Frédéric Simon

Cyber threat now ‘real and growing’, EU official warns

National leaders have turned down European Commission calls for a coordinated EU cyber-security strategy, leading to a “regulatory gap” and a “clear and present danger” of cyber attacks, a high EU official told EURACTIV in an interview.

Glover: EU chief scientist should stay in the shadows

Anne Glover, the EU’s Chief Scientific Advisor, has said that her opinions to the European Commission should remain independent from politics and therefore “not transparent” and immune from public scrutiny. The incoming Commission chief, Jean-Claude Juncker, is considering to maintain her position after Barroso leaves, EURACTIV understands.

France urges ‘quick action’ on endocrine disruptors

Paris has placed the EU’s endocrine disruptor strategy on the agenda of a meeting of environment ministers on Thursday (12 June), saying the effects of some chemicals on the human body are now sufficiently documented and call for urgent action at the European level.

EU twisting facts to fit political agenda, chief scientist says

A big challenge for the next European Commission will be to disconnect its evidence gathering processes from the “political imperative” that’s driving policy proposals, according to Anne Glover, the EU’s chief scientific advisor.

EU accused of ‘fiddling’ with Greek deficit figures ahead of election

The Ifo Institute, one of Germany’s most influential economic think tanks, has accused the EU institutions of “fiddling the figures” on Greece’s public deficit figures in order to “embellish” the country’s situation ahead of the May European elections.

France EU hopeful urges new Commission to be ‘more political’

In an exclusive interview with EURACTIV, Elisabeth Guigou confirms her interest in succeeding Michel Barnier as France’s commissioner in Brussels, calling for a root-and-branch reorganisation of the European Commission, arguing that the EU’s flagship institution should be less “hassling” and “more political”.

EU predicts ‘waste tsunami’ if world fails to cut down trash

The European Commission is preparing new policy proposals to reduce waste and reach greater recycling rates, in order to move towards a zero-refuse economy.

EU eyes softer climate policies to fuel ‘industrial renaissance’

As Europe starts to emerge from its worst recession since the Second World War, policymakers are reconsidering the EU’s global leadership on climate change for fear that it might hinder the fledgling recovery.

FIFA urged to ‘rerun the vote’ on Qatar’s 2022 Football World Cup

“The clock is ticking” for Qatar’s 2022 football world cup, warned a FIFA representative who was attending a European Parliament hearing on Thursday (13 February) that looked into reports of forced labour and deaths on stadium construction sites. Trade unions are now calling on the world football governing body to "rerun the vote".

UK Conservatives balk at plans for eurozone parliament

British Conservative MEPs have cried foul over a proposal to create a permanent European Parliament sub-committee to deal with the single currency, saying it would have “major implications for the UK to regulate its financial services sector” and represented an attempt to “curtail” the influence of British MEPs.

‘Deeply sad’ EU leaders pledge ‘determined action’ to avert more Lampedusas

A newly-established task force on the Mediterranean will report at the next summit of EU leaders in December before a more comprehensive review of EU immigration and asylum policies is launched in June next year.

Almunia: EU’s problem is unaccountability, not economic liberalism

National politicians have left Brussels technocrats with the unenviable task of explaining austerity decisions taken at European level to their public opinion, undermining trust in the EU’s political system and democracy at large, according to Joaquín Almunia, the EU’s competition commissioner.

Commission floats ‘ideas’ to deepen the EU’s social side

Social policy indicators such as unemployment could soon form part of the European Commission’s regular monitoring of EU countries’ economic and budgetary imbalances under plans floated by Brussels today to deepen the social dimension of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).

Chief EU scientist backs damning report urging GMO ‘rethink’

Studies linking genetically modified crops with adverse effects on the environment or animal health are based on “contested science”, according to a recent report by the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC), which received backing from Anne Glover, the EU’s chief scientific advisor.

Van Rompuy tipped as Belgian-style mediator after EU election

Viviane Reding, the EU’s commissioner for justice and fundamental rights, has called for a Belgian-style mediator to be appointed following next year’s EU elections to try to form a Parliament coalition that will back the next president of the European Commission.

Barnier: ‘Many citizens are worried by a European project that has no limits’

EXCLUSIVE / The EU’s internal market commissioner Michel Barnier, a convinced European and known federalist, has come out in favour of limits being imposed on the European project, telling EURACTIV.fr in an exclusive interview that he understood concerns expressed by the far-right and other eurosceptics. But he said Europe should also dare to venture into new areas such as defence and industrial policy.

Barnier urges Europeans to build their own drones

In proposals aimed at relaunching cooperation on defence production, to be unveiled today (24 July), the EU’s commissioner for the internal market, Michel Barnier, urges Europe to shake off its dependency on Israel and the United States for pilotless military aircraft known as drones.

EU expat survey hammers home ‘Brussels bubble’ clichés

A new survey of the lives of more than 9,000 EU expatriates in Brussels paints a picture of an estranged community, largely secluded from local residents in a city they consider dirty and unsafe, but somehow pleasant to live in.

Hollande: Treaty change ‘necessary’ to deepen eurozone

A two-day European summit ended in Brussels on Friday (28 June) with calls for deeper economic integration among the 17 countries sharing the euro currency. French President François Hollande said a revision of the EU treaty “will be necessary” to harmonise economic policy and complete the euro area with its own budget and “social dimension”.

EU leaders to agree faster spending on youth jobless fight

French President François Hollande will travel to Brussels for a European summit today with an appeal for an EU-wide “action plan” on youth unemployment that includes frontloading the bloc’s €6-billion youth employment initiative over the next two years rather than the next seven, the fund’s original time frame.

Hollande calls for EU ‘harmonisation’ on renewable energy

European Union countries should consider dropping their national support schemes for renewable energies in favour of a harmonised EU approach that would send a clearer signal to investors, French President François Hollande said at the conclusion of an EU summit yesterday (22 May).

Economist: ‘Being pro-European is not a vote-winner in Germany’

The EU’s transformation into a more integrated bloc centred on the eurozone will be a key part of the German election campaign, according to Karl Aiginger, director of the Austrian Institute for Economic Research (WIFO). But politicians will probably give in to “populist statements”, he warns, saying the debate on Europe is currently “very irrational” in Germany.

Corsican MEP battles for Europe to protect endangered languages

INTERVIEW / Just as the EU legislates to protect migrating birds and wildlife habitats, it should also protect its 120 or so endangered languages, argues François Alfonsi, a Corsican MEP who has prepared a parliamentary report that could name and shame European wrongdoers.

Eight EU countries hit 2020 education goals early: Eurostat

Denmark, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden have already met or even exceeded their 2020 national targets on boosting university education, defined three years ago at EU level to enhance the bloc’s labour force and ability to compete against global economic rivals.