About: Karmenu Vella Archives

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.

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.

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.

2018 looks set to be a defining year for energy and environment policy in Europe, as important legislative files move towards becoming EU law.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The European Parliament approved tougher rules for the approval of new cars aimed at avoiding a repeat of the Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal but rejected amendments calling for a new, centralised EU road agency to oversee emissions testing.

The collection of accurate fish stock data in Mediterranean waters is a necessity for small-scale fishermen’s long-term survival, Karmenu Vella told EURACTIV.com in an interview. 

European air quality laws are being flouted in more than 130 cities across 23 of the 28 EU member states, the European Commission said yesterday (6 February).

After undergoing a much-criticised European Commission-helmed ‘fitness check’, the EU’s main nature directives have been ruled fit for purpose and will not be rewritten or weakened, in a huge win for environmentalists.

The European Parliament today (23 November) voted in favour of new EU rules to cap air pollution, which will curb the single largest environmental cause of premature death in urban Europe.

As the COP22 Climate Conference gets into full flow in Marrakesh, Commissioner Karmenu Vella warns that global rules for the oceans have to be dragged into the 21st century.

Following the resignation of Bulgarian Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva, the country’s Prime Minister, Boyko Borissov, said that he would discuss her replacement with Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker today (31 October).

A rushed transition to clean energy triggered by extreme weather events linked to global warming “will be very expensive” to swallow for the economy, investors warned policymakers at an event in Bratislava last week.

Conservationists have blamed the European Commission for being “picky” regarding the scientific advice it used to propose fishing limits in the Baltic Sea.

The EU warned Thailand on Tuesday (7 June) to take "swift and determined" action against illegal fishing, or risk a European ban on its fish exports.

There is a new way of thinking, known as the circular economy, which means that products are designed and produced to be used for as long as possible, easily repaired and, once they reach the end of their lives, recycled or disposed of effectively, writes Karmenu Vella.

The European Parliament has approved a new fisheries agreement with Mauritania and Liberia. Spain is set to be a big beneficiary of the plan. EURACTIV Spain reports.

The European fishing sector faces the challenges of rising demand and increasing global competition. This environment is putting the EU's aspirations of sustainability under severe strain. EURACTIV France reports.

European Commission President Juncker wants EU laws on nature conservation modernised. But environmental activists have warned against weakening the current legislation. EURACTIV Germany reports.

European Union institutions came to an agreement Wednesday (16 March) to implement a multi-year fisheries plan for the Baltic Sea: the first of its kind since the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) was reformed. However, the plan’s actual promotion of sustainability has been questioned.