Interviews

Social dialogue must be stronger after the pandemic, trade union leader says

Nearly a year into the coronavirus crisis in Europe, the world of work has changed drastically with more transformation on the horizon. In an interview with EURACTIV, trade union leader Michael Vassiliadis discusses the EU policy agenda from economic recovery to the Democracy Action Plan and responsible supply chains.

Ukrainian deputy PM: Russian vaccine is 20% treatment and 80% hybrid threat

In a wide-ranging interview, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna outlined her country’s EU and NATO agenda, the tense relations with Russia, the issue of vaccines and geopolitics.

Polish climate minister: ‘It is critical that EU legislation on hydrogen is colour-blind’

Poland has welcomed the inclusion of hydrogen infrastructure in the European Commission’s recast regulation for cross-border energy networks. “It is critical for our region that this legislation is colour-blind and does not discriminate between different ‘types’ of hydrogen,” says Michał Kurtyka.

Russia’s EU ambassador: Discussing Navalny is pointless

In a telephone interview on Thursday (11 February) the Ambassador of Russia to the EU Vladimir Chizhov evokes the recent visit of EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell to Moscow, which he helped arrange.

EESC President: Crisis is widening gap between school and real life for youth

Europe needs to "get the economy up and running" to help its youth find opportunities and bridge the gap between school and the workplace, the President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) Christa Schweng told EURACTIV in an interview.

Sustainability should be ‘underlying principle‘ of digital policy: German minister

Digital innovations should be used as a tool for environmental protection and climate action, but we must act now, Germany's minister for the environment, Svenja Schulze, told EURACTIV in an interview.

‘Stars are aligned’ for EU-African relations

The EU’s plans to strike a ‘strategic partnership’ with Africa were one the victims of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Portuguese government, which holds the six-month rotating EU presidency, is anxious to conclude the agenda by the summer.

Sport Positive Summit founder works to ‘unleash potential of sport for climate action’

To achieve UN climate targets, it is not enough for companies or associations to operate more sustainably. What is needed is a rethink among the general population. Claire Poole is convinced that sports can play an important role, which is why she organises the annual Sports Positive Summit. In this interview with EURACTIV Germany, she explains her vision.

Official: Pandemic restrictions led to ‘intolerable hostility’ in border regions

The pandemic has thrown Europe back into the age of borders, with new barriers manned by police and military, and ID checks. Freedom of movement, the cornerstone of the European way of life, disappeared. Cross-border regions, called "Eurodistricts", came to play a special role, Frank Scherer explains in an interview with EURACTIV Germany.

Sinkevicius: ‘There can be no return to business as usual’ after the pandemic

There can be no return to business as usual after the pandemic and no amount of economic pressure should force us to compromise on people’s health and the health of our planet, Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius said in an interview.

Revamped EU-India link could re-balance China ties, Portuguese FM says

Relations between the EU and India, especially in the context of an increasingly influential China, will be the central point of the Portuguese EU presidency, Portugal's Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.

Georgian MP: Mood in Brussels should not prevent EU membership application

Enlargement fatigue should not prevent the South Caucasian country from applying for membership of the bloc in 2024, even though the process might cause frustration domestically, Maka Botchorishvili, the newly elected chair of the EU integration committee of the Georgian...

Promoting sustainable tourism in the Alps requires a rethink, NGO director says

The Alps' magnificent mountain landscapes appear idyllic, calm and untouched - as long as you look at them from a certain angle. From another you are confronted by cleared forests for ski slopes, well-trodden paths and destroyed nature for hikers and mountain bikers.

Montenegro FM: ‘Zero problem doctrine’ for the Western Balkans

Montenegro will be pursuing a "zero problem doctrine" with its neighbours, while EU accession remains its main priority, Djordje Radulović, the country's new foreign minister, told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview only weeks after the EU hopeful saw its first democratic change of power in 30 years.

EU should assert ‘own interests and principles’ to Beijing, says MEP

In an interview with EURACTIV France, MEP Raphaël Glucksmann (S&D) speaks about the EU and China agreeing on 30 December in principle on a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CIA) after the French presidency assured on Monday that China's human rights "commitments" would be "very scrupulously checked".

Turkish FM says the EU has ‘over-politicised’ accession negotiations

The EU has “excessively politicised” the negotiations between Ankara and Brussels, Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told EURACTIV’s partner EFE in a written interview, calling on the bloc to take a more positive approach. He reiterated his country’s...

Portuguese presidency to handle agriculture ‘with eyes on the future’

The Portuguese presidency of the EU Council is committed to doing everything to conclude negotiations on the reform of the EU's massive farming subsidies programme without overlooking the transition toward a more sustainable food system, the Portuguese farm minister told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.

MEP: European food sovereignty is the real issue at stake in CAP talks

Faced with the challenges of climate change and the public health problems posed by the use of pesticides, Europe must now rebuild its food sovereignty, according to socialist lawmaker Eric Andrieu.

Coexistence of different agri models is key for pandemic recovery, says MEP

In light of the difficult political context Europe is facing, with COVID-19, Brexit, US tariffs, and trade tensions, more thought should be put into different models of agriculture to address future challenges, the right-wing MEP Mazaly Aguilar (ECR) told EURACTIV in an interview.

OECD candidate: The US is back as ‘guarantor’ of international liberal order

With the new US administration, Washington has again taken up its role as a guarantor of multilateral system, former EU Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou who runs for the OECD top job, told EURACTIV.com in an interview. “I think it has become...

Borrell: Trump has awakened us from strategic sleepwalking

The arrival of US President Donald Trump in 2016 has "awakened" the EU and made it realise it was too dependent on Washington, prompting a trend of boosting Europe's autonomy, the EU's chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, told EURACTIV's media partner EFE in an interview.

MEP Canfin: EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism ‘is not a tax’

The European Union’s future carbon border adjustment mechanism must mirror the EU’s own carbon market price and structure in order to be compatible with WTO rules, says Pascal Canfin.

MEP Fernandes: There is a risk EU countries may forget about repayable support

Faced with tight deadlines to programme recovery and new cohesion funds while still implementing projects from the previous budgetary period, EU countries may be tempted to forget about repayable Union assistance, warned Portuguese MEP José Manuel Fernandes, in which case a lot of cheap money would be left on the table.