EURACTIV News
Romania’s far-right threatens to pull out of ECR group in new blow to Orbán
Echoing other delegations’ concerns, Romania’s rising far-right party AUR has expressed they will backtrack on their decision to join the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament if Hungarian ruling party Fidesz joins.
Categories: EurActiv
German liberals want to renegotiate EU due diligence law, blame Spain
Germany’s liberal FDP party wants to reopen negotiations on the EU’s Due Diligence Directive after the issue was removed from the agenda of a meeting of EU ambassadors last Friday, which the party says shows the poor quality of the preliminary agreement reached in December.
Categories: EurActiv
Europeans spooked by spectre of Trump return after NATO comments
Top European officials rejected former US President Donald Trump's comments on Sunday (11 February) after he suggested the United States might not protect NATO allies who aren't spending enough on defence from a potential Russian attack.
Categories: EurActiv
White House rejects Trump comments encouraging Russia to attack NATO states ‘not paying bills’
The White House on Saturday (10 February) rejected comments made by former US President Donald Trump about not protecting NATO allies from a potential Russian invasion as "appalling and unhinged."
Categories: EurActiv
Europe’s doom and gloom before Munich
In this week's edition: Munich Security Conference preview, Russia sanctions and CETA revival.
Categories: EurActiv
Age, mental capacity dominate US campaign trail after report questions Biden’s memory
The mental ability and age of the United States' presidential candidates took center stage on the campaign trail on Saturday (10 February), following a report that suggested President Joe Biden was suffering memory lapses.
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Hungarian president resigns over child abuser pardon controversy
Hungarian President Katalin Novák, a close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, announced her resignation Saturday (10 February) following outrage over a pardon granted to a man implicated in a child sexual abuse case.
Categories: EurActiv
Belgian police question MEP Maria Arena in ‘Qatargate’ probe
Belgian socialist MEP Marie Arena, whose Brussels home was searched last July as part of the European parliament "Qatargate" bribery scandal, was questioned by investigators Friday (9 February), according to her lawyer.
Categories: EurActiv
EU announces new ‘interpretation’ of Canada trade deal in bid to ensure ratification
The European Commission and Canada have agreed on the "interpretation” of parts of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) that relate to investor protection from environmental regulation, in a push by Brussels to persuade member states to ratify the bilateral multibillion-euro deal.
Categories: EurActiv
EU reaches agreement on spending rules
The European Parliament and member states reached an agreement early Saturday (10 February) on reforms to EU budgetary rules aimed at boosting investment while keeping spending under control.
Categories: EurActiv
EU Parliament groups clash on 2040 climate goal, in post-election preview
Political groups in the European Parliament have offered radically opposing views on the EU’s recommended climate objective for 2040 this week, in a foretaste of debates to come after the June EU election.
Categories: EurActiv
NGOs, local governments sign declaration calling on EU to up climate efforts
Non-state actors adopted a joint declaration in support of adaptation to climate change as part of the Belgian presidency of the EU Council in Liège on Thursday and Friday (8-9 February).
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The Brief – Germany is quietly going progressive
Up to six people may soon enter an alternative to marriage in Germany, a 'civil union of mutual legal responsibility', and this is just one example of how the country's coalition government has been quietly pushing the boundaries of social change.
Categories: EurActiv
South-Eastern winds fan farmers’ flames
The EU member states approved the European Commission proposal for a derogation on land set-aside requirements. The measure was part of a package to appease farmers' protests, which however continue in Southern and Eastern Europe.
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Polish farmers resume national protests against food imports from Ukraine
Thousands of tractors took to the Polish streets in a huge nationwide demonstration on Friday (9 February) as local farmers, inspired by their colleagues from other EU countries, resumed their protest against the European Green Deal and the imports from Ukraine.
Categories: EurActiv
Rural areas have long been breeding ground for discontent, says young farmer
Sustainability measures are necessary but “forcefully” imposed on farmers while other economic sectors - such as tourism - are left untouched, a representative of young farmers in Spain’s Catalonia told Euractiv, warning that the far-right wants to be the voice of neglected rural areas in Europe.
Categories: EurActiv
Explainer: How to make sense of the EU’s defence funds and programmes
The EU’s defence programmes and funds have multiplied after the start of Russia's war in Ukraine, to boost collaboration in different steps of an equipment’s life cycle: research, development, production, acquisition, and transfer to third countries.
Categories: EurActiv
The Bio-Revolution, European biosolutions boosting the EU Green Deal
Europe is on the cusp of a technological revolution. Unlike the Industrial Revolution’s massive factories, the bio-revolution centres around micro-factories. Biosolutions represent the fusion of biology and technology, offering powerful tools to address climate change.
Categories: EurActiv
UN Cybercrime Convention in limbo as civil society, industry want rejection
The Russia-initiated United Nations Cybercrime Convention was due to conclude on Friday (9 February) but lack of consensus on the scope and terminology has prompted civil society to call for the rejection of the Convention in its current form.
Categories: EurActiv
German-Italian revolt delays EU’s due diligence law
The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) has been taken off the agenda of today’s meeting of EU ambassadors, as it was not expected to reach a majority among EU countries. So far, no new date for the vote has been set.
Categories: EurActiv