Plants get boost from new food security worries
In Europe, affordability of food rather than access to food is a concern. Plant-based diets could make the entire system more sustainable, including prices.
Eszter Zalan
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Rule of law and Spanish EU presidency This WEEKSpanish diplomats want to push through the EU’s drawn-out legislative cycle any laws or drafts currently still stuck, as it is the last full six-month presidency before the EU machinery goes into hibernation for the 2024 European elections.
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EU summit to sweat over Russian frozen asset legal worries
The internal military crisis seen in Russia the last weekend will be “the elephant in the room” at the EU summit, when leaders discuss the war and how to use Russian assets for its reconstruction, an EU official said.
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No majority for reforms for 2024 European Parliament election
Elections in 2024 are due to take place from 6 to 9 June, but transnational lists and common rules are very unlikely to take shape before that.
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Russia and migration at summit This WEEKUS secretary of state Antony Blinken on Sunday said the turmoil caused by the unprecedented challenge to Russian president Vladimir Putin by Wagner mercenaries may not be over yet and could take weeks or months to play out.
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Far right in Italy and Spain target rainbow families and flags
Prison terms of up to three years and fines of up to €1m for Italians who use foreign surrogate mothers in draft new Italian law.
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EU Commission asks for €65.8bn to top up strained budget
Member states need to agree on the proposed numbers among themselves and with the European Parliament by 4 December, so that next year’s budget can be adopted accordingly.
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Budget review and Russia sanctions in focus This WEEKBudget commissioner to propose new EU revenue streams, as diplomats seek accord on next round of Russia sanctions ahed of summit.
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EU ‘still not’ ready for future pandemic, MEP warns
Lead MEPs of the European Parliament’s special Covid-19 committee said that the next EU Commission needs to take on board their massive report on how to be more resilient against future pandemics.
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EU summit prep and Pegasus vote in focus This WEEKOn Wednesday (14 June), MEPs are expected to quiz top officials from the EU Commission and the Council and lay out their own demands on what should be discussed with leaders.
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Europeans don’t see China as a rival, but weapons to Russia is a red line
Russia is increasingly seen as an adversary or rival, a view held by some 64 percent of respondents, an increase from about a third of respondents when the same question was posed in a 2021 poll.
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EU Commission wants better focus on mental health care
The commission also wants to address burnout at work, as around half of European workers consider stress to be common in their workplace and it contributes to around half of all lost working days.
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No clear ‘Qatargate effect’ — but only half voters aware of EU election
The so-called Qatargate scandal has had little effect on the image of the European Parliament so far, officials said, although the survey did not specifically asked people about the scandal.
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Top EU court rules Poland’s court reforms ‘infringe law’
The total bill for the Polish government for not amending its disciplinary scheme for judges is €556m. The EU Commission has already deducted €360m from transfers of EU funds to Poland.
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Asylum and SLAPP positions in focus This WEEKHome affairs ministers will work on trying to clinch a common position among EU governments on the migration management system regulation and the asylum procedure regulation, two key parts of the bloc’s asylum reform.
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MEPs pile on pressure for EU to delay Hungary’s presidency
MEPs have adopted a non-binding resolution that “questions” if Hungary is fit to hold the EU’s presidency in the second half of 2024, given persistent concerns over the country’s democratic backsliding.
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Germany unsure if Orbán fit to be ‘EU president’
Germany has raised doubts on Hungary’s 2024 EU presidency, amid an European Parliament vote on rethinking prime minister Viktor Orbán’s eligibility.
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New EU ethics body and Moldova conference This WEEKMoldova’s president Maia Sandu recently said that the EU should let Moldova into the bloc “as soon as possible” to better protect the country against rising Russian threats.
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MEPs to urge block on Hungary taking EU presidency in 2024
“This will be the first time a member state that is under the Article 7 procedure will take over the rotating presidency of the council,” French Green MEP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, the key lawmaker on Hungary, warned.
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EU: national energy price-spike measures should end this year
“If energy prices increase again and support cannot be fully discontinued, targeted policies to support vulnerable households and companies — rather than wide and less effective support policies — will remain crucial,” the commission said in its assessment.