Photo by NEOM on Unsplash The EU has pledged to plush for “unprecedented” protection for the world’s oceans. This comes after EC President Ursula von der Leyen signed, on behalf of the EU, a new “Treaty for the High Seas.” The document is also known as the ‘Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction’ (BBNJ) treaty. The EC calls it a “landmark treaty”…
Photo by Gian Luca Pilia on Unsplash The return of the wolf to EU regions where it has been absent for a long time is increasingly leading to conflicts with local farming and hunting communities, says the EU Commission. It says this especially so where measures to prevent attacks on livestock are not widely implemented. EC President Ursula von…
Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash The European Commission has defended the appointment of Frans Timmermans’ successor to the college. This comes in the wake of criticism from some quarters about the choice of Wopke Hoekstra for the post. In a statement, President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen said she had interviewed Hoekstra, the candidate put…
Photo by Omid Armin on Unsplash The European Commission has agreed to pay a sixth tranche of €1.5 billion under the macro financial assistance Plus package for Ukraine worth up to €18 billion. With this instrument, the EU says it seeks to help Ukraine cover its immediate funding needs, with “stable, predictable and sizeable” financial support in 2023. With the latest payment, Ukraine has received…
Photo by Jannik on Unsplash The EU and NATO share a common interest in preventing disruptions to critical infrastructure that provides essential services to citizens and supports their economies. Russia’s war against Ukraine has, says the EU and NATO, brought “new risks, physical and cyber-attacks, often combined as a hybrid threat.” The EU and NATO have now announced…
Photo by Luis Vidal on Unsplash The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, visited Mexico on Thursday (15 June) to meet President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. This was the first visit of the head of the European Commission to Mexico in 11 years and it aimed to relaunch the bilateral relationship and the Strategic Partnership…
The European Commission, on behalf of the EU, has proposed a further €5 billion in macro-financial assistance (MFA) loans to Ukraine. It says this is the second part of the exceptional MFA package of up to €9 billion announced by the Commission of 18 May 2022 and endorsed by the European Council of 23-24 June. The…
Lobby watchdog Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) says it has obtained recent meeting documents from the European Commission (EC) that reveal that major fossil fuel companies are influencing the EU’s response to the energy crisis. Minutes allegedly reveal that CEOs of six big energy companies – Shell, BP, Total, ENI, E.ON and Vattenfall – met President…
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has issued a robust statement in response to latest developments in the Ukraine crisis. She said, “EU Member States have given their political agreement for a new package of sanctions against Russia. I welcome this. Russia’s decision to recognise the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk is illegal and…
Early this year, the Commission announced it will buy 1.8 billion additional Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine doses. This made Pfizer the EU’s most important vendor. The deal was clinched via calls and text messages between the company’s CEO and the president of the European Commission. Left group Co-President Manon Aubry is seeking to put on the agenda of…
