Why September tends to spook European equity markets
Robert Hodgson
Electricity firms urge EU energy security update at Munich conference
With electricity set to play an ever more central role in Europe’s energy system, the trade association Eurelectric has called on Brussels to urgently update a security of supply strategy that dates back to 2014.
Austrian trade and industry bodies call for Green Deal reversal
Chief of Federation of Austrian Industries, Christoph Neumayer and Chamber of Commerce chief Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer, called on the EU executive to roll back Green Deal regulations in its ongoing war on red tape, while the European insurance industry lobby has also weighed into the debate.
Can European carmakers go green without going bust?
Later today, EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra will host a second meeting on the crisis in Europe’s car industry, driven in part by strict new limits on carbon emissions for new cars.
Unions slam ‘rigged’ talks on EU plans to streamline regulation
The EU executive’s new focus on boosting the global competitiveness of European companies is causing alarm among civil society groups who sense a caving in to demands for deregulation.
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Serbian lithium mine European Parliament film screening fuels dispute
The European Union needs lithium for its energy transition and is eagerly eyeing huge reserves in northern Serbia, but twenty years after making the discovery in the Jadar valley, Rio Tinto’s ambitions to mine the site remain stuck in a mire of environmental opposition and Balkan politics.
EU Commission accused of haste and secrecy in regulatory review
The European Commission has been criticised for giving too much space to industry and business interests in discussions over a fast-track streamlining of sustainability and due diligence reporting rules.
Norway finance minister blames EU energy rules for coalition collapse
Norway’s prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre is left heading a minority government after coalition partner pulls out over EU market rules it says make it impossible to shield citizens from high electricity prices.
Unions and NGOs fearful of EU Commission's new pro-business plan
Civil society groups and unions are nervous about the political turn taken by the European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen’s second presidency, and warn its new Competitiveness Compass could steer it away from green deal aspirations and workers’ rights.
Commission plans to set up anti-red tape brigade
As the EU steers a course towards deregulation in pursuit of global market share, an early draft of a forthcoming communication suggests today’s ‘Competitiveness Compass’ was only the first step in a concerted effort to tear up red tape.
Use of EU funds to lobby MEPs was ‘inappropriate’, commissioner says
The conservative European People’s Party (EPP) has questioned the use of public funds for campaigns they say run against the EU’s own interests. The Commission says it’s fixed the problem, but some see it as part of a wider attack on environmental campaigners.
EU climate chief pledges more assertive climate diplomacy
Brussels must up its game on climate diplomacy, climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra told Euronews, after US president Donald Trump once again pulled out of the global effort to arrest climate breakdown.
‘A truly unfortunate development’ – Trump pulls out of Paris Agreement
Although hardly a surprise, President Trump’s executive decision to exit the international effort to halt global heating for a second time has been met with dismay on this side of the Atlantic.
EPP declares war on ‘excessive regulation’ from Brussels
The centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) has called for a bonfire of EU red tape in a three-page statement adopted at a gathering of conservative leaders in Berlin.
Germany, Interpol and WWF team up to tackle environmental crime
With environmentally destructive activities such as illegal logging and waste disposal among the largest areas of organised crime worldwide, Berlin is bankrolling a collaboration between civil society and the international police body Interpol.
Auto lobby renews plea for leniency over failure to meet CO2 standards
European auto industry’s new lobbyist-in-chief says carmakers have no chance of complying with EU environmental law this year, and renews call for emergency relief from impending fines that could run to billions of euros.
Europe's noisy cities raise concerns from EU auditors
Loud urban environments can have ruinous health impacts from sleep disturbance to cardiovascular problems, but lawmakers and local authorities are failing to take the issue as seriously as air pollution, the European Court of Auditors has warned.
Chemicals industry accused of aggressive lobbying against PFAS ban
Investigations by European NGOs and newspapers point to a concerted industry campaign to limit incoming EU restrictions on PFAS, toxic substances dubbed ‘forever chemicals’ because they can persist for centuries in the environment. The European Commission denies it is being unduly influenced.
Unions, NGOs fear sweeping deregulation amid competitiveness drive
Trade union leaders and environmental campaigners are among over 250 groups warning against a bonfire of red tape as the second von der Leyen commission presses on with its core goal of shielding European industry from US and Chinese competition.
Slovakia ramps up anti-Zelenskyy rhetoric amid gas transit spat
Slovakia's prime minister claims Ukraine is jeopardising Europe's global competitiveness by refusing to allow Russia to export gas into the EU over its territory.
Poland seeks to break EU deadlock on GMO deregulation
After 18 months, governments have yet to agree on when a new class of genetically modified crops can be treated as equivalent to conventional strains, and whether producers should be granted monopoly rights through patents.
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