Euractiv.com

EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell confirmed on Monday (5 February) he was heading for Ukraine as he reiterated calls for more aid for the war-torn country.

A German government agreement will create state support mechanisms for up to 10 GW of newly-built gas power plants, opening the way for carbon capture in the energy sector and may delay the country’s 2035 plan for a fossil-free power system. 

France’s newly appointed prime minister Gabriel Attal unsurprisingly survived his first vote of no confidence on Monday (5 February), filed by all left-wing parties, with 124 votes out of the required 289 – as both the far-right and conservatives did not support the motion.

Europe is relying on the solar boom to meet energy security goals. But right now, European solar manufacturers are going bankrupt. The sector is calling for immediate and structural support.

The United States intends to launch further strikes at Iran-backed groups in the Middle East, the White House national security adviser said on Sunday (4 February), after hitting Tehran-aligned factions in Iraq, Syria and Yemen over the last two days.

In a rare show of unity, business and environmental groups have published a joint letter calling on EU policymakers to back mandatory sorting of mixed household waste, saying this is the only way to meet EU recycling goals and prevent the incineration of recyclable paper, metals and plastics.

In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about the minimum wage increase in Spain, Slovak farmers announcing that they are ready to join farmers protesting across the EU, and so much more.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned on Sunday (4 February) that moves to suspend the funding of UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA were extremely ill-advised.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Ukrainian troops on the southeastern front and handed out medals, his office said on Sunday (4 February), and his spokesperson said he came very close to exchanges of fire on the front line.

The ban on far-right AUR party President George Simion from entering the Republic of Moldova has been extended for another five years, representatives of the General Inspectorate for Migration of the Ministry in Chisinau told NewsMaker.md.

Slovak farmers are prepared to join their European counterparts in the week-long protests that have rocked many countries in recent weeks, the Slovak Chamber of Agriculture and Food (SPPK) said, adding that the EU’s “green fanaticism” was to blame.

On Sunday, Parisians voted to increase parking charges for sport utility vehicles (SUVs), but the opposition jumped to call it a democratic, ecological and social farce.

Spain’s minimum wage will rise from the current €1,050 to €1,134 gross per month, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (PSOE/S&D) announced at a rally on Saturday.

Taylor Swift trended again. This time not for her music but due to violent deepfakes of the artist that flooded the platform X. EU policymakers now have a historic chance to protect women from sexualised deepfakes – if they are up for the task.

The leader of Germany’s conservative Christian Democrats, Friedrich Merz, is convinced his party will lead the next federal government, he said in his weekly newsletter on Saturday, outlining potential coalition partners.

Following failed interinstitutional negotiations over the platform work directive last week, the Belgium Presidency circulated yet another draft text, which significantly waters down the file’s flagship chapter on the legal presumption of employment.

Protesters and police clashed in the Senegalese capital Dakar and at least one senior opposition figure was arrested Sunday (4 February), a day after President Macky Sall announced the indefinite postponement of the presidential election.

Poland has introduced stricter controls on agri-food products at the Ukrainian border to protect its domestic market from an uncontrolled influx of  products, Deputy Agriculture Minister Michał Kołodziejczak said over the weekend.

The European Union is failing to supply Ukraine with enough ammunition on time, and the logical solution is to use EU funds to buy ammunition abroad, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský told Czech reporters over the weekend.

European solar panel manufacturers have warned they are “poised to shut down manufacturing lines” unless the EU takes emergency measures to save the sector, such as a buy-out of their inventories, which have piled up in recent years due to an influx of cheaper versions from China.