Two years after the process was launched by European Commissioner for Regional Development Elisa Ferreira, and a year-long series of meetings and exchanges with academics and experts, the Group of High-Level Specialists on Future of Cohesion Policy has released their long-awaited report “Forging a sustainable future together: cohesion for a competitive and inclusive Europe”.

The European Union is not ready to accept the inclusion of a country at war, Former EU Commission President and former Portuguese Prime Minister José Manuel Durão Barroso warned on Tuesday, calling instead for an eventual understanding that would prevent the conflict in Ukraine from spreading.

Madrid is bracing for traffic chaos on Wednesday as thousands of farmers are expected to protest against the latest government proposals, which they say are insufficient to maintain the economic viability of their farms and reduce the bureaucratic burden of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) processing aid, among other demands.

Dissatisfied with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s reluctance to deliver Taurus missiles to Ukraine, the EU lead candidate for the German liberals will side with the conservative opposition party in an upcoming motion, putting another strain on the coalition’s fragile bond.

Bulgaria's pro-Russian far-right Vazrazhdane (Revival) party sent a delegation to Moscow at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, according to an announcement by the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Russian emigres in Spain critical of the Kremlin called on the Spanish authorities on Tuesday (20 February) to better protect them, after a Russian pilot who had defected to Ukraine was found shot dead in a garage in a town on Spain's Mediterranean coast.

Leaving the EU remains the far right’s ultimate goal, even if they stay quiet about it ahead of election time, former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier told Euractiv in an interview on Tuesday (20 February), warning that the far right has not learned the lessons of Brexit.

President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday (20 February) Russian troops would push further into Ukraine to build on their success on the battlefield after the fall of the town of Avdiivka where he said Ukrainian troops had been forced to flee in chaos.

Protests by Polish farmers sparked anger in neighbouring Ukraine on Tuesday (20 February), as Kyiv called on the European Commission to take robust action after demonstrators blockaded the border and opened railway carriages to let grain spill out.

Sweden is preparing a national strategy to improve healthcare for people with a rare disease. The long-called-for plan will tackle major care inequalities amongst the estimated half a million people in Sweden living with a rare disease.

Polish schools expect to introduce a long-awaited health education programme, aimed at addressing public health concerns and promoting healthy lifestyles among children.

Agricultural practices that store CO2 and those reducing emissions from soil are among the activities for which farmers might be remunerated for their contribution to combat climate change, according to a regulation agreed by the EU institutions.

Members of the European Parliament's agriculture committee sent a letter to Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski on Tuesday (20 February), seen by Euractiv, setting out six demands to ease farmers' discontent. 

A high-level industrial competitiveness declaration attended by EU heavyweights has kicked off a public debate about how far Europe should go in supporting domestic industries, and how green goals and industry can be meshed together.

With artificial intelligence, focus on enforcing competition laws is vital and goes hand in hand with the preservation of democracy, industry experts said at a panel discussion in the European Parliament.

The EU’s cohesion policy must be urgently restructured to stem the rise of Eurosceptic parties that threaten the “survival” of the European project, according to an independent study set up by the European Commission.

The current loosening of EU state aid rules should not be prolonged further, Danish Industry Minister Morten Bødskov warned on Tuesday (20 February) while in Berlin to meet his German counterpart, Robert Habeck.

In a bold move, Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen told the Munich Security Conference her country will donate its entire stock of artillery to Ukraine, emptying its stockpile as a consequence.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the EU has relied on emergency law to pursue its economic and political ambitions at a scale rarely seen before. As we move towards the EU elections, it is a good time to start a discussion on the EU’s competences during a crisis, writes Ditte Brasso Sørensen.

European forests are vital for preserving native wildlife and for fighting against climate change. Currently, the EU lacks some knowledge about its forests that would help to restore and protect them. The EU Framework for Forest Monitoring and Strategic Plans proposal aims to develop “an EU-wide forest observation framework” (European Commission) providing open access to the condition and management of the EU's forests. The framework will use remote sensing technologies and geospatial data together with monitoring on the ground. The monitoring will focus on parameters connected to EU policy priorities, such as climate change, biodiversity, health, invasive alien species and forest management. In addition to monitoring the EU's progress towards its goals, the collected data would enable better forest management and take timely action in case of forest disturbances and disasters. The legislative proposal could also introduce strategic plans for forests, developed by competent national authorities, and lay out Member States’ strategic vision for their forests and the forest-based sector for the upcoming decades. The proposal is expected before the end of 2023. Join this Euractiv Virtual Conference to discuss the proposed new EU Framework for Forest Monitoring and Strategic Plans. Some questions to be discussed include: - Does the proposal do enough to protect the EU's forests, and to fight climate change? - What are the key strengths and weaknesses of this proposal? - Will the proposal help to identify primary forests? - What is the impact on foresters and Member States with large forestry industries?