LEAK: EU to create ‘superbody’ of watchdogs to oversee digital currencies
By: EBR | Thursday, September 10, 2020
The EU will set up a new college of supervisors, including national and European authorities, to oversee “significant” digital currencies including Facebook’s Libra, according to the European Commission’s cryptocurrency draft proposal
Ecology threats likely to send more climate refugees towards Europe by 2050
By: EBR | Wednesday, September 9, 2020
More than a billion people are at risk of being displaced by 2050 due to rapid population growth, shortage of food and water and increased exposure to natural disasters, which could lead to increased migration flows to Europe, according to a new report by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP)
Europe Divided Over Belarus’s Future
By: EBR | Wednesday, September 9, 2020
The people of Belarus are peacefully demonstrating for their freedom. The EU’s member states, along with the United States, should do much more to support them
How to realise our hydrogen economy (instead of dreaming about it)
By: EBR | Tuesday, September 8, 2020
Considering the limited amount of green hydrogen available, the European Commission should prioritise its use in sectors that cannot decarbonise through other means like electrification
The EU is missing the mark on foreign policy
By: EBR | Tuesday, September 8, 2020
Over lockdown summer, there’s been a striking gendered approach to maintaining, protecting and unravelling democracy
Why a deal on energy could break the Brexit logjam
By: EBR | Tuesday, September 8, 2020
The window for a post-Brexit trade deal is closing fast but the basics are already in place for an agreement on the energy sector, and mutual benefits would be huge
A ‘solidarity clause’ in the EU climate law
By: EBR | Monday, September 7, 2020
The European Union should include a “solidarity clause” in its climate law to ensure that member states most burdened by the EU’s new carbon reduction targets are compensated for the additional costs of purchasing allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System
Countries seek removal from controversial EU ‘blacklists’
By: EBR | Friday, September 4, 2020
A number of countries, including Botswana, are putting pressure on the European Commission to remove them from the controversial ‘blacklists’ of countries deemed not to be cooperating in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing
European Green Deal: Commission prepares new initiatives to boost the organic farming sector
By: EBR | Friday, September 4, 2020
The European Commission has today launched a public consultation on its future Action Plan on Organic Farming
1,000 ‘shovel-ready’ projects identified in support of EU’s green recovery
By: EBR | Thursday, September 3, 2020
The projects require €200 billion of public and private investment to get off the ground, the consultancy said in a report published on Thursday (3 September)
Technology has codified structural racism – will the EU tackle racist tech?
By: EBR | Thursday, September 3, 2020
The EU is preparing its ‘Action Plan’ to address structural racism in Europe. With digital high on the EU’s legislative agenda, it’s time we tackle racism perpetuated by technology
Ecological farming can be more profitable than conventional, says new report
By: EBR | Tuesday, September 1, 2020
A recent report by the government think tank France Strategie argues the profitability of more environmentally friendly farms and proposes a review of the methods of allocating CAP subsidies to encourage a green transition in farming
EU to launch raw materials industry alliance
By: EBR | Tuesday, September 1, 2020
The European Commission will announce the launch of a new industry alliance this week, with a view to building a complete EU supply chain for raw materials like lithium, which are seen as critical for the bloc’s digital and green transitions
These are the EU’s ’best of times, and worst of times’
By: EBR | Tuesday, September 1, 2020
Giles Merritt welcomes the EU’s crucial achievement of new financial powers, but says Europe’s taxpayers will expect a greatly enhanced level of political leadership and accountability
Coronavirus Global Response: Commission joins the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX)
By: EBR | Monday, August 31, 2020
Today, the European Commission has confirmed its interest to participate in the COVAX Facility for equitable access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines everywhere, for everyone who needs them
New rules on cleaner and safer cars start to apply across Europe
By: EBR | Monday, August 31, 2020
Tomorrow, the EU Regulation on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles will start to apply
Solidarity is needed on EU citizenship as well as on COVID-19
By: EBR | Monday, August 31, 2020
The response by EU leaders to the COVID-19 crisis suggests that solidarity is on the rise. But what about solidarity between Europe’s own citizens, and the 65 million Britons who face losing their rights to EU citizenship?
The EU must face its responsibility for the Amazon fires
By: EBR | Monday, August 31, 2020
Only with a strong law can European consumers be confident that the production of the food they eat does not fuel the horrendous fires we witness every year in the Amazon
Scientists call on EU to ‘correct’ biomass carbon accounting rules
By: EBR | Friday, August 28, 2020
Europe’s academies of science have called on EU lawmakers to introduce a “radically new standard” in the blocs’ Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to ensure net carbon emissions from biomass power stations are “properly accounted for and declared”
Brexit Negotiations: What Are They Waiting For?
By: EBR | Tuesday, August 25, 2020
In its negotiations with the EU, the UK government still puts false hopes on “heavenly” intervention by Germany’s Angela Merkel



By: N. Peter Kramer
