Euractiv.com

The White House on Saturday (10 February) rejected comments made by former US President Donald Trump about not protecting NATO allies from a potential Russian invasion as "appalling and unhinged."

In this week's edition: Munich Security Conference preview, Russia sanctions and CETA revival.

Hungarian President Katalin Novák, a close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, announced her resignation Saturday (10 February) following outrage over a pardon granted to a man implicated in a child sexual abuse case.

Belgian socialist MEP Marie Arena, whose Brussels home was searched last July as part of the European parliament "Qatargate" bribery scandal, was questioned by investigators Friday (9 February), according to her lawyer.

The European Commission and Canada have agreed on the "interpretation” of parts of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) that relate to investor protection from environmental regulation, in a push by Brussels to persuade member states to ratify the bilateral multibillion-euro deal.

The European Parliament and member states reached an agreement early Saturday (10 February) on reforms to EU budgetary rules aimed at boosting investment while keeping spending under control.

Political groups in the European Parliament have offered radically opposing views on the EU’s recommended climate objective for 2040 this week, in a foretaste of debates to come after the June EU election.

Non-state actors adopted a joint declaration in support of adaptation to climate change as part of the Belgian presidency of the EU Council in Liège on Thursday and Friday (8-9 February).

Up to six people may soon enter an alternative to marriage in Germany, a 'civil union of mutual legal responsibility', and this is just one example of how the country's coalition government has been quietly pushing the boundaries of social change.

The EU member states approved the European Commission proposal for a derogation on land set-aside requirements. The measure was part of a package to appease farmers' protests, which however continue in Southern and Eastern Europe.

Thousands of tractors took to the Polish streets in a huge nationwide demonstration on Friday (9 February) as local farmers, inspired by their colleagues from other EU countries, resumed their protest against the European Green Deal and the imports from Ukraine.

Sustainability measures are necessary but “forcefully” imposed on farmers while other economic sectors - such as tourism - are left untouched, a representative of young farmers in Spain’s Catalonia told Euractiv, warning that the far-right wants to be the voice of neglected rural areas in Europe. 

The EU’s defence programmes and funds have multiplied after the start of Russia's war in Ukraine, to boost collaboration in different steps of an equipment’s life cycle: research, development, production, acquisition, and transfer to third countries. 

Europe is on the cusp of a technological revolution. Unlike the Industrial Revolution’s massive factories, the bio-revolution centres around micro-factories. Biosolutions represent the fusion of biology and technology, offering powerful tools to address climate change.

The Russia-initiated United Nations Cybercrime Convention was due to conclude on Friday (9 February) but lack of consensus on the scope and terminology has prompted civil society to call for the rejection of the Convention in its current form.

The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) has been taken off the agenda of today’s meeting of EU ambassadors, as it was not expected to reach a majority among EU countries. So far, no new date for the vote has been set.

A last-minute deal in Berlin has paved the way for the approval of the EU’s 2040 target of reducing heavy-duty vehicle emissions by 90% in exchange for a clause dedicated to vehicles running on e-fuels.

The Council and the European Parliament agreed on Thursday (8 February) on the proposal to completely phase out the use of mercury in dental amalgam as part of the commitments from the EU’s Zero Pollution Ambition. 

Polish farmers on Friday (9 February) blocked roads and staged protests at border checkpoints with Ukraine, in a new wave of protests against farming imports from the neighbouring war-torn country.

The German government is looking beyond Europe to supply hydrogen in coming years, and has agreed a task-force with Algeria to facilitate the framework for imports.