EU Aktuell

Agricultural education is “stale” and in need of a shake-up to help tomorrow's farmers meet the challenges ahead, according to a leading veterinary consultant and educator, Tommy Heffernan, who said the sector is facing a decade of "massive change".

While livestock farmers already use a range of innovative tools and technologies to help ease their workload, new precision livestock farming technologies go a step further, paving the way for a digital transformation in animal health. From detection and monitoring...

While inequalities across the EU when it comes to kidney disease treatments are well-known by the European Commission, the ball is ultimately in member states' courts when it comes to expanding access, according to health stakeholders.

Who would have thought it? With such big issues like Russia and Turkey on the EU summit agenda, not to mention the COVID-19 travel certificate, without which our holidays will be spoiled, LGBTQI+ rights would eclipse both geopolitics and our sacrosanct lifestyle?

European governments are facing similar problems in terms of the ethical use of technology, ageing public servants and the need to attract young talent to public administration, Portugal's public administration minister has told EURACTIV.

Tensions are mounting in France over crossovers between the country's €100 billion plan to recover from the economic fallout of the pandemic and the European Union's cohesion policy, with regions complaining they have not been sufficiently consulted. 

Contrary to established stereotypes, fundamental changes are undergoing in Poland to achieve climate neutrality in 2050. However, this will require difficult and costly changes, primarily in electricity generation, which will allow for the construction of the foundations of a zero-emission...

The European Parliament on Thursday (24 June) gave its thumbs up to the EU's landmark climate law, despite opposition from the Greens who said the legislation didn't go far enough to protect people and the environment against dangerous climate change.

The release of nine Catalan pro-independence leaders is a welcome end to years of suffering. But the political battle is far from over, writes Jordi Solé i Ferrando.

Controversy over a new Hungarian law banning LGBTQI+ references for minors is set to be raised by several EU leaders during their 24-25 June summit, originally intended to focus on foreign policy issues. But what is this law, and how does it fit into the Hungarian government’s anti-LGBT agenda? EURACTIV's media partner Telex takes a closer look.

This week our podcast focuses on a milestone move by Ireland: approving medical cannabis prescriptions and giving patients the right to have access to medical cannabis and be reimbursed for it. To hear more on that story, we spoke with EURACTIV’s Agrifood and health reporter, Natasha Foote.

The lack of transparency requirements on the use of EU recovery funds risks generating corruption and undermining public support, argue Helen Darbishire and Karolis Granickas.

A 50MW lithium-ion battery energy storage system has come online in Cowley, on the outskirts of Oxford, in what is described as a UK first. EURACTIV's media partner, edie.net, reports.

In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about the German and Polish governments fearing the spread of the Delta variant, Brothers of Italy leader Giorgia Meloni's plans to 'court' Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his party, and so much more.

European Union targets to reduce the environmental impact of farming could cut crop production sharply and turn the bloc into a net cereal importer, grain industry group Coceral said on Wednesday (23 June).

Russia is committed to developing bilateral ties and supporting capacity building for the Serbian army, Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu told the 9th Moscow Conference on International Security in Moscow on Wednesday during a meeting with his Serbian counterpart, Nebojša...

Slovenia has issued its first sustainability bond, becoming the first central or east European country and only the second EU member state to do so. The €1 billion issue was far oversubscribed. The bond, with a coupon rate of 0.125%...

The centre-right EPP group reaffirmed its support for former Bulgarian premier Boyko Borissov ahead of the 11 July elections, despite the multitude of corruption and brinkmanship scandals unveiled by the caretaker government. Speaking in a videoconference, Manfred Weber, the EPP...

Germany was lauded for supporting green spending criteria in the EU’s €750 billion pandemic recovery plan, but critics now say Berlin’s national recovery programme may look greener than it is.

Slovakia agreed on Wednesday to sell or donate the leftover Russian Sputnik V vaccine doses remaining from the 200,000 it bought earlier this year once it stops administering them by the end of June. Interest in the Russian vaccine has...

Hungarian President János Áder has signed the controversial LGBTQI+ bill into law despite an international outcry and threats of legal action from the European Commission, Telex reported. The law prohibits any content that “propagates or portrays divergence from self-identity corresponding to...

Poland will reintroduce mandatory quarantine for those arriving from outside the Schengen area, due to fears of the more infectious delta coronavirus variant spreading across the country, Deputy Health Minister Waldemar Kraska has announced. The new rule came into force...

A leaked draft of a key EU policy designed to cut carbon emissions in shipping, one of the world’s biggest polluters, has been described as an environmental disaster for “promoting” liquified natural gas, a fossil fuel, as an alternative to heavy oil. EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian, reports.

A tweet posted by North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev has triggered a strong reaction from the Greek government, which is now mulling freezing the ratification of three memoranda signed between Greece and North Macedonia as part of the name-change...

