Timothy Spence Archives

The European Union could help reduce entrenched poverty by supporting social insurance systems in developing nations, says a new European Parliament study.

Butter mountains and milk lakes. Those were the images invoked in the European Parliament this week by opponents of extending vineyard planting limits and protections for sugar beet farmers.

MEPs exercised their power to shape agricultural policy for the first time on Wednesday (13 March), voting to adopt a controversial package of legislation that now faces a fresh round of negotiations with national leaders. EURACTIV reports from Strasbourg.

The European Parliament votes today (13 March) on a future agricultural policy that, if approved as proposed, would step back from a generation of liberalisation moves and ease the European Commission’s plan to set new environmental standards for farming. EURACTIV reports from Strasbourg.

Bowing to criticism that it was “undemocratic”, the European Parliament’s agriculture committee agreed Monday night (11 March) to allow the full house to vote on hundreds of amendments to the EU’s future farm policy, many of them aimed at reversing the panel’s earlier decisions. EURACTIV reports from Strasbourg.

In a sudden decision that has angered international development groups, the European Parliament’s agriculture committee has been handed special power to pare down hundreds of amendments to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on the eve of a vote Tuesday (12 March) by the full Assembly. EURACTIV reports from Strasbourg.

Africans must shake off their dependence on traditional agricultural aid from Europe and improve trade ties to address their food and poverty challenges, Nigeria’s agricultural minister told EURACTIV.

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso on Tuesday (5 March) strongly defended the EU's response to the horsemeat scandal that has shaken consumer confidence and, more broadly, could have repercussions for international trade.

The European Commission’s sugar management committee has authorised the import of 584,000 tonnes of white sugar since January, nearly half the amount the EU is projected to approve this year, adding fuel to calls for the EU to scrap its longstanding protection of the domestic sugar market.

Improving education for women could dramatically reduce hunger in developing countries, says a United Nations report released today (4 March) that also calls for erasing gender inequalities in land ownership and financing to help address future food security.

The European Commission's proposals for future global development goals, to be unveiled on Wednesday (27 February), risk running into opposition from emerging countries if they veer too broadly from fighting poverty.

Congolese rebels are plundering the country’s natural resources to finance guns and materiel, but the EU remains powerless to compel companies to disclose whether they are buying vital minerals supplied by armed groups in Congo and other conflict states.

Hundreds of European farmers who gathered in Brussels on the eve of an EU budget summit sent a terse message to national leaders: Hands off the CAP.

EU candidate Turkey and South Korea, nations that have watched their own fortunes surge in a generation, are ramping up aid programmes for poor nations at a time when such spending in Europe is under threat, a EURACTIV analysis of aid statistics shows.

Conservatives opposed to using EU development aid to finance family planning services in poor nations have succeeded in recent years in reducing support for reproductive health services in poor nations, say health advocates who are now bracing for further cuts.

In a compromise aimed at countries like France and Germany, the European Commission on Wednesday (30 January) unveiled its latest plan to integrate rail services, allowing traditional state companies to maintain their hold on railway infrastructure as well as passenger and cargo services.

The EU’s top transport official says the troubled launch of a now-suspended high-speed rail service between Brussels and Amsterdam - christened the ‘flop train’ by angry passengers - is “not our problem” despite years of efforts to encourage such premium transnational rail service.

The European Parliament’s agriculture committee has voted to weaken key environmental proposals made by the European Commission while agreeing to reduce subsidies to big farms. These and other proposals will be considered by the full Parliament in March.

Reacting to the furore over the discovery of horse meat in Irish beef patties, MEPs on Wednesday (23 January) called for stronger EU labelling laws as Ireland's agriculture minister defended the safety of his country’s meat products.

The European Parliament’s agricultural committee began adopting dozens of amendments to the EU’s future farm policy on Wednesday (23 January), but approval remains far from certain when the full Parliament considers compromise proposals in March.

Whether or not Britain chooses to turn back the clock on its EU membership, the country is likely to remain an important player in Europe’s overseas development policies.

The European Commission should end national monopolies of air traffic control if it is to succeed in making air travel more efficient, an executive of low-cost leader Ryanair told EU officials yesterday (21 January).

Unions representing airline pilots and flight attendants plan a European-wide demonstration on Tuesday (22 January) against proposed EU regulations on flight duty times, though officials say the action is unlikely to disrupt travel.

European aviation officials said on Wednesday (16 January) they are monitoring international safety investigations of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner as two Japanese carriers grounded their fleets following several scares.