On Saturday 23 October, the second Conference Plenary meeting took place in the European Parliament in Strasbourg to discuss citizens’ contributions. The 80 representatives of the European Citizens’ Panels have met to discuss the future of Europe. The Conference on the Future of Europe is said to be an unprecedented, open and inclusive democratic exercise,…
The European Commission, on behalf of the EU, has disbursed €600 million in macro-financial assistance (MFA) to Ukraine. This is the second and final tranche under Ukraine’s current MFA programme following the first €600 million disbursement in December 2020. With this disbursement, the outstanding amount of loans to Ukraine under its multiple MFA programmes reaches…
In supporting a proposed EU strategy for the Schengen area, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has called for more action to be taken to protect the EU’s freedoms and rights in the face of human-rights violations at its external frontiers. The EESC is worried about the reintroduction of internal border controls by some…
The Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament have denounced the 7 November 2021 general Nicaraguan elections as a farce, which will only further cement authoritarianism under Daniel Ortega. S&D MEPs reiterated their call on the Ortega regime to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners; to end the repression and breaches of human rights;…
As the COVID-19 pandemic ravages the world, carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere keep setting record highs, writes Chang Tzi-chin. The Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in August 2021 strongly confirmed that human activity has furthered the warming of the atmosphere, oceans, and…
Chiara Martinelli is taking up the position of director of Europe’s leading NGO coalition fighting dangerous climate change, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe, this 25 October. With over 180 member organisations active in 38 European countries, CAN Europe represents over 1.500 NGOs and more than 47 million citizens. Chiara Martinelli has more than 15 years…
The internationally acclaimed soprano, Sonya Yoncheva, is set for a rare appearance in Belgium as part of her new European tour. Along with the Cappella Mediterranea (under Leonardo Garcia Alarcon), she will appear in concert in Brussels at Bozar on 15 December. It is an opportunity to present her latest creation, “Rebirth”, to the Belgian…
A leading ferry operator is honouring the “forgotten angels” who have been at the sharp end of the ongoing health crisis. Nurses worldwide have been acclaimed for their sterling efforts to help the needy during the near-two year pandemic that has cost tens of thousands of lives and devastated economies. DFDS has now decided to…
Fluency Friends is the first interactive video game that uses speech recognition to help children who stutter improve their speech at home Today, on International Stuttering Awareness Day (22 October), the Belgian – American startup Say It Labs officially launched its new video game ‘Fluency Friends’. The app helps children improve their stuttering in a fun way through…
In a plenary debate on the future of EU trade policy in a changing global reality, the EESC stressed that open, fair, inclusive and sustainable trade is the only trade that will deliver a resilient recovery and bring prosperity to business and people. It also acknowledged the key role of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)…
