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Lack of enthusiasm among national members of the European Left is driving the party to pick a widely unknown politician for its lead candidate in EU elections, echoing a general lack of appetite for the contested Spitzenkandidaten system.

Ukraine’s EU accession could help develop the country’s vast potential in agriculture, energy, and raw materials to the benefit of Europe’s economic security, write Philipp Lausberg and Svitlana Taran.

French MEP Valérie Hayer will become the new president of Renew Europe with “overwhelming consensus” after current interim President Malik Azmani failed to gather enough support following widespread worries about his party’s involvement with coalition talks with the far-right. 

Chinese officials just made an unprecedented, yet almost unnoticed, economic power grab. And instead of condemning the move, today, European officials could softly condone it -- by voting to implement a similar policy that would gut tech innovation across the EU.

Elections across the globe this year will be a "prime target" for countries looking to spread disinformation and undermine democracy, such as Russia, EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell warned on Tuesday (23 January).

The story got off to a rather good start almost a year ago. On March 8th 2023, Macron said he was in favour of enshrining the right to abortion in constitutional law, making France the first country in the EU to do so. 

The awaited proposal of the Commission on prolonging the food trade benefits for Ukraine, driving food sector discontent, will be tabled “next week” Czesław Siekierski told Euractiv, and it might include some Warsaw demands.

Responding to the concerns of a majority of member states on the potential impacts of the technology, Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said that the EU is on “very solid ground” when it comes to risk assessment and labelling.

The end of the European five-year term and the start of the new year have the climate community thinking about the upcoming period. Euractiv has you covered on the key debates in Brussels.

Ahead of a key summit of members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Abu Dhabi at the end of February, the EU hopes for a reform of the organisation’s “dispute settlement mechanism”, a court-like institution paralysed by the USA.

Atomic scientists on Tuesday (23 January) kept their ‘Doomsday Clock’ set as close to midnight as ever before, citing Russia's actions on nuclear weapons amid its invasion of Ukraine, nuclear-armed Israel’s Gaza war and worsening climate change as factors driving the risk of global catastrophe.

Russian missiles hit Ukraine's two largest cities, killing 18 people, injuring more than 130 and damaging homes and infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said as Moscow's war approaches its third year.

In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about Germany backing Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's efforts to undo PiS justice reforms, the Spanish government paving the way for the return of self-exiled Puigdemont, and so much more.

Carrying more stock, switching to suppliers nearer to consumers and reducing dependence on China are tactics European and US retailers used to build more resilient supply chains following disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Party of European Socialists (PES) wants the EU to “strengthen” relations with both Washington and Beijing, while it rejects a regulatory “pause” to the Green Deal, a demand of other pro-EU forces such as the centre-right and liberals, an early draft electoral manifesto, seen by Euractiv, states.

The UK will further increase its military presence and support for Romania as an allied state, the new British Ambassador to Bucharest, Giles Portman, said at his first press conference in Bucharest on Tuesday, adding that the Royal Air Force's Typhoons will return to Romania this year for an air policing mission.

With the European Commission's 'strategic dialogue' between policymakers, farmers and agriculture stakeholders due to start on Thursday (25 January), agriculture ministers on Tuesday said the initiative is coming too late.

Many travellers are opting to take a plane rather than train between London and Paris despite climate concerns and the Eurostar rail service connecting the two capitals in just over two hours.

In a rare show of unity, environmental organisations and oil companies have both warned that the EU’s targets for green jet fuels are in danger of being missed as investment into the production of synthetic fuels is so far not materialising.

Belgian finance minister Vincent Van Peteghem has said that developing an 'Industrial Deal' will be one of the key priorities of his country’s EU Council presidency, adding that “cutting red tape” and improving the bloc’s general investment climate are key to arresting the bloc’s industrial decline.