Playing around with the concept of culture
When Malta joined the EU way back in 2004, it welcomed the Birds Directive by transposing it into local legislation. This must not be undone to promote a false notion of cultural heritage, argues...
View ArticleA new era: The digitalisation of Europe’s energy system
The clean energy transition requires first and foremost bridging energy and digital economy. The single energy market and the digital single market must go hand-in-hand, argues Dominique Ristori.
View ArticleAre we crying wolf? A European tale of farmers vs. nature
Wolves have made a comeback in Europe, and politicians struggle to find the balance between nature and farmers. But some cry wolf.
View ArticleA European education area: How to make it work for Europe
In line with Emmanuel Macron's speech and discussions at the recent Social Summit in Gothenburg, let's puts education at the heart of a more social and prosperous Europe, argue Michael Gaebel and...
View ArticleSchulz calls for ‘United States of Europe’ as SPD agrees talks with Merkel
Germany's Social Democrats, the country's second strongest party, agreed Thursday (7 December) to kick off exploratory talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives that could lead to a new...
View ArticleBrexit breakthrough as Commission says ‘sufficient progress’ made
Theresa May rushed to Brussels in the early hours of Friday morning (8 December), after the European Commission said all-night divorce talks had made “sufficient progress” to move on to the second...
View ArticleEU pins hopes on ‘regional forums’ to unlock electricity trade
A seamless pan-European energy market is still a long way off, but decisive steps can be taken now with stronger regional cooperation and the introduction of cross-border bidding zones for electricity,...
View ArticleDrug pricing debate to take place in heated atmosphere
Following a Greek government request, the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) will discuss on Friday (8 December) a recent dispute between Athens and ROCHE, a Swiss...
View ArticleEnergy Union vote opens EU Parliament rift
A partisan divide has emerged in the European Parliament over proposals to beef up the governance of the Energy Union, with conservative and centre-right lawmakers rejecting what they described as an...
View ArticleTrans-Europe Express: European hypocrisy on tax havens
EU national governments say harbouring dodgy money is wrong - unless you’re European. After months of intense negotiations, the 28 EU finance ministers finally published their much-awaited blacklist of...
View ArticleFrance to launch bottom-up consultation for European reform
Online consultation, then local debates: democratic assemblies for EU reform should be held from May to October 2018, ahead of the 2019 European elections. EURACTIV France reports.
View ArticleDanny McCoy on Ireland’s economy and the looming danger of Brexit
Fresh from consultations with Downing Street and Berlaymont, Danny McCoy of the Irish Business and Employers Confederation conveys his optimism about Ireland’s future and his view on why Brexit must be...
View ArticleBrexit set to dominate UK politics for years ahead
In March, Michel Barnier told me he had offered the UK a two-year transition period after April 2019 in which Britain could trade freely without tariffs or duties, provided London accepted existing EU...
View ArticleEU, Japan reach finishing line on trade deal
After five years of talks, the EU and Japan have finalised negotiations on a comprehensive trade deal on Friday (8 December), leaving out investment protection for now.
View ArticleErasmus students want to see alcohol prevention in EU Youth Strategy
Programmes which focus on the prevention of excessive alcohol consumption should be considered in the next EU Youth Strategy, João Pinto, the president of the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) has said.
View ArticleItaly’s far-right attacks newspaper premises as ‘black wave’ continues
A group of far-right activists attacked Italy’s La Repubblica newsroom with smoke bombs on Wednesday (6 December), in the latest of a series of violent episodes by neo-fascist groups who say they are...
View ArticleCouncil and Parliament agree on ‘flexible’ fishing limits for North Sea
EU member states and Norway reached a preliminary agreement with the European Parliament late on Thursday night (7 December) on fishing limits in the North Sea ahead of next week's Fisheries Council.
View Article‘The Book Club: ‘Why Europe Fails’. New book by MEP Ramon Tremosa and Aleix...
In an historical context, Europe is a colossal political success. Close-up, the picture, for many, looks starkly different.
View ArticleThe Brief, powered by Eni – Habemus sufficient progress
Habemus sufficient progress. Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker spoke of “give and take” as they agreed the two sides had come close enough on the divorce bill, citizens’ rights and the Irish border...
View ArticleTories sleepwalk towards soft Brexit
The UK government was deluded when it thought reaching a deal would be easy. It is deluded now in underestimating the concession it has made, writes Conor Quinn.
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