EU cuts climate and foreign aid to finance war, borders
Updated: 2024-01-31 21:15:06
EU cuts green and foreign aid funding to finance defence and border surveillance to curb migration.- EU cuts green and foreign aid funding to finance defence and border surveillance to curb migration.
Hungary 'unpredictable' ahead of EU summit on Ukraine
Updated: 2024-01-31 17:15:44
EU leaders will discuss holding annual debates on their €50bn four-year aid package to Ukraine, but it is unclear if this will convince Hungary to allow further aid urgently needed by Kyiv.EU's Red Sea mission to be 'purely defensive', says Borrell
Updated: 2024-01-31 17:01:06
The EU's Red Sea naval mission will be purely defensive, unlike the US-led one, Europe has said, amid concern the US and Iran are heading for a direct clash.[Exclusive] EU civil servants call for Israel arms embargo, as dissent grows
Updated: 2024-01-31 12:05:02
More than 1,500 EU civil servants have signed a letter warning the bloc's leaders of their legal obligation to ensure the application of international law in Gaza, in a sign of growing internal anger and dissent within the Brussels' institutions.[Opinion] How Article 7 could actually defeat Orbán already
Updated: 2024-01-31 10:54:52
The unanimity criteria should not discourage member states from seeking the deployment of Article 7 against Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán. If exercised wisely and strategically, peer pressure may bear fruit.'Vague' national plans threaten EU's 2030 climate targets
Updated: 2024-01-30 23:00:33
Europe's 2030 climate goals are at risk due to "inconsistent and contradictory" national plans, experts at the European Climate Neutrality Observatory (ECNO) have warned, in a detailed look at domestic programmes for the next six years.[Analysis] Ukraine can defeat Russia, if EU and US speed up arms supplies
Updated: 2024-01-30 21:29:25
Ukraine can win the war against Russia if it gets the ammunition it needs from the West, but red tape in the EU defence industry and Hungarian vetoes are slowing aid.Frustration and gloom with Orbán ahead of Ukraine summit
Updated: 2024-01-30 17:29:40
The lack of a compromise with Hungary on the €50bn four-year aid package for Ukraine is feeding frustration in Brussels, ahead of the upcoming extraordinary EU leaders' meeting. Expecting continued stalemate, a solution without Hungary is also being considered.EU's diplomatic arm faces staffing challenges, say auditors
Updated: 2024-01-30 17:23:32
According to a new report by the EU auditors, the European External Action Service (EEAS) needs to provide better support to the Union's delegations abroad — with some policy fields not met with adequate staffing levels.Avoid Iran, Sweden warns, as two nationals now held
Updated: 2024-01-30 17:21:18
Sweden has urged all its citizens not to travel to Iran, which recently arrested a second Swedish national.EU curbs on Ukraine imports could be economic 'catastrophe'
Updated: 2024-01-30 14:36:24
The European Commission is set to unveil on Wednesday (30 January) a proposal to extend its duty-free trade policy with beleaguered Ukraine — but some argue that quotas on certain imports would have a "catastrophic" impact on Ukraine's economy.Meloni offers Africa energy funding for migration control
Updated: 2024-01-29 17:42:51
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has promised financial support to help African countries become major energy exporters — in exchange for curbing migration, at a summit in Rome on Monday.EU urges Iran to free Swedish diplomat facing death sentence
Updated: 2024-01-29 17:35:17
EU diplomats have redoubled calls for Iran to free their Swedish colleague, after Iran's prosecutor demanded the death penalty for espionage.Handful of EU states plus Norway will keep funding UNRWA
Updated: 2024-01-29 17:07:59
The EU Commission is reevaluating its funding to UNRWA in light of allegations of 12 staff involvement in the 7 October attack against Israel. Despite the international pressure, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Denmark and Norway will continue their funding.EU's green renovation wave lacks plan to deal with asbestos
Updated: 2024-01-29 15:50:00
By 2030, 35 million buildings in the EU will be either renovated or demolished under the Green Deal — yet there is still no directive to determine the extent of asbestos contamination in Europe, the leading cause of workplace fatalities.[Opinion] The ICJ has spoken — the EU must listen and change course
Updated: 2024-01-29 12:57:52
The EU is divided. Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has rightly favoured a more pro-human rights course, as have Spain, Ireland and Belgium, while Germany has looked the other way in the face of manifest violations of international humanitarian law.EU's appetite for gas drives €205bn in new investments
Updated: 2024-01-29 09:24:27
EU's appetite for gas drives €205bn new investments, according to NGO Global Witness analysis, based on Rystad Energy data.[Agenda] Aid for Kyiv EU summit and Nato defence in focus This WEEK
Updated: 2024-01-29 06:21:51
