EURACTIV News
Germany’s SPD kicks off party convention with call for investments
Germany’s governing SPD party (S&D) has kicked off its party convention with calls for more public investments, including by circumventing and reforming the country’s ‘debt brake’.
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Slovak president blasts government’s prosecution reforms, threatens veto
Slovakia's president said on Friday (8 December) she would likely veto the government's planned fast-track changes to criminal law that include scrapping a special prosecutor's office that has focused on corruption, saying the plan needed proper debate.
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UK competition authority mulls investigating Microsoft-OpenAI partnership
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) invited interested third parties to comment on Microsoft’s ongoing partnership with OpenAI on Friday (8 December).
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France’s Le Pen ordered to stand trial in EU funding scandal
French prosecutors on Friday (8 December) ordered far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen to stand trial over claims she used EU funds to finance party activities in France.
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German liberals signal discontent with new EU green buildings law
A newly-adopted compromise on the EU’s new Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is already being met with some scepticism from German lawmakers, who fear that the law will interfere with domestic rules.
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Belgium aims to close negotiations on EU open files, focus on bloc’s future
Institutional reforms, competitiveness, and protection of the European way of life are at the heart of Belgium’s EU Council presidency programme in the first half of 2024, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib unveiled at an...
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EU should re-write aid rules to fund local actors, says aid expert
The EU should re-write its rules on aid that currently prevent it from providing funds to organisations that are not based in the EU, leading aid charity Caritas has urged.
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The Brief – The high price of failure will drive an EU migration deal
Few policy topics are as charged and important to politicians and public opinion as migration.
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Agrifood Brief: I miss the rains down in Aragon
In much of Aragon in the northeast of Spain, agriculture is kept alive by large-scale irrigation systems. What some see as the key to ensuring a viable future for the next generation in the region is at the heart of...
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US embassy in Baghdad attacked with rockets, no casualties
Rockets were fired at the US embassy in Baghdad on 8 December in an attack believed to have been carried out by Iran-aligned militias which have targeted US interests in Syria and Iraq over Washington's backing for Israel in its Gaza war.
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Putin tells soldiers: I will run for president again in 2024
Vladimir Putin on 8 December told soldiers who had fought in Ukraine that he would run for president again in the 2024 election, a move that will allow the former KGB spy to stay in power until at least 2030.
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What previous failures tell us about Europe’s green steel ambitions
While Europe has neither the cash bazooka of the United States Inflation Reduction Act, nor the state capitalism of China, the automotive industry can be the lead market to boost Europe’s green steel plans, writes Julia Poliscanova of Transport & Environment.
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Calviño picked to lead European Investment Bank, in boost for Spain
EU finance ministers on Friday (8 December) picked Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Nadia Calviño to become the next head of the European Investment Bank in a boost for Spain's clout within the bloc.
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Five hidden gems in the EU’s recast buildings directive
Lack of finance remains the most frequently reported reason why building owners don’t upgrade their homes to a more energy-efficient one. Peter Sweatman lists five “hidden gems” in the recast EU Buildings Directive which can deliver this.
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Trump, Tariffs, and the Future of the Transatlantic Relationship [Promoted content]
For several weeks now, Brussels has been in unrest when it comes to the presidential elections in the United States. Lennart Nientit is a Programme Officer at Friedrich Naumann Foundation European Dialogue. These are steadily approaching, and according to the...
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Eastern countries seek EU help to catch up on the bioeconomy
While the European Commission is in the process of updating the EU's new bioeconomy strategy, Eastern European countries are calling for more deployment of this technology on their territory to close the gap with Western Europe.
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MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld stresses keeping spyware discussions in EU Parliament
This week, we talked to MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld who has been spearheading the work of the Pegasus investigation in the European Parliament’s already disbanded Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware. In...
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Kazakhstan: Reform under darkening skies
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine put Kazakhstan in an extremely difficult position when it comes to advancing with its reforms, but President Tokayev made the choice to continue – and deepen – the country’s modernisation, writes Svante E. Cornell.
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The prophets of fake scarcity
As finance ministers meet in Brussels to finalise a deal on the EU's fiscal rules, Europe's only hope is that they stop listening to the prophets of fake scarcity and allow more flexibility for investments.
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