European Union

Commission vice-president in charge of competition Margarethe Vestager argued that companies getting large capital injections from the state during the corona crisis still have to offset their competitive advantage.

EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said on Friday (29 May) that the European Commission was not creating unnecessary obstacles to Lufthansa's €9 billion bailout, shortly before the carrier agreed to accept the Commission's set of conditions.

According to a survey carried out for the European Parliament, Italians are the least satisfied EU citizens when it comes to the EU's response to the coronavirus crisis. EURACTIV Italy reports.

Due to the growing economic recession, the possibility of early elections in Turkey is increasing, writes Lucia Yar.

After months of lockdown, travel and tourism could soon restart. Discover what the EU recommends to ensure safe journeys.

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

The European Commission is working on a proposal for a new tax on multinationals operating on the single market to finance the recently proposed recovery fund, but the Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, told EURACTIV he recommends being "very cautious" rather than too imaginative in picking new levies.

The EU's new Farm to Fork strategy is a good start towards a 'just transition' in European farming, but what will it mean for farmers in the Global South, asks Isabelle Brachet.

EU foreign ministers are discussing China on Friday (29 May), as the country started to back Russian narratives of Washington-led biological weapon development in Georgia and other post-Soviet countries. One widely circulating allegation in the internet during the pandemic claimed...

While fossil fuel projects are in theory excluded from EU funding, natural gas will continue to play a key role in replacing coal while helping to build a hydrogen infrastructure at least cost, EU climate chief Frans Timmermans said on Thursday (28 May).

Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban on Friday called the EU Commission's €750bn recovery plan "absurd", saying it is based on jointly-guaranteed credit and would help rich member states more. "They want to take out this loan for 30 years, so even our grandchildren may have to pay for it. We need to think carefully about whether we as a country want this or not," he said.

The EU is to take out 450 billion euros in loans for the recovery programme proposed by the EU Commission. To finance the debt new taxes are foreseen, including a digital tax for Internet companies and taxes on plastic waste and CO2 consumption. Europe's media discuss whether the plan is economically sound and how the money should be allocated.

French President Macron announced a multi-billion-euro aid package for his country's crisis-stricken automotive industry on Tuesday. The goal is to save hundreds of thousands of jobs in the sector and make driving more environmentally friendly. Among other things purchases of electric cars by private buyers and companies are to be subsidised. Will the plan work?

China's National People's Congress has approved the proposal for a new security law for Hong Kong. The precise wording of the law will now be drafted, but it is already clear that it will punish "subversive", "separatist" and "terrorist" activities - terms that Beijing also uses for the mass protests that have been going on since 2019. What does the law mean for Hong Kong, and how should Europe react?