European Union

Hungary and Slovakia have asked the European Commission to mediate a consultation procedure with Ukraine, Hungary's foreign minister said, after Kyiv placed Russian group Lukoil on a sanctions list, stopping its supplies to the two countries.

The British government on Tuesday (23 July) faces an unprecedented legal challenge for allegedly failing to protect people, property and infrastructure from the likely effects of climate change.

Ukraine's top diplomat will visit China on Tuesday (23 July) at the invitation of Beijing for talks that Kyiv said would focus on how to end Russia's war in Ukraine and on a possible Chinese role in reaching a settlement.

A Russian court has sentenced Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist for US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), to 6-1/2 years in prison for spreading false information about the Russian army, the court revealed on Monday (22 July).

Vice President Kamala Harris will campaign in the battleground state of Wisconsin on Tuesday (23 July) for the first time as a presidential candidate after enough Democratic delegates pledged to endorse her, clearing her path to the nomination.

Even with US sanctions in place, fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor and his affiliates continue to spread Russian disinformation in Moldova using the social media platform Facebook.

Russian forces are conducting drills involving Yars mobile nuclear missile launchers, Russian media reported on Tuesday (23 July), in what would be the second such exercise in less than a month.

The United Arab Emirates hopes to reactivate trade talks with the European Union by the end of the year, the UAE trade minister said on Monday (22 July), and is optimistic the talks would be bilateral.

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Monday (22 July) he had been "scared" by Venezuelan counterpart Nicolás Maduro's warning of a "bloodbath" if he loses elections on Sunday.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Monday (22 July) criticised the mayor of tourist resort Dubrovnik for publicly using a slogan of the country's World War II pro-Nazi regime.

It’s a busy summer for the European Parliament, with this week seeing the formation of committees and MEPs voting on the committee chairmanship on Tuesday (23 July). 

The EMA’s safety committee, which keeps a watchful eye on the safety of all medicines for human use in the EU, has elected a Swedish member, Ulla Wändel Liminga, as its new chair for a six-year term. 

Local authorities are failing to crack down on illegal imports of medicines from Asia. A truck smuggling 114,000 packages of medicines has been seized by Bulgarian authorities at a Turkish-Bulgarian border crossing.

Europe has vast differences in the stages of a medicine’s journey, from approval to pricing, and reimbursement, leading to significant delays and unequal patient access - often depending on a patient's residence.

In a rebuke of Hungary's controversial solo diplomatic efforts on Ukraine, the EU's informal meeting of foreign and defence ministers will take place in Brussels instead of Budapest, the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Monday (22 July).

Tensions between Meta and the EU intensified on Monday (22 July), with the European Commission and European consumer authorities saying the US tech giant may be breaching consumer protection law with its “pay or OK” model.

Written by Andrés García Higuera.

Critical and strategic raw materials are essential for the EU economy, its society and policy objectives. At the same time, their supply is at risk today – or in the foreseeable future. Raw material supply has become more salient since the introduction of the EU raw materials initiative, culminating with the recent adoption of the Critical Raw Materials Act. A new STOA study, with its associated options brief, aim at contributing to increasing EU strategic autonomy in critical raw materials through the instrumental role of research and innovation (R&I) in strengthening the EU’s global position.

Critical raw materials (CRM) are necessary for a robust EU economy but are also diverse in their nature and the challenges they pose. Methodologies exist to assess and monitor risks and possible impacts of supply disruption. Despite challenges regarding access to timely, high-quality data, these methodologies address both the status quo (CRM) and future developments (strategic raw materials, SRM) regarding supply and demand for raw materials. The outcome of CRM assessments has changed over time due to changing supply and demand realities. This will also continue to be the case in the assessment of SRM. These assessments and the accompanying background work provide a view of the entire supply chain for CRM. Options can then be developed to minimise supply risks and increase resilience.

The EU has addressed the issue of raw material criticality, including through strong engagement in R&I for CRM. EU policy, from the 2008 raw materials initiative to the recent Critical Raw Materials Act, has stressed the role of R&I. In parallel with this political focus, funding has increased significantly in EU programmes, including past Framework Programmes and the current Horizon Europe, as well as EIT RawMaterials, now reaching the end of its funding period. All this has allowed the EU to become an important patenting actor, especially in mining/processing and recycling, with strong international ties (particularly to the USA). Continued funding and policy support will be key to maintaining and profiting from this position.

The European Parliament’s Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA) recently published ‘The role of research and innovation in ensuring a safe and sustainable supply of critical raw materials in the EU‘. This study aims at illuminating the R&I’s role in ensuring a safe and sustainable supply of CRM. It provides background information on CRMs, related EU policies, sustainability issues, and public controversy, then identifies their connections with their respective needs for R&I. The study reviews the role of R&I and cooperation in securing the EU’s raw material supply, highlighting the significance of R&I along the value chain and analysing patenting activities and international cooperation. It concludes by presenting 11 policy options on EU institutional and R&I capacities, international collaboration and legitimacy, assessing each against a list of dimensions including costs, benefits and feasibility.

Read the full STOA study and the Options Brief to find out more. The study was presented to the STOA Panel at its meeting on 25 April 2024, which was followed by the release of a promotional video. Your opinion counts for us. To let us know what you think, get in touch via stoa@europarl.europa.eu.

The European Commission has accepted commitments by Vifor, part of the global biotechnology giant CSL, to redress what it said was possible unfair "disparagement" of Danish company Pharmacosmos.

With over 400 million tons of plastic produced annually worldwide, half of which is designed for single use, and less than 10% recycled, the need to improve circularity is imperative. The upcoming delegated act from the Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) could provide much-needed clarity on recycled plastic content and support this innovative solution for greater plastic circularity.

Renault's CEO Luca De Meo expressed doubts over the timeline for transitioning to electric vehicles in Europe, adding the carmaker has to bring down costs if it wants to deliver on its EV goals.