EURACTIV News
Investigation open following deadly Valencia apartment block fire
At least nine people were killed by a huge fire that ripped through an apartment block in an affluent district of Spain's third largest city, Valencia, authorities said on Friday (23 February).
Categories: EurActiv
France, Poland lead new wave of European farmer anger
French and Polish farmers led a new surge of agricultural anger in Europe on Friday (23 February), taking tractors into major cities and blocking roads to demand lighter regulation and taxation.
Categories: EurActiv
Four Western leaders arrive in Kyiv as Ukraine marks two years of war
Four Western leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the prime ministers of Belgium, Italy and Canada, arrived in Kyiv on Saturday (24 February) to show solidarity with Ukraine as it enters its third year of war with Russia.
Categories: EurActiv
In France, ‘food sovereignty’ is at the heart of a political war
Despite French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal's intention to incorporate the concept of 'food sovereignty' into French law, there remains a strong split over what the concept means, and its compatibility with the government's trade policy.
Categories: EurActiv
Carbon capture: Can a new Commission strategy revive CCUS? [Advocacy Lab Content]
An EU Industrial Carbon Management Strategy published alongside the 2040 EU emissions target recommendation holds great promise for CCUS. Not everyone is happy about that.
Categories: EurActiv
Greece finally gets a National Cancer Registry, enhancing disease pathway monitoring [Advocacy Lab Content]
After years of delays, Greece has enacted a National Registry for Patients with Neoplastic Diseases. One of the last in the EU to develop a Cancer Registry; patients and doctors have spoken about a historic moment for Greece.
Categories: EurActiv
More SEP transparency will help SMEs and big players, says Henkel [Advocacy Lab Content]
Standard Essential Patents keep our digital world connected, but SEP regulation is currently a contentious debate in Europe. Christoph Schwaiger spoke with Prof. Joachim Henkel to understand what the European Commission's proposals to regulate SEPs mean for the sector.
Categories: EurActiv
The EU SEP Regulation: Exploring its implications [Advocacy Lab Content]
This Special Report examines the new SEP framework and its implications across different areas. In April 2023, the European Commission proposed a new framework for Standard Essential Patents (SEP). The proposed SEP Regulation aims to streamline SEPs licensing by improving transparency about SEPs.
Categories: EurActiv
Europe’s Standard Essential Patents system lacks transparency, says former CJEU judge [Advocacy Lab Content]
Europe’s Standard Essential Patents system lacks transparency regarding FRAND licenses, said Christopher Vajda KC, a former judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union, he remarked that legal tactics often take prominence over legal substance.
Categories: EurActiv
Protesting farmers not backing down as Poland designates Ukraine border as ‘critical infrastructure’
Polish farmers will not cease their grain blockade on the Ukrainian border, despite Warsaw's designation of border crossings as "critical infrastructure" following concerns that the passage of military and humanitarian aid is being blocked.
Categories: EurActiv
Germany adopts controversial law to legalise cannabis
After months of delays, the controversial law to partially legalise cannabis in Germany finally passed in the Bundestag on Friday (23 February), paving the way for making the possession and cultivation of the drug legal by April.
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European Commission to release frozen €137bn for Poland
The EU executive will unlock a total €137 billion in recovery and cohesion funds for Poland, which had been frozen due to concerns about the rule of law, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Friday (23 February) in Warsaw.
Categories: EurActiv
Hungary’s EU funds: Parliament lawsuit against Commission ‘very weak’, vice president says
The chances of the European Court of Justice ruling in favour of the European Parliament’s lawsuit against the Commission over its decision to unfreeze €10 billion for Hungary are "very weak", European Parliament vice president Katarina Barley said.
Categories: EurActiv
The Brief – From Barroso to von der Leyen: Where next for the Green Deal?
When I joined Euractiv 20 years ago to cover the EU’s environment policies, the talk in Brussels was all about the trade-off between green policies and economic growth.
Categories: EurActiv
The ‘mirror measures’ loop
Introduced into the EU debate by the French EU Council presidency in 2022, the concept of 'mirror clauses' - or ‘measures’ - has become ubiquitous in all discussions of EU trade, agricultural, and environmental policy.
Categories: EurActiv
Barcelona bets on water desalination in response to ‘drought of the century’
The Catalonia region has decided to invest almost €500 million from EU funds to make its capital city more resilient to droughts, with two new desalination plants expected to come online by the end of the decade. But for the more than 500 Catalan towns that aren’t connected to the water grid, there is little prospect of improvement.
Categories: EurActiv
EU to lift sanctions on pro-Russian Slovak businessman defended by Fico
The European Union plans to revoke sanctions against two Russian businessmen and a Slovak national associated with the pro-Kremlin biker group Night Wolves, whose case Prime Minister Robert Fico has repeatedly supported and discussed with top EU officials.
Categories: EurActiv
Support grows for Rutte as next NATO boss, but Eastern Europe still lurking
Public support from the West is growing for the Dutchman Mark Rutte to become NATO's next secretary-general, but he will still need to secure crucial support among members from Eastern Europe.
Categories: EurActiv
Rethinking the German model means letting go
Among other problems, Germany is plagued with severe labour shortages that will only get worse as ‘baby boomers’ retire. Still, politicians think they need to preserve jobs in industries where Germany is clearly uncompetitive, whatever the costs.
Categories: EurActiv
Sweden and Hungary sign fighter jet deal ahead of NATO vote
Hungary and Sweden enhanced their military cooperation on Friday (23 February), just days before the Hungarian parliament is expected to vote on the Nordic country's NATO bid on Monday.
Categories: EurActiv