The rise of the shadow tanker fleet is a ticking time bomb for both the global environment and international maritime security. These vessels, operating outside the reach of established regulations, are increasingly involved in transporting oil and oil products from countries such as Iran, Venezuela, and Russia — states that face international sanctions. While this…
Almost 300 Airbus employees in France who lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic should receive €3.7 million in EU aid. On Tuesday, the Committee on Budgets approved France’s request for support from the EGF. MEPs acknowledge that “in the framework of the COVID-19 pandemic, the general travel restrictions led to a general collapse…
A Presidency prepared in close collaboration with the French corporate sector which is setting a policy agenda that strongly reflects business demands.That is the verdict of Corporate Europe Observatory and Observatoire des multinationales in their new report, published on Monday in the run up to the start of the French Presidency on 1 January. The…
The European Union must apply a “tough love” approach to the Sahel, linking continued financial support for Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger to the implementation of long-promised governance reforms to prevent a further destabilisation of the fragile region, a new Friends of Europe report says. In “Crossing the Wilderness: Europe and the Sahel”,…
The security forces of the Central African Republic (CAR) detained a French citizen this week and seized an impressive cache of weapons and intelligence equipment. According to the Ministry of the Interior, the suspect Mr. Quignolot had been in the CAR since 2013. He took part in the organisation of a coup in the CAR…
The mineral wool industry continues to face opposition in France, with leading player Rockwool seeming unlikely to receive the needed permits. Arnaud Svrcek, the Mayor of Courmelles, told L’Union newspaper shortly before the start of the public inquiry to authorize the operation of a mineral wool plant in the Soissons region of France and to…
The Renew group has joined in the grief of the family, relatives and students of the teacher Samuel Paty, who was cowardly murdered last Friday in Conflans-sainte-Honorine, France. Renew Europe believes the fundamental values of Europe are once again at stake. This heinous attack recalls the urgent need for the EU to adapt its rules…
The European Parliament says it supports legislation that aims to ensure the tunnel railway connecting continental Europe and the UK continues to operate safely and efficiently. MEPs endorsed on Thursday two proposals concerning the Channel Tunnel with the goal to maintain the same set of rules governing the whole railway tunnel once the UK has…
The commission says that the EU has continued its global deliveries of medical supplies and personal protective equipment. Through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, in response to a request from Kenya, Slovakia has sent 20,000 protective face masks, 50,000 coronavirus test kits, hand disinfectant and laboratory supplies to the country. On its return to Europe…
A new report has found nuclear-armed states spent a record $73 billion on nuclear weapons in 2019, a $14 billion increase from 2018 expenditures. The United States, the center of the global coronavirus pandemic, accounted for nearly half of that spending. As the economies of the US, China, France, and Russia all contract, their nuclear spending is…
