New President for Eurocities

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Photo by Tobias Reich on Unsplash The Mayor of Leipzig, Burkhard Jung, will represent major European cities in the coming two years, as President of Eurocities.  He succeeds the Mayor of Florence, Dario Nordella, and is joined by the Mayor of Ghent, Mathias De Clercq, who will become the network’s Vice President. Jung, who was elected by delegates from more than 200 major European cities,…

Making Space Matter

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Photo by Andrea Ferrario on Unsplash A senior European Space Agency official has called for improvement in the space industry’s relationship with citizens. The call came at the “Making Space Matter” summit in Brussels on Tuesday. Frederic Nordlund, Head of the External Relations Department at the European Space Agency (ESA), told the event, “We need to work effectively with…

Emergency Aid to Kherson

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Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash The EU says that the destruction of Nova Kakhovka dam in Ukraine has led to “devastating humanitarian and ecological consequences.” While evacuations of affected populations are underway, Ukraine has requested international EU assistance in the form of equipment and machinery for relief efforts.  In an immediate response, the EU on Wednesday issued…

Protecting the EP from Foreign Influence

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European Parliament’s special committee on foreign interference and disinformation (INGE) MEPs have voted on their position on the reforms to strengthen the integrity, transparency and accountability of the European Parliament.  The report – approved by a large majority – gives the Parliament and its members clear guidelines on transparency and on how to protect the European…

Overseas Constituencies for UK Parliament

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Photo by Massimiliano Morosinotto on Unsplash A campaign for overseas constituency MPs is gathering momentum with fresh backing from a group of cross-party MPs and peers. The idea is to introduce overseas constituencies for the tens of thousands of UK citizens living and working abroad. This would mean they would be represented by an MP in the UK parliament, who represents…

Greens Prepare for 2024 Parliament Elections

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Photo by Ghiffari Haris on Unsplash The European Greens will vote on the adoption of the system of leading candidates (Spitzenkandidaten) for their 2024 EU election campaign. The European Greens will  this weekend vote on the adoption of the system of leading candidates (Spitzenkandidaten) for their 2024 EU election campaign. They are also expected to welcome four new…

The Civilised World Must Ostracise Russia

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Photo by Max Griss on Unsplash The callous barbarity of Russia’s blitz of civilian targets in Ukraine surpasses even the terror of the London blitz by Hitler. Putin has copied the Nazi strategy and developed it to new levels of depravity. Russia is continuing the genocide of Ukrainians and intensifying its missile terror. The only way to stop…

Taiwan Campaign For WHA Membership

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On 24 May Taiwan’s Ambassador Remus Li-Kuo Chen, together with members of staff from Taiwan’s Representative Office and their families, attended the “Health for All, Taiwan can Help – the bid to support Taiwan’s entry into WHA” event held at the Place du Luxembourg in front of the European Parliament. The occasion was organized by…

Greens Attack Populists and Extremists

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Photo by Chris LeBoutillier on Unsplash The Greens have launched an attack on other groups following a vote in parliament.It accused a majority of EPP, Renew, right-wing “populists and extremists” in the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee of rejecting the European Commission’s proposal for a Directive on Nature Restoration.  Previously, the same political alliance had rejected the proposal in…

Factory Farms Must Clean Up Their Mess

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Photo by Jack Sloop on Unsplash MEPs responsible for environment policy have voted against proposals to give what campaigners call “industrial-scale cattle farms a free pass to avoid their responsibility in wrecking the climate.” Last month, MEPs in the Agriculture Committee voted to exempt industrial-scale cattle farming exempt from EU rules limiting industrial pollution.  Campaigners said they agreed to this…