EU leaders will gather in Brussels for an extraordinary council on Thursday (1 February) to try to agree on the €50bn four-year aid package to Ukraine, after Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán blocked all compromises in December.EU will mediate talks in six-year old Spanish judiciary row
Updated: 2024-01-26 14:37:45
Spain's most senior judicial body has only been operating on an 'interim' basis for the past six years — prompting rule-of-law concerns in BrusselsAs EU birth-rates plummet, nativist family politics ascend
Updated: 2024-01-26 09:25:55
At 1.5 children-per-woman, the EU cannot ensure a sufficient population replacement rate — which threatens welfare models and care of an ageing population. So ahead of the European elections, far-right candidates are offering Orbán-style nativist family policies.[Opinion] Germany throws a spanner in works of the EU supply chain law
Updated: 2024-01-25 23:50:42
Germany's pro-business coalition party the FDP now cites "unreasonable bureaucratic hurdles" in the EU's proposed supply chains directive, in a major and unexpected U-turn, writes the associate children's rights director at Human Rights Watch.Whiskey dispute hits new EU-Kenya trade pact
Updated: 2024-01-25 20:26:42
Kenya faces a dispute with the EU on whiskey imports just weeks after its agreed trade pact with Brussels came operationally into effect. While the deal still awaits EU ratification, Kenya is already breaking its terms by applying higher tariffs.Moral qualms delay EU blacklist of Israeli settlers
Updated: 2024-01-25 20:16:43
Talks about an EU visa-ban on 12 violent Israeli settlers have stalled amid objections this might put them on a moral par with Palestinian 'terror' group Hamas.EU launches agri-food dialogue, amid farmer revolts
Updated: 2024-01-25 16:53:31
EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen launched this week "a strategic dialogue" on the future of agriculture in the EU. The initiative comes amid discontent and farmers' protests in several countries.[Interview] New French Renew boss at odds with Macron on gender-violence
Updated: 2024-01-25 16:09:01
Leading MEPs have confirmed that the member states cannot agree on incluing rape in the directive to combat violence against women. About 15 countries are in favour, but with Germany and France against it, there is no qualified majority.[EUobserved] Are ECB economists a 'tribe' or 'violinists'?
Updated: 2024-01-25 14:52:48
This week, a debate erupted between central bankers on whether economists are better described as a "tribal clique" (European Central Bank boss Christine Lagarde) or "violinists" (former deputy governor of the Irish Central Bank.)EU presidency to enact asylum reforms despite abuse claims
Updated: 2024-01-25 14:11:38
The Belgian EU presidency wants to implement a recent overhaul of EU asylum laws, amid warnings that detention-like centres will mushroom as a result.[Opinion] 2024 will be a momentous year for election observers
Updated: 2024-01-24 23:32:47
Our role is not to 'judge' the elections, but observation does provide an additional level of transparency, scrutiny and public accountability, writes Matteo Mecacci, director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).EU proposes new powers for European Works Councils
Updated: 2024-01-24 16:53:30
The EU Commission has proposed a new revision of the directive on European Works Councils, the bodies that represent workers at company level, after 15 years without revision, in order to address a number of shortcomings.EU's lost influence in Sahel is 'a disaster', experts tell MEPs
Updated: 2024-01-24 16:30:11
The EU must accept the 'new realities' of military regimes in the Sahel region or risk losing what remains of its influence to Russia and China, experts have warned EU lawmakers.EU presents economic security plan, amid China rivalry
Updated: 2024-01-24 15:26:53
The European Commission tabled a proposal to strengthen so-called 'economic security' in the bloc. These are the most important elements.MEP Valérie Hayer to be next Renew Europe leader
Updated: 2024-01-24 14:48:53
French MEP Valérie Hayer has won the group's backing to become the new president of Renew Europe, EUobserver has learned, replacing France's new foreign affairs minister, Stéphane Séjourné.EU Parliament will see far-right surge at election, study says
Updated: 2024-01-23 23:01:02
The EU Parliament is expected to see a rise of the far-right after the upcoming elections, according to a new study — but what would the coalitions look like and what would be the policy implications?Amazon snubs EU hearing on warehouse work conditions
Updated: 2024-01-23 17:01:59
Amazon refused to participate in an EU parliamentary hearing on working conditions in its warehouses, prompting criticism from MEPs. The hearing came the same day Amazon received a €32m fine over an "overly intrusive" surveillance system in France.Aid for Ukraine breaks records, but 7.4 percent cut for Africa
Updated: 2024-01-23 16:22:55
Ukraine received in 2022 more aid in a single year than any country since records began, according to new data published this week.EU proclaims new 'golden age' in relations with Egypt
Updated: 2024-01-23 16:13:53
The EU has entered a "golden age" of relations with Egypt, says the European Commission — as it deepens cooperation with a repressive state known for widespread human rights abuses.