Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash In her bid to become Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, Commissioner-Designate Teresa Ribera’s fielded difficult questions from MEPs in the European Parliament. Her appearance has now led to a furious row between the two biggest groups in the parliament. The Socialists claim that the EPP’s…
Author: Our Staff Correspondent
Trump Is Back
Irishman Pat Cox, a former President of the European Parliament, has two words for it: “Buckle up.” That is his short, sharp and sweet reaction to Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S election, one which has confounded many, including pollsters who got their predictions badly wrong. The result was confirmed on Sunday when Arizona, the…
Parliament Hearing for Ekaterina Zaharieva
Photo by Drew Hays on Unsplash MEPs have quizzed the Bulgarian candidate for the Startups, Research and Innovation portfolio in Ursula von der Leyen’s EU Commission. Ekaterina Zaharieva faced deputies on the the Industry, Research and Energy Committee on Tuesday. In her introductory remarks, Commissioner-designate Zaharieva expressed her desire to place Research and Innovation (R&I)…
Historic Win in US Elections for Republicans
Photo by Jigar Panchal on Unsplash EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has warmly congratulated Donald Trump on his election as the 47th President of the United States of America. But others have cautioned that his win now presents a profound challenge to world stability. Following Trump’s bigger than expected victory, von der Leyen said…
Could The US Election Impact Climate Change?
Photo by Chris Gallagher on Unsplash MEPs have voiced concerns about the impact a second Trump presidency may have on current efforts to tackle the issue of climate change, evidence of which was seen with the worst floods in Spain in generations. The result of climate change or not the dreadful events in Spain the…
Allegations of Misuse of EU Funds
Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash The biggest political group in the EU parliament has moved to respond to a reported investigation. This concerns a reported probe by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) into a possible alleged misuse of EU funds. The EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union. It is…
Railway Erasmus to Boost Youth Mobility
Photo by Umair Dingmar on Unsplash A Railway Erasmus has been mooted as a way of boosting youth mobility across Europe. This is one of the recommendations outlined by the Skill Training Alliance for the future railway system project. After four years, the project has delivered its findings, including a long-term Strategy and Action Plan which…
Animal Welfare Science Challenged by Lobbyists
New documents are said to shed light on a pushback from industry lobbyists against recent advancements in animal welfare science. Obtained through Freedom of Information Requests, the papers challenge the latest scientific opinions issued by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the EU’s food watchdog. Investigative journalist Thin Lei Win secured the documents as part…
Sakharov Prize for Venezuelan Democratic Leaders
The leader of Venezuela’s democratic forces and the opposition candidate in the July presidential elections has been awarded the 2024 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. The EU Parliament’s President Roberta Metsola announced the winners of the 2024 prize in the chamber in Strasbourg on Thursday. This follows a meeting of the Conference of Presidents…
ECA Report Warns of Risk of Double-Funding
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash The EU’s financial watchdog has warned there is an increasing risk that EU money could be handed out twice for the same action. This is the worrying conclusion of a report published on 22 October by the European Court of Auditors. The Court said that there were unprecedented…