Prices in Denmark, Iceland and Norway exceed the EU average by 40% and Sweden by around 30%. Prices in Finland are the lowest among Nordics, but still eighth highest in Europe and exceeding the EU average by 26%, making the...

Estonia’s bid for observer status in the Arctic Council was shot down by the council’s members – Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Canada, Russia and the US – although it has not been revealed who was in favour or against....

Plans to abolish the Northern Ireland Protocol are “not grounded in reality,” Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald told fellow party members in a speech, the Irish Times reported. McDonald claimed that a DUP “failure to accept rights and equality”...

More than 20% of coronavirus cases in the central German state of Hesse are of the delta variant, putting the country’s recent relaxing of COVID-19 measures under threat. Although overall case numbers remain low across Germany, and in the state...

The rhetoric of Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó during the discussion over LGBTQI+ law was “unprecedented”, “unacceptable” and “quite aggressive” toward other EU partners, an EU diplomat told EURACTIV. The diplomat, who spoke to EURACTIV on condition of anonymity, claimed...

EU leaders will decide today at a summit to provide Turkey with another €3.5 billion to help the country manage the refugee crisis. Almost €530 million will be provided by the Commission by the end of the year for humanitarian...

The months-long courtship of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz MEPs – who are without membership in the European Parliament after leaving the European People’s Party (EPP) – entered a new stage on Wednesday during a dinner between...

The EU's chief diplomat decried Wednesday (23 June) the situation in Ethiopia's Tigray region as "appalling" and pleaded with the world to "wake up and take action".

German competition authorities have piled pressure on American tech giants since new rules came into force in January. However, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) currently being discussed at EU level may supersede the section of the German law that targets big tech. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Controversy over a new Hungarian law banning LGBTQ references in school materials is threatening to overshadow an EU summit on Thursday and Friday (24-25 June) intended to focus on foreign policy issues: confronting Russia and tricky ties with Turkey.

The European Union's top diplomat in Washington said the United States should safely ease COVID-19 travel restrictions on Europeans, calling it a mistake to prevent European business executives from overseeing their US investments.

Nine Catalan separatists have been released from prison after their sentences for their role in a banned independence referendum in 2017 were commuted by the Spanish government. EURACTIV’s partner EFE reports.

European Union leaders will on Thursday (24 June) consider whether to seek a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of a new strategy to manage relations with Moscow that the EU says are in a "negative spiral".

GA Drilling CEO talks to Ursula von der Leyen about geothermal The decision of the President of the European Commission to personally deliver the Commission’s assessment of the national recovery and resilience plans to all EU Member States is more...

The foreign ministers of Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine are together in Brussels on Thursday (24 June) for their first joint visit to the EU since the three countries formalised the format of ‘Associated Trio’ last May. This exclusive opinion by David Zalkaliani, Aureliu Ciocoim and Dmytro Kuleba highlights their countries’ higher EU ambition.

I am "determined to find a solution" at a time when a new collective management body for press publishers is due to be created, Google France managing director, Sébastien Missoffe told French senators on Wednesday (23 June), adding that he "recognises neighbouring rights".

The idea to have a continent-wide Euro 2020 was a romantic idea when it was first proposed in the salubrious days of 2012. But to plough ahead with it in 2021 – as national authorities are scrambling to prevent COVID variants from spreading – smacks of pig-headedness.

The EU must apply consistent pressure on the repressive Belarusian regime until it responds to calls for dialogue, exiled democratic opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.

The Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries Urges the EU to Adopt a Biofuels Policy That Will Provide Realistic Solutions Towards the Decarbonization of Energy.

The European Commission has today (23 June) laid out its vision for a Joint Cyber Unit to tackle evolving cyber-threats and to increase European resilience.

Europe has to play its role in leading on the sustainability of outer space and could increasingly contribute to the creation of a regulatory framework for space, the head of the European Space Agency (ESA) told EURACTIV upon launch of the EU's new space programme.

A ruling by Europe's top court has shed some light on the conditions under which content-sharing platforms are exempted from responsibility for copyright infringements, with potentially far-reaching implications for the EU's Copyright Directive and the Digital Services Act.

“We must be able to count on ambitious political commitment that takes into account local communities’ needs,” writes José Hila Vargas, Mayor of Palma, Balearic Island (Spain). He signs the forward of a publication on Global Citizenship Education just released...

As we near the end of EURACTIV’s project “Let’s Meet Cohesion Policy” co-financed by DG REGIO, now is the time to test your knowledge on how the EU supports its regions. Test your knowledge here

Cohesion, the EU’s €330 billion investment package, making up about a third of the bloc’s new seven-year budget, will focus on bringing about a smarter, greener and more connected Europe, closer to its citizens by 2027.  That’s a tall order...

Following European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s visit to Berlin on Tuesday (22 June), where she delivered the approved German recovery plan, concerns are emerging that the new pot of money may crowd out funding for weak regions and thwart their efforts to catch up with wealthy areas.