France wants to make access to European funds conditional on the European minimum wage and respect for the rule of law, the state secretary for Europe, Amélie de Montchalin, told EURACTIV Slovakia in an interview.
The EU does not have a real 'European foreign policy' because every country works on its own and member states do not want to give full responsibility to the EU's High Representative, a former senior French and EU diplomat told EURACTIV Slovakia in an interview.
Marine Le Pen will be very cautious in doing business with parties who clearly are anti-Semitic and “she probably had even more red lines than [Italy's Matteo] Salvini on this”, Dr Christian Lequesne told EURACTIV Slovakia in an interview.
Unlike in the past, surveys in Slovakia suggest that the turnout at the EU election will this time rise to over 20%. However, it’s alarming that some of the increase should be attributed to the mobilisation of extreme right voters.
Europe must adopt an ambitious industrial policy aligned with its climate agenda by investing in clean technologies, and introducing a carbon tariff at the EU’s external border in order to protect industries against environmental dumping, says Bas Eickhout, the lead candidate for the Greens in the European elections.
EU institutions concluded negotiations on the Commission’s controversial copyright reform earlier this month. Political clashes that emerged across the EU also exposed harsh divisions between the Visegrád group of Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. EURACTIV's Visegrád members report.
Ahead of a crunch meeting between EU ambassadors on Friday (8 February), EURACTIV Slovakia sat down with Green MEP Julia Reda to chew the fat over the controversial copyright directive.
The sharing economy can kill two birds with one stone by lowering the cost of green technologies and reducing polluting emissions, cleantech expert Radoslav Mizera told EURACTIV Slovakia.
European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič will take an unpaid leave of absence to run in Slovakia’s presidential elections in May, he confirmed in Bratislava on Friday (18 January).
The just transition declaration adopted at the COP24 in Poland sounds good but it is not connected to any kind of climate ambition or specific energy projects involving local communities, Alexandru Mustata told EURACTIV Slovakia.
Slovak President Andrej Kiska is taking “time to think” about Foreign Affairs Minister Lajčák's resignation. The long-serving pro-European career diplomat, Lajčák said he was stepping down after the Parliament’s refusal of the UN migration compact last week. EURACTIV Slovakia reports.
Eastern EU countries have a positive opinion of nuclear energy while others like Belgium and Spain are shifting against, says Yves Desbazeille. The big question for the industry is whether Germany will turn even more anti-nuclear than it already is, he says. EURACTIV Slovakia reports.
Some Central and Eastern European leaders are concerned that France and Germany are setting the Brexit agenda and might push for 'no deal', the head of the ECR group in the European Parliament told EURACTIV Slovakia.
Ukraine should decrease its transit fees if it wants to undercut the business case for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline bringing Russian gas directly to Germany, says Thierry Bros.
When it comes to migration and refugees, the Visegrad 4 governments speak with one voice: the EU should abandon any idea of a compulsory mechanism for refugee relocation. EURACTIV's network reports.
Despite progress in recent years, local circular economy efforts in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia are still plagued by inefficient management, cheap landfilling and problematic reporting. EURACTIV's network reports.
Europe should engage in the Middle East by providing technical aid and promoting investment and programmes that enhance tolerance and peaceful coexistence, said Falah Mustafa Bakir in an interview.
Systemic segregation of Roma children in Slovakia's pre-schools and primary education has been around - and barely addressed - for many years. The lack of efforts on their inclusion has been highlighted by both human rights NGOs and the European Commission.
The European Commission’s analysis of clean air measures adopted at national level are at a “very advanced stage”, said Daniel Calleja Y Crespo, who recently came to Slovakia for the Clean Air Dialogue.
"What we have in Armenia is a fantastically working revolution," said Armen Grigoryan, one of the leaders of the “Reject Serzh“ movement, organising Armenia's ongoing nation-wide protests. EURACTIV.sk reports.
Unregulated electricity prices – and equal access to the grid for both large and small producers – are the only way to ensure higher share of renewables in the long run, says Latvian MEP Krišjānis Kariņš.
China has used the international economic crisis to elbow its way towards a dominant position on the global market. Its New Silk Road is seen as an attempt to create a massive, multi-national zone of economic and political influence, including in Central Europe. EURACTIV Poland/Czech Republic/Slovakia and Political Capital report.
Power grid interconnections and system flexibility are key to integrate bigger shares of renewables. A Franco-Irish research project aims to produce a roadmap to deploy EU power grids that can handle more than 50% of electricity from intermittent renewable sources.
Intermittent renewable electricity will need backup for at least the next 20 or 30 years, says Irish MEP Seán Kelly. As the least dirty among fossil fuels, natural gas is probably the most cost-effective and “preferred option,” he argues.
