EurActiv
Looming political crises send Bulgarian institutions into uncharted territory
Bulgaria is heading for its sixth parliamentary election in three years after former European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel (GERB, EPP) withdrew her candidacy for the prime minister position on Monday, despite earlier political agreements confirming she would receive the post.
Categories: EurActiv
Czech Senate speaker proposes hosting Belarusian opposition in exile
Prague could host the Belarusian opposition government led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, which is currently in exile in Vilnius, Czech Senate speaker Miloš Vystrčil said on Monday, recalling that it hosted the Belarusian government in exile about a century ago.
Categories: EurActiv
Slovakia delays payments to farmers, EU can’t intervene
Slovakia's government has delayed paying EU farm subsidies, known as direct payments, to eligible farmers who, despite joining the biggest farmers' protests in the country's history, risk not receiving them as the European Commission confirmed the situation is out of its hands.
Categories: EurActiv
Julian Assange to hear result of crucial ruling on US extradition
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will find out on Tuesday (26 March) whether the High Court in London will allow him to appeal against his extradition from Britain to the United States or if his British legal challenges have finally come to an end.
Categories: EurActiv
Sanchez’s party deny independence talks with separatist forces
The ruling Socialist party of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is “already talking” to separatist forces about a future independence referendum in Catalonia, the Secretary General of the pro-independence Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), Marta Rovira said, while Sánchez’s party denies Catalan separation being “on the table”.
Categories: EurActiv
EU Commission raises concerns over Lufthansa-ITA deal
The European Commission warned against Lufthansa’s intention to buy a minority stake in Italy’s ITA Airways, telling both the German flag carrier and the Italian Economy Ministry that the deal risks being rejected if no action is taken to resolve competition issues.
Categories: EurActiv
Macron in Brazil to relaunch relationship, avoids thorny issue of Mercosur deal
War in Ukraine, attractiveness of investment and exchange of tips to decarbonise societies will feature on the agenda of Macron’s talks with Lula during his Brazil trip from Tuesday to Thursday (26-28 March), in an attempt to rekindle the relationship.
Categories: EurActiv
Germany kicks off construction of electric car batteries’ gigafactory after swift approval.
Germany secured the construction of a gigafactory for electric car batteries in record time with the help of the EU’s new subsidy “matching” scheme.
Categories: EurActiv
Fearing arrest, Brazil’s Bolsonaro stayed two days in Hungarian embassy
Brazil's far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro stayed for two nights at the Hungarian embassy in Brasilia last month, just days after federal police confiscated his passport and arrested two former aides on suspicion of plotting a coup, Bolsonaro's lawyer said on Monday (25 March).
Categories: EurActiv
The EIB is looking into relaxing lending criteria for military investments
In this episode of our daily podcast Today in the EU, we’re diving into the EU’s lending arm's intention to“stretch” its investment remit beyond financing dual-use goods that can be exploited for civilian and military purposes.
Categories: EurActiv
Macron says Islamists who hit Russia had tried to attack France
President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday (25 March) that the gunmen who killed 137 people in a concert hall outside Moscow were part of an Islamic State branch that was behind foiled attempts to attack France over the past few months.
Categories: EurActiv
Israel vents fury at US abstention on Security Council ceasefire vote
Israel reacted angrily on Monday (25 March) to the first UN Security Council vote to demand an "immediate ceasefire" in the Gaza war, after its closest ally the United States abstained, while fighting raged in the Palestinian territory.
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Sweden makes naloxone spray an OTC product, to prevent opioid overdose deaths [Advocacy Lab Content]
Naloxone nasal spray, which can save opioid users from overdoses, will soon be available without prescription in Sweden. The move seeks to increase early interventions outside healthcare settings, marking a major shift in Swedish drug policy.
Categories: EurActiv
Poland’s vaccine refusals double in five years, alarming officials [Advocacy Lab Content]
In recent years Poland has witnessed a disturbing surge in the rejection of mandatory immunisations, with the vaccine refusal rate doubling in five years, and thirteen-fold in a decade.
Categories: EurActiv
De Croo wants EU biotech leadership ambition, cites Belgium’s health and biotech valley [Advocacy Lab Content]
Europe must work to protect its biotech leadership capability, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told Euractiv, aligning Belgium's biotech vision with the European Commission's global ambition.
Categories: EurActiv
EU countries express conditional support for 2040 climate target
The EU’s debate on a 90% climate target for 2040 made some progress on Monday (25 March), with 10 countries in favour, three against, and 13 asking for additional concessions at a meeting of environment ministers in Brussels.
Categories: EurActiv
Environment ministers rally to save nature restoration law – but Hungary remains defiant
14 countries including Germany, France and Spain called for a quick adoption of the EU’s flagship nature protection policy during today’s (Monday 25 March) Environmental Council meeting in Brussels. But opponents of the law - including Hungary who joined their ranks last week - remained defiant.
Categories: EurActiv
Agriculture ministers push to weaken anti-deforestation rules for EU farmers
Austria and six other EU member states are seeking to delay the implementation of a pioneering anti-deforestation law in the bloc, and exempt small-scale farmers from the rules, according to a note circulated among member states head of a meeting with farming ministers on Tuesday (26 March), seen by Euractiv.
Categories: EurActiv
China’s ‘de-risking’ from West worsens EU industrial decline, experts say
"It's a double whammy: China's de-risking plus their lack of consumption is contributing to our deindustrialisation," Alicia García-Herrero, a senior fellow at Bruegel think-tank, told Euractiv.
Categories: EurActiv
The Brief – The Crocus falsification
After the rigged Russian elections, Vladimir Putin is now presenting a fake narrative about the terrible terrorist attack that struck Moscow last Friday, pointing the finger at Ukraine and ignoring the obvious Islamic State signature.
Categories: EurActiv