About: Karmenu Vella
Brussels calls for closer monitoring of fishing rules… on paper
The European Commission presented its proposal for revised fishing rules last week (30 May). But while the proposals have good intentions, they provide no real guarantees of efficiency. EURACTIV’s partner Le Journal de l’Environnement reports.
EU prepares to say adieu to single-use plastics
The European Commission is gearing up to reveal how it plans to tackle single-use plastics as part of the much vaunted Plastics Strategy. But an initial draft of the legislation has already received mix reviews.
France’s statues dressed in pollution masks as EU legal decision looms
Statues in a number of French cities were adorned with masks on Saturday (31 March) to highlight what activists say is a failure to tackle smog and air pollution. The European Commission will reveal next month if France is among the countries that will face legal action.
EU circular economy’s REACH for the stars
As the EU doubles down on its waste management efforts and sets its sights on tackling plastic waste, the idea of a circular economy and internal market for recycling is gathering momentum. But it will not be an easy task for lawmakers or industry to realise.
Single-use plastics in the Commission’s crosshairs
The European Commission is aiming to reveal its plan to curb single-use plastics in May, in what will be the first proposal to come out of its much-vaunted Plastics Strategy. But industry and civil society are still divided over what should be its fundamental goal.
Karmenu Vella: ‘We were encouraged by EU ban on plastic bags’
Single-use plastics like cutlery could be banned under new EU proposals due out in May, said Karmenu Vella, the EU’s Environment Commissioner, in an interview with EURACTIV.com.
Brussels air pollution to trigger free public transport
Brussels’ regional government has approved emergency rules that will allow commuters to use public transport free of charge during periods of high air pollution, Belgian media reported on Friday (23 February).
Berlin downplays smog-beating free transport idea
The German government on Wednesday (14 February) sought to play down plans to introduce free public transport, a day after the radical proposal to fight air pollution made headlines around the world.
Germany mulls free public transport to quash air pollution menace
"Car nation" Germany has surprised its European neighbours with a radical proposal to reduce road traffic by making public transport free, as Berlin scrambles to meet EU air pollution targets and avoid big fines.
Air pollution legal action decision due in mid-March
The European Commission will decide next month whether to launch legal cases against nine member states that are accused of breaking air pollution action, after additional information was submitted at the eleventh hour.
A plan for plastics
The EU is losing 95% of the value of the plastics it produces. But the European Commission has a strategy to make plastic packaging more sustainable, both environmentally and economically.
Leaky drinking water rules tightened by EU
The European Commission revealed on Thursday (1 February) how it plans to update drinking water rules, with the goal of improving human health, reducing emissions and tackling plastic waste high on the list of priorities.
Italian cities top smog index as EU ministers face air pollution grilling
Pressure has increased on Italy’s environment minister ahead of a crucial meeting in Brussels after the World Health Organisation revealed that three Italian cities are the worst in Europe in terms of air pollution and smog.
EU’s air pollution pariahs summoned to Brussels
Environment ministers from some of the EU’s worst air pollution offenders have been summoned to Brussels for an end-of-month meeting with the European Commission, where they will have to answer some tough questions.
Plastics Strategy: EU must heed example of best practices
Now that the European Commission has finally published its Plastics Strategy, the EU institutions should take inspiration from the best practices out there to make the upcoming legislation on single-use plastics work for citizens, the planet and the economy.
Commission maps out plastics vision in new strategy
The European Commission presented on Tuesday (16 January) its eagerly anticipated strategy on how the EU intends to approach plastic production and pollution over the next decade and beyond.
Karmenu Vella: ‘Well-designed’ plastics tax could help hit environment targets
As the European Commission sketches out its vision for the future of plastic production and pollution in its new strategy, the EU executive's environment chief, Karmenu Vella, explained how developments in China, Africa and Europe itself have shaped its plastics roadmap.
Energy and environment in 2018: A preview
2018 looks set to be a defining year for energy and environment policy in Europe, as important legislative files move towards becoming EU law.
EU donates millions to help save Africa’s wildlife
The European Union on Tuesday (5 December) donated €17.2 million as part of a €30m package to boost efforts in Eastern and Southern Africa to reduce the illegal killing of wildlife and the trafficking of related products.
Recyclers claim EU carbon quotas from saved energy, CO2 emissions
French recyclers were in Brussels last week with a big ask – EU regulators must reward the whole recycling value chain for preventing emissions of global warming gases, they claimed, a message received with caution by the European Commission, which points to a lack of data.
Juncker’s pledge to ‘make the planet great again’ fails to satisfy
Environmental groups and MEPs were left disappointed by Jean-Claude Juncker’s State of the Union address on Wednesday (13 September), after the Commission president only mentioned climate change anecdotally.
NGOs ask Commission to step in as Bulgaria threatens access to justice
A coalition of green NGOs has called on the European Commission to intervene in Bulgaria, after the country’s ruling party announced a proposal that the environmentalists said would limit access to justice by increasing costs.
EU takes the helm in a year of ocean mobilisation
2017 will be remembered as the turning point in how the international community works together to protect the ocean, write Karmenu Vella and Isabella Lövin.