The Visegrad countries will need some time to close the ditches they have dug in recent years, Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček told EURACTIV.cz in an interview. He also voiced doubts about the need for a reform of EU membership negotiations, demanded by France, saying the process is already reversible at any stage.
The energy performance contract model can turn energy efficiency renovation of buildings into a truly popular policy objective among politicians in Central and Eastern Europe because it can be done without any use of public money and has no impact on public debt, says Ivan Lesay.
European copyright law is stuck somewhere around 2000, in the era of satellite and cable broadcasting, not the internet age. That is why a copyright reform is needed, says Pavel Svoboda, the Chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs.
The 32% renewable energy target agreed by EU negotiators last week is still “much lower” than what would be needed to reach the Paris goals on climate change, argue experts at the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Germany.
Britain, the former sick man of Europe, has seen its economy grow strongly in the EU. It is making a major mistake by leaving the bloc and the customs union and does not even realise what serious challenges it will face in the future, says former Irish minister Dara Murphy.
There are many creative ways to finance small-scale energy efficiency projects such as building renovations, but they need to be discussed more at the European Commission level, and defined more precisely, Jessica Stromback told EURACTIV Czech Republic.
The Czechs do not know anything about the EU’s global strategies or the interconnection of energy networks. But they know very well that they can buy cheaper and better food in Germany, says MEP Tomáš Zdechovský (EPP).
We have to stop the “us” and “them” rhetoric in which we blame the European institutions, says Martina Dlabajová, a Czech liberal MEP and member of the ANO movement which is heading for victory in the upcoming Czech parliamentary elections.
When countries in Central and Eastern Europe joined the EU, their expectations were high. Above all, they thought that they would quickly reach a Western standard living, Irah Kučerová told EURACTIV Czech Republic.
The world has changed and there is a long list of things that Europe should do to protect itself. First, we have to increase defence spending, Anders Fogh Rasmussen told EURACTIV Czech Republic.
I do not exclude the 40% energy efficiency target on condition that all three stages of the energy flow are included, Adam Gierek told EURACTIV Czech Republic.
There’s no mistaking his Fidesz credentials. Brussels needs to back off, and refugees remain unwelcome, Zsolt Csenger-Zalán, the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in Hungary‘s National Assembly, told EURACTIV Czech Republic.
Just because Hungary has different ideas about issues like migration does not mean it should be perceived negatively. This is exactly why we are fed up, Szábolcs Takács told EURACTIV Czech Republic.
It is hard to believe that a private university may lead to the expulsion of a member state. If the European Commission is going to support the opposition against Orbán, it is not going to help regain its credibility among member states, Balász Jarábik told EURACTIV Czech Republic.
There are players in the game who are ready to take the Pak II case to the European Court of Justice – and I am one of them, Benedek Jávor told EURACTIV Czech Republic.
Current market failures are well identified in the Winter Package. However, we feel that some of the proposals do not match the reality, Maciej Burny told EURACTIV Slovakia.
There’s an active interplay between anti-liberal movements and political parties within the EU and an authoritarian challenge from the outside, especially from Russia, Ralf Fücks told EURACTIV Czech Republic.
The Italian government is not losing support because it saves refugees. It is losing support because it is not perceived to be able to convince Europe to do more, says Monica Frassoni, the European Greens co-chair.
Originally, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) only came into place because the UK was opposed to using taxation as a policy instrument to reduce global warming. With Brexit, there is now an opportunity to look again at an EU-wide carbon tax, according to James Nix.
The new Posted Workers Directive is not necessary but Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will not admit he is wrong on the new rules, Renate Hornung-Draus, managing director of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA), told EURACTIV.cz.
There are lots of investors and lenders now who want to deploy capital into energy efficiency. But the lack of standardisation, which causes uncertainty, is a barrier, Steven Fawkes told EURACTIV Czech Republic in an exclusive interview.
The European Commission is getting ready to launch a “speed-dating” websitethat should help match investors with project promoters from all around Europe.
Refugee quotas as proposed by the Commission are just a public relations exercise. Refugees should have an opportunity to choose the country where they want to seek asylum, Tomáš Prouza, State Secretary for European affairs told EURACTIV Czech Republic in an exclusive interview.
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