Euractiv.com

The tighter the bond between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the more Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini distances himself from the 'Ursula majority', using the farmers' protests across Europe as an opportunity to renew opposition to "crazy" European policies.

A dozen locally-elected representatives on the "Notre Europe" list for the European elections called in an opinion piece for a strong but decentralised Europe that is closer to the day-to-day concerns of local players.

The European Parliament and Council have agreed a provisional deal on "historic" legislation aimed at ensuring greater transparency and public oversight of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rating agencies.

The Swedish criminal investigation into the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipeline sabotage in the autumn of 2022 will likely conclude shortly after the prosecutor in charge, Mats Ljungqvist, announced that a decision would be made on Wednesday.

US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators prepared a diplomatic push to bridge differences between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire plan for Gaza after the Palestinian group responded to a proposal for an extended pause in fighting and hostage releases.

The European Parliament is preparing to use TikTok during the upcoming election campaign despite EU institutions banning it from corporate devices last year due to cybersecurity concerns, the press service confirmed to Euractiv.

The European Parliament and national governments have agreed to boost domestic production of green technologies, such as solar modules and wind turbines, expanding the list to include nuclear power but shying away from excluding Chinese manufacturers for most public subsidies.

France's prime minister Gabriel Attal has warned against the risks of a French EU exit if the far-right wins big at the polls, as overwhelming data shows the negative impacts of Brexit on the UK.

In its 2040 climate roadmap, the EU executive dropped a reference to the possibility for agriculture to reduce non-CO2 emissions by at least 30% in 25 years, amid farmers’ protests over the bloc’s green policies. 

EU regulations governing tuna fishing were updated on Tuesday (6 February), harmonising rules within the EU and third-country fleets. While the majority of these measures received unanimous support in Parliament, environmentalists deplored the poor distribution of quotas for small-scale fishing.

The farmers' protests are the tip of a more general social malaise, Louise Fresco, a Dutch scientist and writer dealing with globally sustainable food, told Euractiv, warning against the ongoing "proliferation of rules" and a uniform approach to different growers across Europe. 

There is a lot of talk these days about how much pop megastar Taylor Swift could influence US politics. Some even say she could be the kingmaker.

The European Parliament will replace the manual registration of lawmakers' attendance with a system based on scanning their badges and, on a voluntary basis, fingerprints, according to document about a bureau meeting on Monday (5 February), seen by Euractiv. 

The EU is already struggling to meet its 2030 climate and energy targets, so it needs to put farmers as well as the social and environmental benefits first in order to project itself forward to 2040, write Zsolt Lengyel and Erica Johnson.

The approach of 'competitive sustainability' is key to understanding how a measure of competitiveness is needed in the new global context marked by massive US green subsidies and an aggressive industrial strategy from China, writes Martin Porter.

With IT innovations and financial technologies expected to be an important part of Ukraine's reconstruction, foreign investors should grab the opportunity early on, writes Maksym Koretskiy.

The European Commission presented its recommendations for the EU’s 2040 climate target on Tuesday (6 February), arguing for a 90% cut in emissions compared to 1990, and paving the way for carbon capture technology to abate remaining emissions from industry.

Germany will abstain from another EU transport law, despite initially signalling agreement, an industry source told Euractiv, as the liberal FDP party is blocking the agreement to the proposed new CO2 standards for trucks which would see the number of diesel trucks drastically reduced.

Representatives of the EU Council, Commission, and Parliament agreed on a compromise text of the Gigabit Infrastructure Act: the tacit approval remains a voluntary principle while the abolition of intra-EU communication 'surcharges' is set for 2029-2032. 

Turkey's government is scrambling to prove it has fulfilled promises to re-home victims of a devastating earthquake from February 2023. But a year on, survivors are still in temporary housing, facing the prospect of having to buy their potential new homes.