Romania-Ukraine MOU

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Photo by Olga Prudnikova on Unsplash The European Commission says it welcomes the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Romania and the Government of Ukraine. The executive said on Wednesday this will further contribute to increasing the capacity of “Solidarity Lanes”, especially considering the damage caused to the transport infrastructure of Ukraine due to the…

EP Hearings for Hoekstra and Šefčovič

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Photo by Nauris Pūķis on Unsplash Members of the European Parliament have assessed the written answers of Commissioner-designates Wopke Hoekstra (Climate Action) and Maroš Šefčovič (Executive Vice-President in charge of the Green Deal). The EPP Group said it “fully” endorses the nomination of Hoekstra as the new European Commissioner for Climate Action while the Socialists and Democrats have  say…

Green Growth in France

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Photo by JOHN TOWNER on Unsplash The European Green Party have congratulated the French Green Party Europe Écologie Les Verts (EELV) with its “impressive” growth in this week’s Senate elections.  “Never before have there been so many Green members of parliament in France,” said the Green Party in a statement. Monday’s projections show a jump from 12 to…

War forces EU Budget Review

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Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash The Russian War and growing migration issues have forced MEPs to bolster the relevant budgetary areas by €2 billion. On Wednesday, the Budgets Committee of the EU parliament set out its position on the reform of the EU’s long-term budget, emphasizing the urgency to “future-proof the EU budget.” Members endorsed an extra €10 billion for…

Wealth Tax

Kelly Sikkema

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash The Greens/EFA Group has published a new report highlighting the amounts of tax revenue that, it say, European countries could garner through a small tax on the wealthiest 0.5%.  The study,out on Wednesday, finds that even a tax of 1.7-3.5% could bring in as much as €213.3 billion to…

Critical Raw Materials Act

sharon pittaway

Photo by Sharon Pittaway on Unsplash Members of the European Parliament have approved the Parliament’s negotiations mandate for the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA).  Some MEPs, notably the Greens/EFA Group, had pushed for a 45 percent recycling target and for mitigating the demand for critical raw materials. The EU Commission’s legislative proposal has several aims: In…

Reaching Out to Help Migrants

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Photo by Matej Klíč on Unsplash MEPs have called on all EU countries to show solidarity and relocate the people on the move arriving in Lampedusa. The deputies say the latest tragedy from the Italian island, where a five-month-old baby died this Wednesday during a rescue operation shows “once again how EU migration policy is constantly failing.” About 1,850 arrivals…

Free Belarus!

Andrew Keymaster

Photo by Andrew Keymaster on Unsplash The EU parliament is currently staging an exhibition on Belarusian political prisoners. The exhibition ‘Belarusian martyrology – political prisoners in Belarus’ invites visitors to get acquainted with the life stories, portraits and voices of the people who chose democracy over dictatorship. Belarusian artist Xisha Aniolowa started creating portraits of political prisoners in 2020. She…

MEPs Criticise Tunisia Decision to Block Visit

chermiti mohamed

Photo by Chermiti Mohamed on Unsplash MEPs have condemned Tunisia’s decision to deny entry to the official delegation of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee.   Criticism was led by by the Left Group in the European Parliament  A statement read, “In an unprecedented move since the revolution in 2011, the Tunisian authorities show no respect…