Today, 35% of Belgian households consist of one person. In large cities such as Brussels, half of all households are already single-person households. All population projections point to a further increase in this group in the coming decades. So let’s be silly for once. Let’s turn the world upside down and take single people – and…
Members of the European Parliament have debated a report on the use of Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation (SLAPPs) in Europe to silence critical voices such as NGOs, journalists, environmental and human rights defenders. MEPs will vote on the report tomorrow, ahead of an expected Commission proposal for legislation on the use of SLAPPs next…
The EPP Group is calling for sanctions to stop the flood of migrants to Belarus, including a ban on the airlines involved in Lukashenko’s human trafficking. The call came ahead of a parliamentary plenary debate on the migration crisis on the EU’s eastern border. “As EU Ambassadors consider a new package of sanctions on the…
After three days of a fact-finding mission in Albania, the European Parliament’s standing rapporteur for the country, Isabel Santos MEP underlined that the country has fulfilled all the criteria and has done everything that it was requested to do, to start accession negotiations with the European Union. Santos called on the member states to finally…
The EU’s future Digital Services Act can set the global standards in transparency, oversight and enforcement, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen told MEPs. The DSA has the potential to be a “global gold standard” and inspire other countries to “pursue new rules that would safeguard our democracies”, Haugen stressed in todays’ hearing. She warned, however, that…
A conference organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) reiterated the call for an EU Civil Society Strategy and a European Statute for Associations. Appropriate follow-up to the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) and a regular and structured dialogue with CSOs were considered key aspects to rebuilding citizens’ trust in politics and strengthening…
COP26 must deliver on climate ambition and Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe is calling on the EU to play a leading role in the final days of climate talks to deliver robust COP26 outcomes. The EU is a key international player at the negotiations in Glasgow, with ministers from European countries co-leading seven out of…
The European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the European Parliament condemns the escalation near the village of Kuźnica Białostocka, Poland, where a huge number of migrants under the control of armed Belarus units are set to destroy border fences and cross illegally into EU territory. ECR Co-Chairman Prof Ryszard Legutko (Poland) said: “The scenes that are…
At a high-level plenary session at COP26, the European Commission announced a new pledge of €100 million in finance for the Adaptation Fund. Speaking in Glasgow, Executive-Vice-President Frans Timmermans said: “We have to scale up international climate finance and provide a predictable framework for its delivery. The Adaptation Fund can play a key role and that is…
Artificial Intelligence regulation should focus on the level of risk associated with specific uses, a draft report presented in the AIDA committee on Tuesday says. The test, presented by the rapporteur, says that the public debate should shift towards a focus on the enormous potential of artificial intelligence (AI), which offers humankind the unique chance…
