Photo by FlyD on Unsplash EU member states have renewed for a further 6 months its restrictive measures against Russia “in view of the Russian Federation’s continuing actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine.” They will last until 31 July. The sanctions, first introduced in 2014 in response to Russia’s actions “destabilising” the situation in Ukraine, were significantly expanded…
Photo by Yellow Cactus on Unsplash MEPs will tackle everything from child sexual abuse to the the EU’s anti-money laundering agency this week. Current derogations from EU e-privacy rules, which allow companies to voluntarily detect child sexual abuse material and remove it, will expire in August 2024. As the passage of new permanent rules before August is uncertain…
Photo by Artem Kniaz on Unsplash More than 200 experts attended an international conference on European civil society’s humanitarian response to the integration of refugees and asylum-seeking children from Ukraine. The Federation of Non-Governmental Organisations for Children (FONPC), together with CARE France, SERA Romania, Eurochild, and ICVA, hosted a two-day international conference, RE:Think Bridges in Bucharest. It brought together over…
MEPs are set to scrutinise fossil fuel companies’ “undue influence” on energy policy, it has emerged. This comes after the European Parliament confirmed it will hold a public hearing to investigate the role played by fossil fuel firms in the EU’s energy crisis response. A petition has already been submitted to the EU by the “Fossil…
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash MEPs have approved what is described as a ground-breaking deal on a new EU anti-money laundering law. The deal has been reached by the European Parliament and EU member states. The new legislative package will significantly change the rules of the game and, it is said, help prevent scandals that we have witnessed…
Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash The protests against alleged fascism in Germany are “continuing the trend of mobilisation against the far right seen earlier in Spain and Poland,” according to the co-chairs of the European Green Party. The comments comes with tens of thousands of people protesting after “Correctiv” is said to have revealed a “secret conspiracy…
Photo by Christian Lue on Unsplash Competitiveness, SMEs and social inclusion are at the heart of the Belgian EU council presidency programme. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has subsequently made policy recommendations on the relationship between economic governance, long-term inclusive growth and sustainable security. In the first half of 2024, Belgium holds its thirteenth Presidency of…
Photo by Alexandre Bury on Unsplash The new Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU says it will work towards better protecting European citizens and strengthening cooperation. The presidency programme sets out the priorities and main directions of the Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU. The Belgian term takes place from 1 January to 30 June…
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash The European Parliament has debated what MEPs call the dire situation in Serbia after recent elections were reportedly marred by serious fraud claims. The Socialists and Democrats in the EU assembly requested the debate. They and others called for an independent investigation into “all reported irregularities and to support thousands of Serbs…
Photo by Liza Pooor on Unsplash Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the case of Alexei Navalny and other political prisoners. “Today marks three years since Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny returned to Russia. He was arbitrarily arrested, prosecuted and sentenced following his return from Germany, where he was receiving medical treatment…
