When I joined Euractiv 20 years ago to cover the EU’s environment policies, the talk in Brussels was all about the trade-off between green policies and economic growth. 

Introduced into the EU debate by the French EU Council presidency in 2022, the concept of 'mirror clauses' - or ‘measures’ - has become ubiquitous in all discussions of EU trade, agricultural, and environmental policy.

The Catalonia region has decided to invest almost €500 million from EU funds to make its capital city more resilient to droughts, with two new desalination plants expected to come online by the end of the decade. But for the more than 500 Catalan towns that aren’t connected to the water grid, there is little prospect of improvement.

The European Union plans to revoke sanctions against two Russian businessmen and a Slovak national associated with the pro-Kremlin biker group Night Wolves, whose case Prime Minister Robert Fico has repeatedly supported and discussed with top EU officials.

Public support from the West is growing for the Dutchman Mark Rutte to become NATO's next secretary-general, but he will still need to secure crucial support among members from Eastern Europe.

Among other problems, Germany is plagued with severe labour shortages that will only get worse as ‘baby boomers’ retire. Still, politicians think they need to preserve jobs in industries where Germany is clearly uncompetitive, whatever the costs.

Hungary and Sweden enhanced their military cooperation on Friday (23 February), just days before the Hungarian parliament is expected to vote on the Nordic country's NATO bid on Monday.

A document sent by the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council to the EU delegations on the future of the bloc's digital policy, dated 19 February and seen by Euractiv, argued that the implementation of already-adopted regulations should be prioritised over the creation of new laws.

The proposed EU SEP Regulation is a form of “light-touch”, proportionate regulation to enhance transparency and predictability and offer non-binding expert opinions, that should, on balance, benefit EU industry and consumers.

As the security and resilience of submarine cables became a priority for Europe after the sabotage of a cable between Finland and Estonia in October 2023.

Swiss solar company Meyer Burger will close its Freiberg plant to focus on its US production sites, after years of posting losses, reducing the overall EU solar panel production capacity by about 10%. 

Welcome to Euractiv’s Tech Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU.

A letter sent by member of European Parliament Paul Tang, seen by Euractiv, raises questions regarding the potential effects of the UK's Data Protection Bill on the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about Latvia approving a ban on Russian agricultural products, Slovakia's Fico backtracking on criminal law reform, and so much more.

The Biden administration on Thursday (22 February) warned Iran of a "swift and severe" response from the international community if Tehran provided ballistic missiles to Russia, after Reuters reported earlier this week that the Islamic Republic shipped the powerful weapons to Moscow.

Europe's biggest online fashion retailer Zalando has committed to overhaul by mid-April the sustainability claims it makes on its web sites after the EU qualified them as "misleading", the European Commission said on Thursday (22 February).

The US, Britain, France and Germany on Thursday (22 February) all backed outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as the head of NATO, putting him in a strong position to win the leadership of the transatlantic alliance.

Following months of silence since his resignation from the leadership of the Greek leftist opposition Syriza party, its former leader and PM Alexis Tsipras called for new elections for the party’s leadership as ongoing divisions have escalated.

The European Union's new Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) will be based in Frankfurt, Germany, the Belgian Presidency of the EU said on Thursday (22 February), in a move the bloc hopes will advance its fight against illicit finance.

19 companies have filed bids for nearly 34 billion cubic meters of natural gas in a new joint purchasing tender for multi-year deals, European Commission vice president Maroš Šefčovič said on Thursday (22 February).