European Union

To achieve climate neutrality by 2050, the question of renovating buildings to be more energy-efficient is of crucial importance. More than ever before, it is the subject of debate on both sides of the Rhine. EURACTIV France and Germany report.

While the new restrictions will come into force on Saturday, Polish authorities are hesitating to enforce a ban on gatherings eyeing the country’s Independence Day march on 11 November. Following the Constitutional Tribunal’s decision to ban most abortions in October,...

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa proposed on Thursday in a draft presidential decree a state of emergency – this time without a lockdown – that would run from 9 to 23 November. Unlike the previous states of emergency imposed...

Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called on Tuesday for a collective effort and “self-discipline” of the population to overcome the worst of the economic and health crises in the country, EFE reported. Sánchez stressed that the path towards recovery...

Coronavirus lockdowns in Europe have led to some environmental improvements such as better air quality and lower carbon emissions, but they are temporary and coupled with a surge in single-use plastic, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said Thursday (5 November).

Piedmont, Lombardy, Calabria and Valle d’Aosta, which happen to be the four Italian regions which have been classified as “red zones”, are requesting the government to provide clarification on the decision. Calabria’s acting president, Nino Spirlì,  has threatened to appeal...

Pan-European exchange Euronext said on Thursday (5 November) it was listening to calls from top banks and asset managers about finding a way to trade on alternative platforms when there are lengthy outages like last month.

Of the people who quit smoking in Finland within the last year, 15% have done so because of the coronavirus, according to a survey commissioned by the Finnish health organisation and carried out among citizens aged between 17 and 79....

French MPs are currently examining a bill that would prohibit the publication of images allowing the identification of law enforcement officers if the purpose of the broadcast is to harm their “physical or psychological integrity” – something which police unions...

The home address of Thuringian state leader Bodo Ramelow was published online by members of the online movement ‘Querdenken‘ (English: thinking outside the box), which promotes conspiracy theories that deny the existence of COVID-19. On Wednesday night, Ramelow found at...

Each euro invested in cancer treatment is a step closer to patients' health, so Europe should not cut corners and leave patients alone in their fight, centre-right MEP Bartosz Arłukowicz told EURACTIV in an interview.

The United Kingdom’s Transport Minister Grant Shapps said on Friday (6 November) that people arriving in the country from Denmark will need to self-isolate for 14 days, starting on Saturday, as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus. “I...

The EU should scale up the use of sustainable renewable fuels in road transport if Europe’s ambitions for a decarbonised economy are to become a reality by 2050, stakeholders have said.

As the world struggles with a global pandemic, the US navigates its post-election reality and China’s role on a world stage is changing, European defence cooperation is ever more important. Poland, due to our very particular historic experience, is dedicating...

The EU foreign service has condemned Israel's demolition of more than 70 Palestinian structures in Khirbet Hamsa al-Foqa, in the occupied West Bank, which made 11 families, including 41 children, homeless, saying it was "an impediment towards the two-state solution" favoured by the UN. There were 52 Palestinian schools still under threat of being bulldozed, including an EU-funded academy in the West Bank's Ras Al-Teen community, the EU noted.

A 27-year-old jihadist from Tajikistan has been arrested by Greece’s Counter-Terrorism Service, Greek media reported on Thursday. The 27-year-old was an ISIS fighter and was in the lists of Interpol. He is a father of four children, who had come...

French president Emmanuel Macron has pledged deep reform of free movement in the EU in the wake of recent terrorist attacks.

Belgian police seized 11.5 tonnes of pure cocaine hidden in a scrap metal container in the country's single biggest-ever haul, prosecutors said on Thursday (5 November).

Reversing damaging incentives to burn wood for heat and power is crucial if the EU wants to remain a leader on climate and biodiversity, argue Annika Lund Gade and Peter de Jong.

The World Health Organisation in Europe said on Thursday it was seeing an "explosion" of coronavirus cases on the continent and warned of a "tough time" ahead as mortality rates rose, AFP reports. "We do see an explosion ... in the sense it only takes a couple of days to have over the European region an increase of one million cases," WHO's regional director for Europe Hans Kluge said.