European Union

The Nato accession applications of Sweden and Finland have also reignited the debate about neutrality in non-aligned Switzerland and Austria. Seventy-five percent of Austrians still reject Nato membership, according to a survey put out by Austria's Institute for Public Opinion and Data Analysis. Commentators see the need for more debate.

Turkey is blocking Finland and Sweden's bid to join Nato saying it cannot agree to the admission of countries that tolerate terrorist organisations like the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and have imposed sanctions against Turkey. Sweden has refused to supply Turkey with weapons since 2019 because of its military operations in Syria. Europe's press seeks solutions.

The Dutch government has announced plans to ban fossil-fuel heating systems from 2026 and subsidise the use of heat pumps. The move also comes against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and Europe's efforts to end its dependence on fossil energy from Russia. The national press doubts the transition can be implemented so swiftly.

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

As Europe struggles to decarbonise its economy and wean itself off Russian oil and gas, one of the world's sunniest and most arid nations is pitching itself to the continent as an answer to its problems.

A delegation from the Internal Market Committee will travel to Silicon Valley to meet with leading tech companies including Google, Meta, Apple, Airbnb, eBay, Paypal and Uber.
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Alexandra Paulus, Fellow for International Cybersecurity Policy with the German think tank Stiftung Neue Verantwortung, explains what cyber norms are, who shapes them and whether Germany is actually practising what it preaches.

Sharing is caring, and so the EU has set out on a mission to build a common agriculture data space. But the farming sector’s intergalactic journey to (data) space is long and fraught with obstacles.

Sweden and Finland want to enroll, on Northern Ireland is BoJo playing the troll and to promote wind power leaders go for a stroll.  

The European Union is looking into ways of using the frozen assets of Russian oligarchs to fund the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday (19 May).