European Union

Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) officially elected Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjans as the new chairmen at a national conference on Friday (6 December). There was no vote about remaining in the Grand Coalition with the CDU/CSU conservatives, but the new leadership appears to have 'declared war' on them. EURACTIV Germany reports.

The opposition Labour party has used a leaked government document to accuse Boris Johnson of lying about new customs checks between Northern Ireland and Britain..

After having failed to have a gender-balanced Commission, the first female Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently announced that she had achieved gender parity in all the cabinets at administrative level. But the real power-sharing in incoming Commissioners’ offices...

Bermuda wants to leave behind its reputation as a tax haven to become a Fintech hub. In an interview with EURACTIV.com, the premier of the UK’s overseas territory, David Burt, said the island could come out of the EU’s 'grey list' of tax havens early next year. But he criticised a global minimum tax as he praised tax competition among countries.

In one of his first public appearances, Olivér Várhelyi, Commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement, said on Thursday (4 December) reviving civil society and economy by reaching out to youth would be his priority in the context of Eastern Partnership.

A report from NGO Oxfam and the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) found that people who seek protection in Greece are regularly denied access to a "fair and efficient asylum process" due to a lack of lawyers and access to information in the overcrowded camps on the Greek islands. "The Greek government is weakening fundamental safeguards of the reception and asylum systems," said Maria Papamina from GCR.

The Arctic future conference kicked off with optimistic presentations by ministers and officials of the Russian government — but also a burst of scepticism from representatives of those actually living in Russia's Arctic and Far East regions.

As Ursula von der Leyen prepares to make Ethiopia her first overseas visit, MEPs Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, Norbert Neuser and Carlos Zorrinho explain why the new Commission president must reach out to Europe's African allies.

EU leaders will try to agree on the 2050 emission-free target - but they will deeply disagree on EU spending over the next seven years. Meanwhile the UK will elect its new political leadership.

A new report of a Nato-accredited group concludes that social media companies like Facebook and YouTube are "the new frontier for antagonists seeking to influence elections, polarise public opinion, and side-track legitimate political discussions." These companies fail to stop fake accounts, content, likes, and followers that might influence public opinion. "The manipulation industry is growing year-by-year [and] self-regulation is not working," the report states.

To honour the legacy of late Erasmus "father" Domenico Lenarduzzi, who passed away on Tuesday (3 December), EURACTIV is reposting an interview with him that was originally published on 22 September 2011.

Turkey condemned on Friday Greece expelling its Libyan ambassador, following a dispute over an agreement signed between Libya and Turkey on maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean. The Greek PM, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, believes that "the deal will collapse" because it has no legal merits. "Expelling an ambassador just because of the [agreement] that we signed is not a mature behaviour in diplomacy. This is outrageous," said Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

The new incoming co-leader of the of Germany's Social Democrats (SPD), Saskia Esken, said on Friday that she was sceptical about the future of their ruling coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, Reuters writes. "I was and I am sceptical about the future of this grand coalition. But with this resolution, we give the coalition a realistic chance of continuing - not more, not less," she told SPD delegates.

In November 2018, the European Commission presented its Digital Strategy, where it set the vision to become a ‘digitally transformed, user-focused and data-driven administration by 2022’.

Just when the European Union needs to act as one to prevent major powers from fomenting division, EU institutions and member states seem to lack the political will to set aside their disagreements and focus on the common interest, write Steven Blockmans, Loes Debuysere and Stefani Weiss.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will be in Ethiopia on Saturday in her first visit outside the EU as president of the institution. "My visit is a political statement. The African Union is a partner on which the European Union counts. Together we will continue to work on joint interests and common objectives, in the spirit of a true partnership of equals," she said in a statement.

More than 5,500 scientists and academics on Friday called on the EU Commission to enforce the European Water Framework Directive, ensuring Europe has "healthy and resilient freshwater bodies to support people and nature, today and in the future". About 60 percent of surface water in the EU is currently not in a good state. "There cannot be an effective European Green Deal without healthy water ecosystems," the statement concludes.

Whether €5 billion or €35 billion, the EU’s upcoming Just Transition Fund alone is unlikely to be enough to pay for the energy transition of Europe’s remaining coal countries. Nor is it necessary, argue Pieter de Pous and Rebekka Popp.

With thousands of fans travelling to matches and giant stadiums being built, football has a considerable climate impact. Some clubs are increasingly aware of this and try to limit their carbon emissions. A club from the small city of Mainz has been leading the movement for a decade.

Alternative fuels are the long-term solution to reduce emissions from aviation, but incentives are needed to scale them up, an official from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) told EURACTIV.com.