About: Kadri Simson
‘Acceptable’: EU’s new energy czar wins guarded backing from Parliament
Estonia’s former energy minister, Kadri Simson, won the European Parliament’s backing on Thursday (3 October) to take over the European Commission’s energy portfolio after a public hearing which left many MEPs unconvinced and green activists furious.
Estonia joins EU’s climate-neutral club
Estonia has joined a group of 24 member states in favour of an EU plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions drastically by 2050, leaving only the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland unconvinced.
As it happened: Kadri Simson’s hearing in Parliament (energy)
Estonia's Kadri Simson was in line to answer questions from the European Parliament during an approval hearing that took place on 3 October. Read our live blog below to follow the hearing as it happened.
Romania withdraws substitute Commissioner pick after pressure tells
Romania has dropped its insistence on having a replacement Commissioner join Jean-Claude Juncker’s outgoing administration for the final two months of its mandate.
Green Deal branded as ‘hallmark’ of new European Commission
"I want the European Green Deal to become Europe's hallmark,” said European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen, as she tasked her second-in-command with overseeing Europe’s goal of achieving climate neutrality by mid-century.
Estonia forfeits seat in Juncker’s outgoing Commission
Estonia has decided not to retain a European Commissioner for the rest of the current administration’s mandate, instead allowing nominee Kadri Simson to prepare for her duties under President-elect Ursula von der Leyen.
ECR at odds with other groups over last remaining Parliament committee chair
Europe's conservative group (ECR) insisted on presenting former Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło as its candidate for the chair of the European Parliament's social affairs committee on Monday (15 July). But she was voted down again by her peers.
Digital Brief: The return of the Digital Tax
French Parliamentarians today voted to approve plans that would see a 3% levy imposed on any digital company with revenues of more than €750 million, with €25m of that figure being generated in France. The green light came after some heavy pressure from US counterparts who attempted to sway the French.
Digital Brief: Estonia Special
This week, EURACTIV Digital has been in Estonia, talking to political officials, startup entrepreneurs, and purveyors of Estonia's digital revolution, as a means to map out the country's future as the EU's tech powerhouse.
EU ministers stumble towards joint position on future energy laws
Energy ministers on Monday (18 December) took well over 15 hours to agree common positions on four clean energy draft pieces of EU legislation ahead of a final round of talks in 2018 with the European Parliament and Commission.