European Union

A coalition of Polish opposition parties on Saturday (6 April) launched its campaign for May's European elections by warning that the governing eurosceptic PiS party could drive the country out of the European Union.

Rwanda on Sunday (7 April) began 100 days of mourning for more than 800,000 people slaughtered in a genocide that shocked the world, a quarter of a century on from the day it began.

EU foreign ministers on Saturday upped pressure on Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar to halt his offensive on Tripoli, urging the strongman to commit to a political solution. The issue is expected to be discussed again at the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday (8 April).

A letter signed by 250 medical staff is demanding the EU stop research funding for Israeli defence and security firms, in light of the some 6,500 Palestinians shot in the past year by Israeli soldiers.

Accountability and transparency are in short supply when it comes to how MEPs spend €40m every year on "office supplies". Efforts to pry open this secrecy have been met with strong resistance from many of the parliament's most powerful MEPs.

The EU issued a declaration on the occasion of the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

Weekly schedule of President Donald Tusk 8-14 April 2019

President Donald Tusk congratulates George Vella on his election as President of Malta.

Remarks by President Centeno following the Eurogroup meeting of 5 April on Greece, the updated draft budgetary plan of Luxembourg and deepening the economic and monetary union.

On 5 April 2019, Eurogroup adopted a statement on the updated draft budgetary plan of Luxembourg for 2019.

On 5 April 2019, the Eurogroup adopted a statement on Greece.

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.

The ongoing US-China trade negotiations are affecting the concessions Europe is seeking from Beijing to save the bilateral summit next Tuesday, as the Chinese authorities are prioritizing now an agreement with Washington, European sources told Euractiv.com.

WiFi should be deployed in connected vehicles rather than 5G due to safety concerns that may result in an increase in the EU's 25,000 annual road deaths, a letter written by EU's Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc to the European Parliament states.

Written by Marcin Grajewski,

© piyaset / Fotolia

The United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, has urged governments worldwide on March 28 to come to the UN summit on climate in September 2019 with concrete plans to boost action against global warming. The call followed the publication and the annual report on climate change by the World Meteorological Organisation, which warned about dire consequences of the continued rise of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In the same month, hundreds of thousands of students and pupils in 120 countries have tried to draw politicians’ attention to climate change by walking out of classes to stage street protests.

This note brings together commentaries, analyses and studies by major international think tanks and research institutes on climate talks and wider issues relating to climate change. Earlier publications on the issue can be found in a previous edition of ‘What Think Tanks are Thinking’ published in November 2018.

Managing climate risk for a safer future: A new resilience agenda for Europe
E3G, April 2019

Raising and strengthening EU climate ambition: Priorities and options for the next five years
IDDRI, SciencesPo, March 2019

Can Europe create strong energy and climate coalitions?
European Council on Foreign Relations, March 2019

Nach dem Klimagipfel in Kattowitz: Wichtige Elemente der EU-Klimaagenda 2019
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, March 2019

What can the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C tell us about a CCS and CCU agenda for Europe?
Centre for European Policy Studies, March 2019

European energy transition 2030: The big picture
Ecologic Institute, March 2019

The geopolitical implications of the global energy transition
Bruegel, March 2019

Sustainability and internationalism: Driving development in the 21st century
Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, March 2019

The case for green realism
Bruegel, March 2019

Legislating for a low carbon and climate resilient transition: Learning from international experiences
Real Instituto Elcano, March 2019

A pathway design framework for national low greenhouse gas emission development strategies
IDDRI, March 2019

Climate change and human rights: Can the courts fix it?
Heinrich Böll Stiftung, March 2019

Carbon pricing options for international maritime emissions
New Climate Institute, March 2019

Fighting climate change with disclosure? The real effects of mandatory greenhouse gas emission disclosure
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, February 2019

Reducing climate risk in the post-2020 EU budget
EG3, February 2019

How does climate change affect optimal allocation of variable renewable energy?
Energiewirtschaftliches Institut an der Universität zu Köln, February 2019

Defining green bonds: The danger of neglecting the issuer side
Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft Köln, February 2019

Fuel to the fire: How geoengineering threatens to entrench fossil fuels and accelerate the climate crisis
Center for International Environmental Law, February 2019

Energie-climat en Europe: pour une excellence écologique
Fondation pour l’innovation politique, February 2019

Climate security: Making it doable
Clingendael, February 2019

This is a crisis: facing up to the age of environmental breakdown
Institute for Public Policy Research, February 2019

Progress on implementing the Hague declaration on climate and security
Clingendael, February 2019

Vers une société post-carbone
Fondation pour l’innovation politique, February 2019

Getting a grip on the climate challenge to build the future of Europe
Fondation Robert Schuman, January 2019

Realizing the promise of Paris: Roadmap to a safer climate
New Climate Institute, January 2019

Agroécologie paysanne: La Via Campesina en action: des solutions pour le climat
Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, January 2019

Clean energy standards
Resources for the Future, January 2019

CAP 2021-27: Using the eco-scheme to maximise environmental and climate benefits
Institute for European Environmental Policy, January 2019

Sinking to zero: The role of carbon capture and negative emissions in EU climate policy
Centre for European Policy Studies, January 2019

Green bonds: Current development and their future
Centre for International Governance Innovation, January 2019

Triaging climate change
Rand Corporation, January 2019

Intertemporal emissions trading and market design: An application to the EU ETS
Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, January 2019

A just transition of European coal regions
E3G, January 2019

Steering the climate system: An extended comment
Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, January 2019

The repatriation of competences in climate and energy policy after Brexit: implications for devolution and multi-level government
UK in a Changing Europe, January 2019

The regional dimension of climate change: Making the case for a just and innovative transition
Friends of Europe, December 2018

De la COP 21 à la COP24: Bilan d’étape
OCP Policy Center, December 2018

The role of sub-state and non-state actors in international climate processes: financial institutions
Chatham House, December 2018

Despite technical progress, COP24 struggles to build political momentum
IDDRI, December 2018

Pigou pushes preferences: Decarbonisation and endogenous values
Oxford Martin School, Grantham Research Institute, Centre for Climate Change Economic and Policy, December 2018

Strategic implications of counter-geoengineering: Clash or cooperation?
Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, December 2018

Are the G20 economies making enough progress to meet their NDC targets?
Energy Policy, March 2019

Climate change and the just transition: a guide for investor action
Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, December 2018

How poverty is causing deforestation across Africa
Chatham House, December 2018

Making finance consistent with climate goals: Insights for operationalising article 2.1c of the UNFCCC Paris Agreement
ODI, World Resources Institute, Rocky Mountain Institute, E3G, December 2018

Brexit and China will dominate EU affairs this week, as leaders meet for two summits - including emergency talks two days before the UK is due to crash out of the EU with no deal in place.

BMW and Volkswagen face possible hefty fines after EU antitrust regulators on Friday (5 April) charged the German carmakers and whistleblower Daimler with colluding to block the rollout of clean emissions technology.

His eyes have been gouged from his face and his skin has been scratched out in a mad and impassioned frenzy. These are the murals of Buddha at the Bezeklik caves, near the ancient ruins of Gaochang in the Mutou Valley, China.

Ahead of the Eastern Partnership's (EaP) tenth anniversary in May, EU foreign ministers are next week set to review the progress of the bloc’s framework with the six countries, with the situation in Ukraine being the elephant in the room.

The outgoing European Commission has got through a lot of work when it comes to the circular economy but now attention is turning to the future and how to make sure recycling efforts really take off.