Photo by samsommer on Unsplash The European Commission has unveiled its European Ocean Pact but the package has met with a mixed response. The EU calls it a comprehensive strategy to better protect the ocean, promote a thriving blue economy and support the well-being of people living in coastal areas. The Pact brings together EU ocean…
Parliament
Concerns Voiced About Passenger Rights
Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash MEPs have voiced concern about air passenger rights amid fresh talks on the issue by transport Ministers of EU Member States. The fear, say Euro deputies, is that ministers might potentially agree to water down existing compensation rights. Current rules guarantee reimbursement after a three-hour delay. The EPP Group…
Frontex Should be Deployed in Spain Say MEPs
Photo by Elvira Blumfelde on Unsplash MEPs are urgently calling for Frontex to be deployed in Ceuta and Melilla – Spain’s autonomous cities on the North African coast – to help protect the EU’s southern border. The demand follows a recent fact-finding mission to the area by a group of centre right Euro deputies. EPP…
Hungary Criticised for Strangling Free Speech
MEPs have attacked the failure of EU member states to take action against Hungary over its alleged curbs on freedom pf speech. LGBTQ+ rights have been under attack in Hungary and, at the European Council meeting on the Article 7 procedure, Member States are said to have failed to take any decisions. This has been…
EU-Wide Journalism Award Launched
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash The fifth edition of the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism has been launched. It is run the European Parliament and seeks to reward top quality journalism. The idea is to recognise journalists who promote or defend the core principles and values of the European Union. These are said…
New Sanctions on Russia and Belarus
Photo by MDSUMAR28 on Unsplash MEPs in Brussels have backed increased tariffs on fertilisers and certain Russian and Belarusian agricultural goods. The move, taken in a vote on Thursday, seeks to reduce EU dependency on those imports. The parliamentary plenary has endorsed the EU Commission proposal to increase by 50% EU tariffs on agricultural products…
MEPs Back New Measures Against Russia
Photo by Roger Starnes on Unsplash The EU parliament’s International Trade Committee has approved a 50% increase in tariffs on certain Russian and Belarusian agricultural goods to further reduce EU dependency. MEPs on Thursday backed a Commission proposal to increase EU tariffs by 50% on those agricultural products from Russia and Belarus that are still…
Too Many Europeans Facing Evictions
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash A new study calls for regulation in the short term housing rental sector across the EU but in a balanced manner. The legislative proposal aims to fill the regulatory gap in an industry that is having real-world impacts, including housing shortages, rising rents, resident displacement, online discrimination, and a…
Press Freedom Highlighted at Europe Day Events
Photo by Larry Alger on Unsplash The economic indicator on the RSF World Press Freedom Index now stands at an unprecedented, critical low as its decline continued in 2025. As a result, the global state of press freedom is now classified as a difficult situation for the first time in the history of the Index….
Call for Major Increase in CAP Funding
Photo by Judith Prins on Unsplash A senior MEP has unveiled a major new position paper outlining his vision for the future of European farming and the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post-2027. The paper, developed by Barry Cowen in his role as Renew Europe’s shadow rapporteur for the Parliament’s report on “The Future of…