EURACTIV.com
‘No alternative’ to digital construction, expert says
The digitisation of the EU's construction industry is an oft-overlooked area of technological development, both politically and socially. EURACTIV.com spoke to Milena Feustel to shine a light on the sector and explore the direction the digital construction is going in across Europe.
Logistics expert: Deep transport emissions reductions possible, urgently needed
Transport is widely accepted as a very difficult sector to decarbonise but one of the leading experts on all things freight and transport explained to EURACTIV.com how and why it needs to be done.
Finnish finance minister: ‘Case closed’ for universal basic income
Finland is the first country to complete a nation-wide experiment on universal basic income. With the first results in, Finnish finance minister Petteri Orpo told EURACTIV.com that the largest parties in his country don’t support the idea anymore.
Avoid politicising Arctic issues, expert warns
The Arctic has so far been largely conflict-free. If this ever changes, it will probably be the result of a spillover from other parts of the world, Arctic expert Svein Rottem told EURACTIV.com in an interview, in which he spoke about Arctic governance and the EU’s role in the region.
Tanzanian opposition leader: EU is ‘finished’ with Magufuli
Nearly 18 months after falling under a shower of bullets outside his parliamentary residence in Dodoma, opposition leader Tundu Lissu, the most persistent thorn in the side of Tanzanian President John Magufuli plans to re-enter the political fray.
World Bank’s Georgieva: Venezuela needs tens of billions of dollars
As the Venezuelan crisis unfolds, the World Bank is ready to act as soon as its members give the green light, said the institution's new interim president, Kristalina Georgieva. In an interview with EURACTIV.com, she estimated that the financial needs to cover would be around tens of billions of dollars.
Katainen: Innovation needed to address climate issues
During a week in which the European Commission hosts the 2019 EU Industry Days, a series of conferences that examine key industrial challenges, EURACTIV sat down with Vice-President Jyrki Katainen to find out how far the EU's industries have come since 2014.
Asian investment bank warns of private capital decline
Global trade tensions are scaring investors globally. In Asia, despite the huge needs to finance large projects, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is “concerned” about stagnant and even fall of private capital being attracted, its vice-president told EURACTIV.com.
UNEP chief: EU should aim for 55% CO2 reduction by 2030
The European Union needs to revise its 2030 CO2 reduction target from 40% to 55% if it wants to meet the 1.5°C global warming objective of the Paris Agreement, says Joyce Msuya.
Campaign leader: +Plus party is much more than the person of Dacian Ciolos
The new Romanian party, +Plus, founded by former EU Commissioner Dacian Cioloș, is in talks to run for the European elections in coalition with the Save Romania Union (USR), the new force's campaign leader told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.
Cañete: ‘No way around it’, climate neutral EU is needed
EU climate Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete is in no doubt that the EU has to achieve ‘climate neutrality’ by 2050 and wants to use his final months in the job to push the bloc towards Paris Agreement-compliance.
EY consultant: Europe is lagging behind in power grid digitalisation
The volume of solar panels and electric cars connected to the grid is still manageable for now. But massive new load expected from electric vehicles in the coming years will require stepping up network digitalisation, warns Serge Colle.
Agribusiness drives development technologies in Ukraine, deputy minister says
Once regarded as the breadbasket of Europe, Ukraine is now ready to be the ‘supermarket of the world’ as processed and high-end product manufacturing is booming, Ukraine’s deputy agriculture minister, Olga Trofimtseva, told EURACTIV.com.
EU official: ‘Actual recycling could be lower’ with new methodology
When it comes to meeting the EU’s new recycling targets, metals will have a big head start. But EU member states could find it harder to reach future objectives under a new methodology being considered at the European Commission, says Maja Desgrées du Loû.
Moscovici: We are quite close to an agreement on the digital tax
The introduction of national digital taxes across Europe is not detrimental to the Commission's European proposal, the Commissioner for Economic Affairs, Pierre Moscovici, told EURACTIV.com, adding that he believes an agreement on the issue is “quite close”.
French MEP: Politicians should not play with people’s fears of pesticides
French MEP Angélique Delahaye believes that policymakers must tell citizens what is currently possible and what is not when it comes to pesticides. She also urged lawmakers to working in earnest to fund research and innovation in order to use as few crop protection products as possible.
Romanian EU Presidency to push Western Balkans case, minister says
Romania's EU presidency will push to improve the prospect of membership talks for Western Balkan nations of Macedonia (FYROM) and Albania, but only after the European elections in May, the country's European affairs minister told EURACTIV in an interview.
Ansip uncovered: Commission Vice-President on disinformation, Huawei, copyright
EURACTIV's Digital Editor, Samuel Stolton, sat down with Vice-President of the European Commission, Andrus Ansip, to speak about his recent decision to stand as an MEP, disinformation, 'those' Huawei comments and the difficulties with the copyright directive.
OECD’s Gurria: ‘If you need time for a better Brexit deal, give it enough time’
The secretary general of the OECD, Ángel Gurría, believes that extending Brexit talks until July could be feasible in order to ensure an agreement is sealed. Speaking to EURACTIV.com in an exclusive interview in Davos, the Mexican diplomat and economist expressed his concerns about the paralysis spreading in many countries in Europe.
PwC chief: ‘I do think that tensions between US and China will continue’
Pessimism is growing among CEOs, noted the latest global survey published on Monday by PwC, a consultancy firm. In an interview with EURACTIV.com, the global chairman of PwC, Bob Moritz, recommended companies and governments to focus on execution in order to truly turn risks into opportunities.
Azeri parliamentary cooperation chair: MEPs should check facts before they vote
Some events in Azerbaijan are treated in the EU with prejudice and intentional bias, and some MEPs have a clear agenda to make obstacles to the rapprochement of EU-Azerbaijan relations, Javanshir Feyziyev told EURACTIV in a written interview.
Brexit is ‘the ultimate test case of Europeanisation’
Brexit may have paralysed and, in equal measures, humiliated Britain’s government, parliament and political parties, but Anand Menon, director of an influential UK think tank, is fascinated by the impact of this "unique experiment" on the country’s politics.
Academic: Oil and gas boilers should be banned across Europe by 2030
Emissions from residential heating can be drastically reduced if Europe agrees a ban on new oil and gas boiler installations by 2030 at the latest, according to a Danish researcher who led an EU-wide study to decarbonise the heating and cooling sector.