Category: EU Reporter

The Czech Republic took over the EU’s rotating presidency on Friday (1 July), which will be dominated by the economic and humanitarian outfall of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A European Parliament administrator took photos of around a dozen in-house interpreters protesting outside the agricultural committee on Thursday, according to a source with knowledge of the issue. The interpreters are protesting remote sessions due to poor sound quality leading to auditory health problems and the fact the parliament is now outsourcing the work to […]

Dr Hans Bruyninckx the executive director of the European Environment Agency, on why — and how — Europe can cut its pollution-caused cancer rates.

Poland’s dissolution of a controversial judicial disciplinary chamber meant it still did “not meat” EU Commission standards on independent courts for disbursing EU post-pandemic recovery funds, EU values commissioner Věra Jourová said Thursday, AP reports. “I am of good faith that at the end of this year, or early next year, the first recovery funds […]

Polish president Andrzej Duda is already fishing for a job at the UN after his mandate ends in 2025, Polish news website Onet.pl reported Thursday, citing sources in his entourage. One possibility is as a UN special envoy on Ukraine, sources said. The appointment could not be vetoed by Russia, but would need Chinese support, […]

EU auditors raised concerns on Thursday over the European Commission’s increasing use of external consultants. In recent years, the commission paid €1bn annually for consultancy, studies, and other activities. Auditors said potential risks related to the concentration of firms, over-dependence and conflicts of interest are not properly monitored. “More transparency and accountability is needed,” said lead […]

Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the European Union and Moscow are set to come up with a plan on the movement of goods between Russia’s mainland and its enclave Kaliningrad. “Both sides concluded that it is worth agreeing a plan that will not violate de facto implementation of the sanctions, because, frankly speaking, the […]

Reuters news agency, citing an unnamed source , says EU states are set to back a European Commission proposal that would make it more difficult for state-backed foreign firms to take over European companies that are valued at €500m or more. The move is seen as a nod towards a more assertive China.

Billionaires during the height of the pandemic had a net worth average increase of $5.2bn a day, said WFP’s David Beasley. He also noted Gulf states now profiting from high fuel prices. Both should step up, he said.

The EU has overturned a funding ban on two Palestinian NGOs, effectively debunking an Israeli campaign to smear them as terrorists.