European Union

A mobile greenhouse arrived at the European Parliament last Wednesday (11 September) to kick off a two year tour of Europe informing consumers about the benefits of European-grown fruits and vegetables.

A deal with Poland on 2050 climate neutrality is in sight, writes Brook Riley.

British people "didn't need a lecture from anybody on how to run their country  ... and that includes Brussels" because the UK once "built the greatest empire" in the world and "held off the Nazis", Woody Johnson, the US ambassador in London, said Tuesday. His WW2 references echoed British eurosceptic rhetoric on "standing up to Europe". US president Donald Trump has also praised Brexit and verbally mauled the European Union.

British chaos over Brexit has dampened other member states' potential appetite for leaving Europe, Villeroy de Galhau, a French governor of the European Central Bank (ECB), said Tuesday. "It is a gratitude we have to the British today," he said at an event in the London School of Economics, Reuters reported, in comments which risked giving ammunition to British claims the EU was trying to punish the UK for leaving.

The Soviet Union never invaded Poland in World War Two, Russia has said, in a new version of history with disturbing implications for modern times.

The Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei will substantially increase investments into high-performance computing, its rotating chairman Ken Hu announced on Wednesday (18 September). The move came as Huawei faces increasingly tense relations with the West, appearing in front of American judges this week.

EU policy- and law-makers have their work cut out for them once the incoming European Commission takes office. Incomplete legislative work and the need to address new challenges will keep transport officials occupied for some time.

Transport policy is set to be a crucial cog of the EU's policy-making patchwork over the next five years. But how do trucks, coaches, buses and other road-based options fit into the scheme of things?

EU law requires us to give two days' notice to get the assistance we need, even for our daily commutes. We can't travel like everyone else. It is frustrating, annoying and time-consuming. In short, it is unacceptable.

Just as the European aluminium industry undertakes costly efforts to decarbonise, the sector is finding itself caught up in a trade war involving Chinese dumping and US tariffs that threaten to destabilise European production.

The European Union on Tuesday condemned Israel's latest move to approve a new settlement, currently an outpost, in the Jordan Valley. The Israeli decision follows recent announcements about the possible annexation of the valley and the northern Dead Sea area. "The EU calls on Israel to end all settlement activity and to dismantle the outposts erected since March 2001, in line with prior obligations," said the EU, in a statement.

Scotlands will keep domestic rules aligned with EU law, even if forced to leave as part of Brexit, first minister Nicola Sturgeon said in Potsdam, Germany, on Tuesday, where she received the M100 Sanssouci media award. A recently-tabled continuity bill "will enable Scotland to keep pace with EU regulations in policy areas that we have responsibility for... and be better placed to rejoin in the future", she said.

Spain's acting prime minister Pedro Sanchez on Tuesday announced another general election, the fourth in four years, following his failed attempts to cobble together a government with enough support from the parliament. "It has been impossible to complete the mandate given to us by the Spanish people on April 28," he said, in a statement, blaming rival parties for the impasse. The new election date is now 10 November.

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Turkey's pro-government Anadolu Agency reported that president Recep Tayyip Erdogan is stepping up internal pressure to meet the criteria for the process of visa-liberalisation dialogue with the European Union. "In order to ensure the completion of visa liberalisation for our citizens, it is necessary to accelerate the efforts to meet the criteria registered in the Visa Liberalisation Roadmap," he said in a circular published in the Official Gazette.

EU outgoing council president Donald Tusk on Tuesday said the EU should back accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania. He praised North Macedonia's efforts on migration, relations with Bulgaria, and efforts to end a bitter name dispute with Greece. He also said Albania's path towards the EU is now closer. The EU is next month set to decide on whether to launch talks with the two Balkan states.

New production methods and uses are making aluminium a material of choice for European policymakers looking to decarbonise the economy. But a flood of cheap carbon-intensive aluminium from China could complicate these efforts.

These developments will largely determine who will be running the world in the coming decades and perhaps generations. If the Europeans can't find an answer over the five years, they will be toast. And we haven't even mentioned climate change.

EU member states remain split over a possible relaxation of the bloc’s fiscal rules meant to facilitate investment in the bloc, despite calls from the European Central Bank and some governments to increase public spending and mitigate the risk of recession.

According to new forecasts, the target laid out in the Paris Climate Agreement of 1.5 degrees Celsius could be out of reach, while temperature increases might even reach 6 or 7°C by 2100. EURACTIV France reports.