Paola Tamma
Puigdemont calls for dialogue with Rajoy ‘anywhere’ outside of Spain
Catalan independence leader Carles Puigdemont asked Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to meet “anywhere but Spain” – where arrest warrants are pending for him and four other members of his cabinet - following last night's election result.
Member states give themselves more time to cut emissions
Member states struck a deal with Parliament on cutting emissions by 30% by 2030 from transport, buildings, waste and agriculture sector - but set themselves a later baseline to start counting emissions.
Brussels triggers unprecedented action against Poland
European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans announced with a 04:13am tweet that the EU executive had activated Article 7 of the Lisbon Treaty against Poland, due to "a risk of serious breach of of the rule of law".
China launches largest carbon market in the world
China launched what will become the world’s largest carbon market on Tuesday (19 December), surpassing the EU’s flagship market mechanism to cap and trade emissions. The scheme is part of a host of major policies China is using to peak its GHGs by 2030.
EU legislators strike early morning deal on waste
After almost 18 hours of negotiations, the European Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement on a proposed package of waste legislation in the early hours of Monday (18 December).
Chinese waste ban ‘wake-up call’ for European recycling
The EU has a trash problem. It used to ship 60% of plastics and 13% of paper collected for recycling to China, but Beijing has decided to curb its appetite for foreign waste.
The Brief: Money can’t buy you friends
Migration was confirmed to be the most divisive issue in European politics at the final 2017 EU summit. The Visegrad group (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia) will pay €35 million, but calling this “solidarity” is ludicrous.
EU strikes deal on zero emission target for forest sector by 2030
EU member states reached a preliminary agreement with the European Parliament on the land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) regulation on Thursday (14 December), closing the trilogues ahead of a plenary vote in January.
‘Greenwashed oil’ set to win from renewable transport targets, biofuel industry claims
Biofuel producers in the Visegrad countries plus Lithuania and Bulgaria have warned that a phase-out of biofuels will lead to a phase-in of ‘greenwashed’ fossil fuels under the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), as it currently stands in the Council’s proposal.
Italy condemned again for failing to recognise same-sex marriages
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) condemned Italy on Thursday (14 December) for failing to recognise same-sex marriages, a ruling that will result in a token financial compensation for the plaintiffs and more negative publicity for the country.
Ireland emerges as big winner of fisheries Council
Fisheries ministers pulled an all-nighter to reach an agreement on fishing limits for 2018, giving Ireland more a €20m windfall. The Council says progress has been made to achieve sustainable management of fish stocks but NGOs say the new limits are above scientific advice. And the industry was caught gate-crashing, again.