“CLOSE” Wins 2023 LUX Award

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Photo by John Moeses Bauan on Unsplash “Close” by Belgian director Lukas Dhont won the 2023 LUX European Audience Film Award on Tuesday, in a ceremony in the European Parliament’s hemicycle in Brussels. The film, co-produced by Belgium, France and Netherlands, tells the story of an intense friendship between two thirteen-year old boys Leo and Remi.  When their…

The EU Nature Restoration Law

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Photo by Richard Loader on Unsplash Following a lengthy vote, there is no majority amongst MEPs on the Environment committee for the Commission’s proposal as amended for a Nature Restoration Law. Following votes on amendments to the Commission’s proposal on Thursday 15 June and continued on Tuesday 27 June, the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety finally…

Commission Funding for Farmers

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Photo by Kadri Karmo on Unsplash The EU Commission has announced it will provide additional EU funding for EU farmers. It will go to those who are “impacted by adverse climatic events, high input costs, and diverse market and trade related issues.” The new support package, unveiled on Monday, will consist of €330 million for 22 Member States. In addition, Member States…

ACP Assembly Meets in Brussels

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Photo by Julian Berengar Sölter on Unsplash The 43rd session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly among the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and the European Union (ACP-EU JPA) has kicked off in Brussels.  The summit (24-28 June) will represent an important occasion to raise debates and put forward possible common solutions to face global crises like climate change,…

NATO Urged to Switch to War Mentality

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Photo by Marek Studzinski on Unsplash Dalia Grybauskaitė, former president of Lithuania, has urged NATO and EU countries to switch into a “war mentality”. The former European commissioner for financial programming and budget, and Trustee of Friends of Europe was speaking at Friends of Europe’s Peace, Security & Defence Summit. The event took place in Brussels last Wednesday. When…

Birnbaum to Head Eurelectric

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Photo by Rohan Makhecha on Unsplash The body representing the electricity sector in Europe has a new head to steer it for the coming years.Leonhard Birnbaum – CEO of E.ON – takes the reins of Eurelectric, the trade body representing the European electricity industry in Brussels. Joined by Vice Presidents Markus Rauramo – CEO of Fortum – and…

Adjusting EU’s Economy to Withstand Shocks

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Photo by Christian Lue on Unsplash The EU’s economic system needs structural change and must be adjusted to become more resistant to future external shocks, says the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). The Brussels based organisation is now recommending establishing a “Green triple-T” criterion to assess future interventions in the EU’s economic system, so that adopted measures are…

Making Withholding Tax Procedures More Secure

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Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash The European Commission has  proposed new rules which, it says, will make withholding tax procedures in the EU “more efficient and secure” for investors, banks and EU Member State tax administrations.  The initiative and the Commission’s 2020 Action Plan on the Capital Markets Union will, says the EC, “promote fairer taxation,…

EU Recovery Fund

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Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash EU Member States are said to be “exacerbating economic inequality, eroding democracy and obstructing efforts to create a green, transformative European economy by marginalising citizens in decision-making,” a new report by the Citizens’ Observatory for Green Deal Financing alleges. The report claims to show how “excluding the public has opened the door…

Moving to Net Zero

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Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash The European electricity industry trade body unveils a “landmark study” highlighting three scenarios for Europe to achieve net zero. Looking towards 2030, 2040 and 2050, “Decarbonisation Speedways” spells out “the key role” of clean electrification in accelerating Europe’s path to climate neutrality and underlines its potential in lowering households’ energy bills.  Europe’s success hinges, however, on critical enablers…