EurActiv
Violation of fuel quality law tests EU transport decarbonisation goal
The EU may be ambitious in its objective to decarbonise transport based on new technologies such as electric cars, but official figures indicate that member states are already breaching laws related to existing technologies, such as conventional biofuels.
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Czechia to have ‘national security advisor’
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala says he will nominate his current emissary, Tomáš Pojar, for the soon-to-be-established national security advisor position, which comes with the task of coordinating intelligence and security forces. Pojar is currently Fiala’s advisor on foreign affairs...
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‘Burn everything’: Poland chokes on the smog of war
After Russian gas was cut off over a payment dispute in April, thePolish government dropped a two-year-old ban on residents burning lignite and poor-quality hard coal, which cannot be filtered effectively in home stoves.
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Alleged Russia spy believed to have accessed Polish intelligence data
Tomasz L., who was detained in the spring, was a member of the commission for the liquidation of the Military Information Services in 2006, which was overseen by then-deputy minister of national defence Antoni Macierewicz – one of the most...
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Portuguese cabin crew strike after failed negotiations
TAP airline cabin crew are on a two-day strike called by the National Civil Aviation Flight Staff Union (SNPVAC) due to a lack of agreement in negotiations on the new company agreement. TAP crew on Tuesday voted to maintain the...
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Over 100 migrants reach Spanish island of Lanzarote on rafts
Eleven women and four minors were among the 103 migrants who arrived in Spain’s Canary Islands aboard two inflatable rafts on Wednesday evening. The occupants of one craft, 47 men and 11 women from sub-Saharan Africa, were rescued 22 km...
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Finnish Finance Ministry calls for expenditure cuts, tax increases
The recipe to balance general government finances, stop the growth of the debt ratio, and close the long-term sustainability gap was published by the Finance Ministry on Thursday afternoon. The need to strengthen general government finances has grown to the...
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Finnish export companies abandon Russia
Only 4% of Finnish businesses are still doing business in Russia, according to a survey commissioned by the Finland Chamber of Commerce, a significant decline since the invasion of Ukraine. The survey carried out in mid-November among 123 major export...
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Factbox: Why are oil tankers stuck in Turkish waters?
Turkey's maritime authority said on Thursday (8 December) it would continue to block the passage of oil tankers that don't carry appropriate insurance letters, adding that insurance checks on ships in its waters were a "routine procedure".
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Renewable energy delay is costing France billions: report
France is losing €6-9 billion a year in gas imports because of the country's failure to meet its renewable energy goals agreed at European level, according to a new think-tank study unveiled on Thursday (8 December).
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NGOs ask Belgian Council of State to suspend authorisation of two insecticides
PAN Europe and Nature&Progrès Belgium took legal action against the systematic authorisation of two cypermethrin-based insecticides, a substance linked to health and environmental damages, the NGOs argued. The NGOs jointly asked the Belgian Council of State to immediately suspend the...
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US offers Germany anti-extremism help after failed far-right coup
Washington is ready to lend support to Berlin in fighting extremism, the White House said after German investigators discovered a group of right-wing conspiracy theorists were planning a coup. About 25 people suspected of planning a violent overthrow of the...
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Romania vexed by yet another Schengen refusal
Romanian politicians deplored Vienna’s “unjustified” decision to block the country’s access to Schengen, with many voices calling for a boycott of Austrian goods or companies. The Romanian Foreign Ministry said Austria’s negative vote in the Justice and Home Affairs Council...
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Italy bets on LNG for energy independence, more regasifiers needed
The Meloni government must bank on regasifiers for liquefied natural gas (LNG) to be energy independent as soon as possible, senior executive of energy giant Eni said. The managing director of Ente Nazionale Idrocarburui (Eni), Claudio Descalzi, has repeatedly stressed...
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Chinese grab Russian car market share after Western rivals depart
Chinese brands account for almost a third of Russia's car market, data shared with Reuters shows, as the sector more than any other shows China's growing importance to the economy following the exodus of Western companies.
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Russia shells eastern front, Ukraine says, as war aims appear to shift
Russian forces shelled the entire front line in the Donetsk region on Thursday (8 December), Ukrainian officials said, part of what appeared to be the Kremlin's scaled-back ambition to secure only the bulk of lands it has claimed.
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CSDD directive: Is the EU opening the door for corruption?
The European Commission has vowed to put corruption at the heart of its agenda. But measures to tackle it are conspicuously absent in a new regulation designed to force EU companies to behave responsibly around the world, write Ketakandriana Rafitoson and Matthieu Salomon.
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The EU needs to invest its way out of the energy crisis
European governments' spending to protect households and businesses from high fossil fuel prices increases Europe's dependence on them. The European Union can step in with loans to support a major energy transition investment programme, writes William Todts.
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Prioritise Nordic and Baltic views in EU policy on Russia
The experience and knowledge of the countries in the Baltic Sea Region must be more prominently featured in EU foreign and security policy on the Russian Federation, write the EPP Group Heads of Nordic and Baltic Delegations.
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Insurance industry playing catch up with climate and losing
The review of prudential regulation for the European insurance sector, Solvency 2, has
exposed deep divisions in the European Parliament, writes Caroline Metz.
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