Euobserver.com

Slovenian PM Janez Janša, the current EU presidency-holder, Thursday tweeted a picture of 13 MEPs whom he accused of being "puppets" of Hungarian-born, American-Jewish philanthropist George Soros. Several of the MEPs no longer serve in parliament, while one recently died. Janša also exchanged barbed tweets with the Dutch prime minister and EP president over his Soros claims, while EU Council chief Charles Michel called for leaders to show "mutual respect".

A court in Naples sentenced the captain of the Asso28 tugboat to a year in prison for disembarking over 101 rescued migrants in Libya's capital city Tripoli, reports Avvenire.it. It is the first such sanction in Italy and in Europe, noted the media outlet. The tugboat was owned by an energy firm and used by oil platforms located near the Libyan coast.

Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki will take part next Tuesday in the European Parliament's debate about the EU's concern on Polish adherence to EU rule of law. EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will also take part in the debate, while MEPs will vote a resolution Thursday. "how far will European nations retreat before this usurpation by some EU institutions," Morawiecki told MPs in Poland Thursday, setting the scene.

MEPs in the industry committee on Thursday voted in favour of extending roaming rules for another 10 years. EU lawmakers want consumers to have the same quality and speed of internet mobile connection abroad as at home and be better informed of providers' policies. They also say prices for all intra EU-calls should be the same as those for national calls, while arguing that emergency-service calls should be free.

The Danish man who murdered five people in Norway with a bow and arrow on Wednesday might have done it for political reasons, Norwegian police said. "It is natural to consider whether it is an act of terrorism. But the man has not been questioned and it is too early to come to any conclusion," Øyvind Aas, the police chief in Kongsberg, near Oslo, where the killings took place, said.

Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić promised to "protect" Serbs in Kosovo at a press conference on the border with his defence minister Wednesday after clashes between Kosovar police and ethnic Serbs in north Mitrovica, Kosovo, left some 20 people injured, one with a gun-shot wound to the shoulder, Reuters reports. Kosovo's interior minister, Xelal Svecla, said police raids were aimed at catching smugglers. "Most of those wanted are Albanians," he said.

Russia has ridiculed allegations it was withholding gas to manipulate prices. "We will increase [supplies] by as much as our partners ask us. There is no refusal, none," Russian president Vladimir Putin said at an energy forum in Moscow Wednesday. Talk on manipulation was "complete rubbish ... and politically motivated tittle-tattle", he added. He also called for "a long-term mechanism to stabilise the energy market" in Europe, without giving details.

Russia and the EU are to hold talks on mutual recognition of vaccine-certificates, Russia's health ministry said Wednesday. Russia's new 'Sputnik Light' vaccine was also 70 percent-effective against the Delta variant of Covid, authorities added. The EU regulator has not yet approved Sputnik due to missing data. But it said EU-wide recognition of British vaccine-certificates would be "going live soon", helping British travellers visit Europe for next half-term school break.

People who subscribed to banned media or Telegram channels, such as Nexta, were "extremists" and could face up to seven years in jail under a new decree signed earlier this month, Belarus' Main Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (Gubop) said Wednesday. But Nexta said there was nothing in the October law about "criminal liability" and that Gubop was just trying to scare people away from reading its content.

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell ignored the advice on his own staff to agree an election-monitoring mission in Venezuela next month. The EU mission would "have an adverse impact on the reputation and credibility of EU [observers] and indirectly legitimise Venezuela's electoral process," his staff said in a report in July seen by the Financial Times. Borrell's spokesman said the EU mission could be cancelled if monitoring conditions worsened.

A report by the International Energy Agency found on Wednesday that emissions are projected to drop just 40 percent by 2050 under current plans, The Guardian reported. These findings led to "stark warnings" about the gap between what is needed and what is being proposed. The report comes a few weeks ahead the UN climate summit in Glasgow, when global leaders are expected to step up their climate ambitions.

A group of 41 organisations on Wednesday urged the European Commission to guarantee that a re-assessment of its approval for the widely-used herbicide glyphosate is based "on updated independent scientific evidence and remains free from vested interests". Several studies from four member states concluded that the substance had no harmful effects. But a different analysis showed that only a few of these studies were scientifically reliable.

Europe's new Arctic strategy called for increased "geopolitical" engagement and a ban on drilling, but without an army, the EU is relying on "sustainable diplomacy" to project influence.

The EU Commission is investigating possible "manipulative abuses" by Europe's gas suppliers, as part of new measures to help businesses and vulnerable consumers cope with rocketing prices.

MEPs' financial declarations have brought to light an array of side-jobs, while posing questions on conflicts of interest and sloppy record keeping.

Tweaks aside, the EU said the Northern Ireland protocol, which took three and half years to agree, cannot be renegotiated however.

Polish women are on the front line of a battle for human rights and rule of law. They need urgent EU protection, amid death threats and government abuse.

Signify calls for tough action from EU states to meet emission reduction targets by making the switch to smart LED lighting

National utilities firms in Europe are switching from gas to more heavily polluting coal-fired energy plants because gas prices have gone up 400 percent since the start of the year, while coal ones have risen 200 percent, Reuters reports. "Soaring [gas] prices have now unlocked the gas-to-coal switching lever," Bank of America said. "Emissions are going in the wrong direction," Dave Jones, from climate think-tank Ember, added.

France wants to be a leader in green hydrogen by 2030 and build low-carbon planes and small nuclear reactors as part of a €30bn investment plan, president Emmanuel Macron said, Reuters reports. Macron said the road map, dubbed "France 2030", would ensure France decarbonises its industry and brings innovation and production in key areas, from cars and biomedicine to semi-conductors, closer to home by the end of the decade.