
EU’s call for abortion as fundamental rights – a political bluff?
MEPs call for abortion to be included in the Charter of Fundamental Rights is supported by the French presidency, but according to an EU law expert, this is “not going to happen” - and having an anti-abortion Parliamentary president is not the only obstacle.
Media freedom to be focus of Czech EU Council presidency
Media freedom, particularly in Hungary and Poland, will be a key focus of the upcoming Czech European Council presidency, according to the country’s Minister for European Affairs.
Tweets of the Week: Help Ukraine, Riots in Brussels and Johnson once again
Ukraine bad news is getting us down, anti-vax rioters trash the town, and is it finally farewell to Boris the clown?
Europe can only partially replace Russian gas
Russia furnishes over 40% of the natural gas Europe imports and in the event it invades Ukraine again those supplies could be at risk, throwing into question European countries's ability to keep the heat on in the dead of winter.