European Union

Length of video : 85'

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Length of video : 62'

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Length of video : 63'

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Hungary is continuing to block an EU oil embargo on Russia, but there is optimism its objections can soon be overcome — perhaps within a few days to "a week or two", according to some EU foreign ministers.

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

EU plans to quit Russian gas and replace it, in part, by importing overseas liquified natural gas has lead to a flurry of new gas projects — which threaten to lock in unnecessary gas use for decades.

Iconic Western fast-food chain McDonald's on Monday set out detailed plans for exiting Russia due to its war on Ukraine, saying it will sell all its restaurants there and not allow franchises to use its brand or logo. "It is impossible to ignore the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine," CEO Chris Kempczinski said, while voicing sympathy for former Russian employees who will lose their jobs.

Norway, Denmark and Iceland pledged on Monday to support Finland and Sweden, which have both announced their bids to join Nato, in case the two Nordic countries come under attack, Reuters reported. "Together with Denmark and Iceland, Norway stands ready to assist its Nordic neighbours by all means necessary should they be the victim of aggression on their territory before obtaining Nato membership," said Norway's prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere.

Germany will oppose EU plans to include nuclear energy as a sustainable investment in its "taxonomy" policy for labelling green investments, Reuters reported on Monday. The commission has support from MEPs and EU countries to temporarily label them as climate-friendly. Germany's red/green/liberal coalition government has now said it would vote no in the council of member states next week. MEPs will vote on the issue in July.

MEPs have raised concerns over the level of contamination of some hazardous chemicals in Europe, prompting calls to speed up the restrictions on the so-called "forever chemicals".

People from Afghanistan and Syria are among the nationalities using the Western Balkans route to enter the European Union. Frontex, the EU's border agency, says they detected some 27,172 irregular entries into the EU on this route in the first four months of 2022, a 130-percent increase from last year. The agency says the route represents almost half of the all the irregular border crossings into the EU.

The impact of Russia's war in Ukraine is being felt throughout the EU and the eurozone. The European Commission has downgraded its economic forecast to 2.7-percent growth this year.

President Vladimir Putin on Monday warned that his country would respond if Nato began to bolster military infrastructure of Sweden and Finland, which have decided to join the military alliance following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Speaking to the leaders of a Russian-dominated alliance of ex-Soviet states, Putin claimed Nato enlargement was used by the US in an "aggressive" way to aggravate an already difficult global security situation, Reuters reported.

UK prime minister Boris Johnson on Monday visited Northern Ireland to encourage the return of the devolved government. The Democratic Unionist Party is refusing to enter the assembly, after nationalist Sinn Fein emerged as the strongest party, citing issues around the Northern Ireland protocol which governs post-Brexit trade. London had been expected to scrap parts of the protocol unilaterally after rejecting the EU's proposals for a compromise.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a threat to all Europe, particularly the Baltic. Sweden and Finland must join Nato to secure peace in the Baltic Sea, write the leaders of the EPP Nordic and Baltic delegations in European Parliament.

The EU and the US pledged on Monday to facilitate trade and investment in Ukraine in order to rebuild its economy. After a two-day summit in Paris, they also committed to securing global supply chains and countering Russian disinformation. "Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has demonstrated the dangerous impact foreign information manipulation and interference…can have, in particular, on transparent and accessible information," they said in a joint statement.

EU greenhouse-gas emissions in the fourth quarter of 2021 increased by eight percent compared with the same period of 2020, due to the economic rebound after the Covid-19 crisis, the EU's statistical office, Eurostat, reported on Monday. Emissions increased in all EU member states and all economic sectors. But households were responsible for most emissions of greenhouse gases, followed by manufacturing and electricity supply, agriculture, and transportation.

The Subcommittee on Security and Defence and the Special Committee on foreign interference in all democratic processes in the European Union, including disinformation, will hold a joint discussion on Russian disinformation and propaganda in relation to the war in Ukraine on 17 May. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it is clear those are an integral part of Russia's military plan. The threat from Russia and the counter-measures at the disposal of the EU and its allies will be assessed.

Meeting agenda and documents
Live streaming
EU Fact Sheets: Security and defence
ING2 Website
Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

SEDE organises a public hearing on 'The future of European Defence after the collapse of Afghanistan and Russia war against Ukraine: next steps in achieving the European Defence Union' on Tuesday, 17 May 2022 from 9.00 to 10.30hrs in room SPAAK 5B1 and remotely, with external experts.
Programme
Poster
Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Germany's Social Democratic Party lost a regional North Rhine-Westphalia election on Sunday. The party, headed by German chancellor Olaf Scholz, scored it worst ever performance with 27.4 percent, according to projections from public broadcaster ARD. The main opposition headed by the christian democrats took 35.3 percent. It is the regional second loss for Scholz's party since he took office.