European Union

Mario Draghi can use his role at the helm of the G20 to persuade China to sign up to global climate targets, argue Luca Bergamaschi and Bernice Lee.

By working together, and with policymakers, banks and fintech businesses can speed up the EU's economic recovery, writes Ellen Moeller

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) currently under construction in Cadarache, Southern France, will see cost overruns and delays due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, its top official said on Friday (17 September).

The European Parliament passed a resolution on Thursday (16 September) making a clear distinction between the Russian people and the regime of President Vladimir Putin, which it called a “stagnating authoritarian kleptocracy led by a president-for-life surrounded by a circle of oligarchs”.

Rejecting the idea of 'deportation centres' that would host Afghan refugees in Central Asia, Luxembourgish Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told EURACTIV in an interview the EU holds enormous responsibility towards those who "helped us build an embryo of rule of law" in Afghanistan.

The US, UK and Australia have signed a defence alliance pact for the Indo-Pacific: the Aukus deal. Among other measures Australia is to receive nuclear-powered submarines featuring US and British technology. The alliance is seen as a move to join forces against China, but it cancels a contract under which France would have supplied Australia with submarines. Paris has spoken of a "betrayal of trust". Commentators fear spiralling destabilisation.

The Russian people will elect their representatives to the State Duma from September 17 to 19. All the stronger opposition candidates have been excluded from the election, and the OSCE has decided not to send observers because of Moscow's strict requirements. Commentators explain why the election is unlikely to have any impact on Putin's power and that of his United Russia party - even if on paper there are a few alternatives.

Protests against coronavirus restrictions have turned violent in Ljubljana. The police used tear gas and water cannons after demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails at the parliament building. The national press shows varying degrees of understanding for the protests, which were mainly directed against stricter testing requirements for the unvaccinated.

Electricity prices have soared in EU countries since the beginning of the year. The electric baseload - the minimum amount of electricity required by the power grid - currently costs more than twice as much on the electricity exchange platforms as it did in the summer of 2020, while natural gas prices have increased ten-fold in the same period. Increased demand in Asia and less input from wind power are among the reasons for the surge in prices.