European Union

Portugal's government wants to privatise flag carrier TAP sooner rather than later to take advantage of market interest in the airline and is moving forward with preparatory work, Infrastructure Minister Miguel Pinto Luz said on Wednesday (24 July).

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will visit China from 26-31 July on her first trip there since taking office, aiming to improve trade with China, a person involved in the planning told Reuters.

The United States on Wednesday (24 July) criticized an Israeli bill that would declare the UN agency for Palestinian refugees a terrorist organization, saying that such efforts are "incredibly unhelpful."

European Union member states discussed options for extending the renewal period of sanctions on Russian central bank assets to secure a major Group of Seven loan to Ukraine, an EU draft document showed and diplomats said on Wednesday (24 July).

The rise of a young generation of far-right voters - conservative, anti-immigration, and fiercely nationalist - is a phenomenon shaping new electoral strategies all over Europe.

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Wednesday (24 July) urged world leaders to work together and find solutions to hunger as he launched an initiative to tackle "the most degrading of human deprivations."

With energy and climate an increasingly important component of EU-US relations, officials in Europe are keen to understand what US Vice-President Kamala Harris is thinking on these topics, and what a Harris presidency would mean for the transatlantic relations.

Ukraine's top diplomat said on Wednesday (24 July), after a day of "very deep and concentrated" talks in China, that Kyiv was prepared for talks on the conflict with Russia provided Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity were fully respected.

The Critical Raw Materials Act is still in its infancy, having been adopted at the very end of the last parliamentary term. Will the new EP and Commission stay committed to lowering EU dependency on external raw materials supply?

Meta released their flagship text-only model Llama 3.1, the best performing open-source artificial intelligence (AI) model so far, on Tuesday, which may very well be the company’s last one available to EU users.

Visiting British Defence Secretary John Healey and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius signed a declaration on Wednesday (24 July) intending to forge a comprehensive new security partnership as the new UK government seeks to build closer relations with EU countries.

The publication of a much-anticipated report on the European Union's competitiveness by former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has been delayed until September, an EU official confirmed to Euractiv on Tuesday (24 July).

Information pollution is poisoning democracy. The proliferation of disinformation has become one of the greatest concerns of the digital age. To build defences, Europe needs to understand the scale of the problem, Euractiv takes a look.

In a move reflecting simmering diplomatic tensions with France, Azerbaijan hosted the "First Congress of Independence Movements from French-Colonised Territories" on 17-18 July.

Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered video surveillance has been authorised on an experimental basis for the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, stoking fears among organisations that defend citizens' digital rights.

Many familiar faces are returning to the European Parliament's committees that deal with tech policies, but several key figures have also left the Parliament or the committees.

Written by Ingeborg Odink (1st edition).

Child sexual exploitation and sexual abuse are some of the most severe forms of violence against children, and they are crimes that know no borders. The constant increase in these crimes, exacerbated by the pandemic and the use of modern technologies, underscores the need for harmonised national legislation and international cooperation to improve prevention, protect victims and prosecute perpetrators.

The statistics for Europe are staggering, as acknowledged by both governmental and non-governmental organisations. Reports indicate that one in five children has experienced some form of sexual violence, with 70-85 % of child victims knowing their abuser. The EU has made combating child sexual abuse, both offline and online, a top priority of its agenda and a key objective of the EU security union strategy for 2020 to 2025.

The primary legislative instrument in this area for the EU is Directive 2011/93/EU on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography. However, a recent ex-post evaluation highlighted limitations in the directive, particularly in addressing technological advances since its entry into force.

To align the directive with these changes, on 6 February 2024 the Commission submitted a proposal for a revision of the directive. In Parliament, the proposal was referred to the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE). The committee adopted its draft report on 24 April 2024.

Complete version

• July 2024: Combating child sexual abuse: Revising Directive (2011/93/EU) – recast (1st edition)

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child sexual abuse material and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA (recast)Committee responsible:Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE)COM(2024)060
6.2.2024Former rapporteur:Jeroen Lenaers (EPP, Netherlands)2024/0035(COD)Shadow rapporteurs:To be appointedOrdinary legislative
procedure (COD)
(Parliament and Council
on equal footing –
formerly ‘co-decision’)Next steps expected: Awaiting committee decision

NGOs ClientEarth and BirdLife Europe on Wednesday (24 July) presented a complaint to the EU Ombudsman over the European Commission’s decision to relax some of the environmental requirements under the bloc’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The UK's broadcast and telecoms regulator Ofcom fined the social media platform TikTok £1.875 million (€2.23 million) for not providing accurate information about its parental controls, according to a Wednesday (24 July) press release.

The French President announced on Tuesday 23 July that the resigning government would remain in place ”until at least mid-August”, and that no new Prime Minister would be appointed before the end of the Olympic Games, while the left-wing opposition denounced a ”denial of democracy”.