Allegations of a cooling relationship between Montenegro and NATO is disinformation and fake news, defence minister Olivera Injac told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.
Disparities between the EU and Western Balkan countries on energy are only getting bigger, with many of them still addicted to highly-polluting coal power stations that provide cheap electricity as well as revenues to governments and the local population. “They’re milking them until the bitter end,” says Janez Kopac.
The world needs to rethink intellectual property rights to get ready for the next pandemic and Europe has to do its part as a constructive partner at the negotiating table, Belgian socialist MEP Kathleen Van Brempt told EURACTIV in an interview.
The way clean or low-carbon hydrogen was defined under the EU’s green finance taxonomy could have been more ambitious, with a higher emission threshold excluding all unabated fossil fuels from hydrogen manufacturing, says Jorgo Chatzimarkakis.
The EU’s framework to coordinate national economies this year has been shaped by the recovery and resilience plans. The Commission’s executive vice-president for economy, Valdis Dombrovskis, told a group of media including EURACTIV that overall, the EU executive is satisfied with the recovery plans submitted by 23 member states.
In an interview with EURACTIV France, Communist Party candidate in the upcoming presidential elections, Fabien Roussel, said he wants to be the candidate for the youth and the working man and criticised Europe for pitting the French worker against the Polish one.
The European Parliament is taking a close look at China's high-tech present to Serbia, a mass surveillance system that involves the installation of thousands of smart surveillance cameras equipped with facial recognition features, MEP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Greens/EFA, France) told EURACTIV in an interview.
The EU needs to tackle social dumping and fraud in the construction sector that has been led by an emerging business model of exploitative labour, argues Tom Deleu in an interview with EURACTIV.
Digital transformation of the way Europeans live and do business is one of the priorities of the Portuguese EU Council presidency, which ends on 30 June. To find out how much has been achieved, and what Portugal's successor, Slovenia, should pursue, EURACTIV spoke to Hugo Santos Mendes, Portugal's deputy minister for communications.
As negotiators from the European Parliament, Council and Commission kick off this week's jumbo trilogue in an attempt to seal a deal on the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform, EURACTIV spoke to Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski about his expectations for the week ahead.
Even with its unique pan-European nature and reductions in fan travel due to the pandemic, Euro 2020 would have been the most environmentally conscious Euro tournament yet, says Michele Uva. And Euro 2024 in Germany will be “the most sustainable tournament ever,” he assures.
European Union member states have agreed to reach climate neutrality by 2050 and increase their level of ambition for 2030. This means Europe needs to amend all its climate policies, including its Emissions Trading Scheme, the EU's climate chief, Frans Timmermans, told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.
Before the European Parliament adopted a resolution on Kazakhstan in February, there was no comprehensive dialogue at the decision-making level and no complete analysis of the EU lawmakers' sources of information, Elvira Azimova, Kazakhstan's commissioner for human rights, told EURACTIV in an interview.
Europe's vision of the future of food systems needs to be improved with a focus on young generations, who will be putting into practice the Farm to Fork strategy (F2F), according to Riccardo Valentini, a prominent agricultural expert, who warned that "everything in this transition that is done without young people is a waste of money".
In a wide-ranging interview, Kakha Kuchava, the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, told about the latest developments since the mediation by Council President Charles Michel, the role of Russia and the new format of ‘Associated Trio’ between Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova.
The Russian Ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, discussed the current tensions against the background of purported covert operations by Russian military intelligence GRU on EU soil, jailed dissident Alexei Navalny, the Sputnik vaccine, and the upcoming Economic Forum in St Petersburg.
Last year, China launched its bid to shape global data governance, eager to create its own approach alongside those created by the United States and the EU. Since then, it has been working on a comprehensive data protection framework that could be a game-changer for potential Western investors.
After months of broken promises and unmet contractual targets, the European Commission has stepped up its legal offensive against pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca. But EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides says its vaccine remains an “important part” of the EU portfolio in the efforts to protect Europeans against the COVID-19.
Even though unresolved border disputes stand in the way of further economic integration of Central Asia, this vast region is ready to deepen ties, according to Askar Nursha.
Ahead of the Conference on the Future of Europe, a year-long dialogue with EU citizens that kicked off on Sunday (9 May, Europe Day), EURACTIV Croatia spoke to the European Commission Vice-President Dubravka Šuica, in charge of the conference organisation, about the overall objectives, and expectations.
E-cigarettes “undoubtedly” reduce risks compared to traditional cigarettes and have a place in the EU's plan to fight cancer. However, these products should not enjoy “lighter” regulation and Europe should treat them with the same vigilance as tobacco products, MEP Michèle Rivasi told EURACTIV in an interview.
The Porto summit this weekend could be a "watershed moment" for EU-India relations to push for stronger health cooperation in the context of the pandemic, enhanced cooperation on trade and investment, and a partnership on connectivity, the country's envoy to Brussels, Santosh Jha, told EURACTIV in an interview ahead of the EU-India leaders meeting on Saturday (8 May).
Aigul Kuspan, former head of the Kazakh mission to the European Union and current chair of Kazakhstan's parliamentary committee on international affairs, says the bloc often comes across as self-assured and borderline ignorant in terms of global affairs.
Europe will remain open to everyone but will no longer be naive in the face of the rapidly changing world and will seek to be in the driving seat, Commissioner Thierry Breton told EURACTIV and a group of media ahead of the presentation of the update of the EU's industrial strategy on Wednesday (5 May).
