Euractiv.com

As the vital relationship between Franco-German leaders Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron appears “broken”, hopes for a sustainable fix rest on the Weimar Triangle and even the return of an old nemesis.

On the latest episode of Euractiv’s Today in the EU we invited Georgi Gotev, our senior editor to take a deep dive into Bulgaria’s and Romania’s Schengen admission.

This week, together with the European Data Protection Supervisor Wojciech Wiewiórowski, we look at data protection issues, including the regulation concerning the detection and removal of online child sexual abuse material, as well as Frontex’s handling of migrants’ data, and the recent news regarding the European Commission's violation of data protection rules in its use of Microsoft.

There are more than 6,000 rare diseases, with 27 different healthcare systems governed by diverse rules and principles, with differences for orphan drugs payments. The new Pharma Package aims on bridging regulatory gaps, but stakeholders warn of the risk of amplifying uncertainties.

When done abusively to cut costs and circumvent regulations, subcontracting is detrimental to both the subcontracted workers and local workforces who end up approaching the negotiating table from weaker positions, says a leading European trade unionist.

Europe needs a Bio Act according to MEP Pernille Weiss (EPP). Weiss and other expert speakers at the European High-Level Summit on Biosolutions said failing to develop an effective biosolutions framework will lead to a stifling of innovation and growth.

The EU’s recent push to encourage the private sector to step in to finance critical investment - especially through the revival of Capital Market Union (CMU) plans -  is both unrealistic and misguided, experts warned.

The European Commission requested information on Thursday (14 March) from nine big tech platforms on their use of targeted ads and generative artificial intelligence (AI) to gauge compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA).

After tabling just a small part of the promised overhaul of legislation on animal welfare, the Commission told the European Parliament plenary on Thursday (14 March) that a revision must rely on a strategic dialogue with stakeholders.

Panama is increasingly becoming the hub of illicit tobacco trade, costing the country massive loss of public revenues and at the same time, raising questions over the policy response to this phenomenon.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen is expected to start an “intensive” EU election campaign in May with several “thematic” events across Europe, a source familiar with the matter from the European People’s Party (EPP) headquarters in Brussels told Euractiv.

Airdrops and a maritime corridor will not be enough to substitute humanitarian aid transported by trucks into Gaza, where people are on the verge of famine, European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said on Thursday (14 March).

The EU’s Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius is touring Paraguay, Bolivia, and Ecuador this week to address concerns related to the implementation of the world’s first ban on deforestation-linked products, a measure criticised as protectionist by some of the bloc’s trade partners.

When I think about the Russian elections, particularly the presidential one taking place this weekend, I cannot help but remember the totalitarian voting in which I participated as a youngster.

Animal welfare is one of those rare issues that is neither left nor right. Across the political spectrum and irrespective of nationality, you’ll always find politicians who care about the plight of animals; it is certainly not the exclusive domain of the Greens and the Left.

A key provision in the EU's AI rulebook to assess the risks of foundation models such as ChatGPT may become obsolete within a year due to the pace of developing technologies, experts told Euractiv.

Support in the US for NATO is high and the Europeans' investment into defence is higher than ever, Secretary-General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday (14 March), in a move to dismiss future criticism from Washington.

The European Commission announced its investigation into AliExpress on Thursday (14 March), about whether the online retail service violated the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA).

In a video seen by AFP on Wednesday (13 March), French President Emmanuel Macron said he was in favour of including the notion of consent in the criminal definition of rape - a significant U-turn, given that France opposed the idea in an EU directive in February.

One of the leaders of the liberals in the EU election campaign will be German defence expert Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, whose party in Germany has been obstructing significant legislative proposals related to business and the Green Deal in recent weeks.