Category: EU

After France took over the EU Presidency at the start of the new year it welcomed the European Commission on 6 – 7 January in Paris for working meetings to prepare legislative deadlines and to agree on key joint priorities for the months to come. The meetings marked the formal start of the French Presidency. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her college of Commissioners met the French President Emanuel Macron and the Presidents of the French Senate and the National Assembly. The visit allowed for discussions between…

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During its six-month EU presidency, Slovenia successfully led the process of adopting European legislation, but that has been somewhat overshadowed by concerns from Brussels about the rule of law in Slovenia, particularly the government’s attitude towards the media and its failure to appoint the European delegated prosecutors. “Slovenia’s presidency has seen a number of achievements – successful coordination among EU member states and negotiations with the European Parliament on behalf of the Council,” said Sabina Lange, senior lecturer at the European Institute of Public Administration and Associate Professor of International…

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Youth For Climate Luxembourg is organising its next climate strike on Friday, 24 September.  Zohra Barthelemy, who oversees the movement’s public relations and logistical support, speaks about the movement, its goals and how it is wary of being used by local politicians. Teodor Georgiev: Youth For Climate (YFC) Luxembourg has no president but only members. Why was a hierarchy not established? Zohra Barthelemy: We see ourselves as a movement and as something that’s really dynamic, and that is open. And we think that hierarchies are harmful to this. Hierarchies for…

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In the recently adopted Matera Declaration, the world’s largest economies committed to addressing global food security and nutrition. But as the latest Food Sustainability Index (FSI) shows, this effort must begin at home. A new assessment of the G20, which includes among others the UK, the US, France and Italy, found room for improvement on food sustainability not only for their own sakes but also to set an example for the rest of the world as the UN prepares to host the first Food Systems Summit. With the latest figures…

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Portugal has said it will review its anti-racism laws, including those concerning fines and sanctions, the government announced in its national plan against racism published on Wednesday. In the National Plan to Combat Racism and Discrimination 2021-2025 – Portugal against racism, the government has committed to “assess the possible revision of the legislation on combating discrimination and hate speech […] in the scope of administrative offences.” The government has also announced the goal of “strengthening the system of sanctions for misdemeanours, reviewing the framework of fines and sanctioned conducts.” Article…

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oland will build a fence along its border with Belarus and double the number of troops there, the defence minister said on Monday, to halt a flow of migrants the European Union says is being driven by Minsk in retaliation for EU sanctions, write Kacper Pempel, Alan Charlish, Alicja Ptak and Pawel Florkiewicz. Poland and fellow EU states Lithuania and Latvia have reported sharp increases in migrants from countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan trying to cross their borders. The EU says Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is waging “hybrid warfare”…

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Good morning, health colleagues, and welcome to the first European Alliance for Personalised Medicine (EAPM) update of the week – we have news of an upcoming EAPM event in September that will take place during the ESMO Congress, writes EAPM Executive Director Denis Horgan. ‘The need for change’ The conference, EAPM’s ninth annual event, is entitled ‘The need for change – and how to make it happen: Defining the health-care ecosystem to determine value’. The event will take place on Friday, 17 September from 08h30–16h30 CET; here is the link…

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Foreign affairs ministers held an extraordinary meeting (17 August) to take stock of the situation in Afghanistan. Ministers called for the respect for fundamental rights and the safe passage of EU citizens and local staff, acknowledging that in order to do so they will have to deal with the Taliban. The EU is also in touch with Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries to discuss support for the anticipated migratory impact of the Taliban takeover. EU High Representative Borrell recognized the “momentous” developments as the most significant geopolitical event since the annexation of…

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The Conference on the Future of Europe is looking for your ideas on how the EU should change and what it should focus on. Now is the time to get involved, EU affairs. After its official launch in spring, the Conference is entering a crucial stage: it needs to get as much input from citizens as possible on how the EU should face the challenges of a changing world. More than 5,000 ideas have been submitted to the online platform, on topics ranging from the climate emergency to European democracy….

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