Reclaiming the future for cities after COVID-19
By: EBR | Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Cities have been hit the hardest by the corona pandemic. Dario Nardella, the mayor of Florence, declares a state of social and economic emergency for his city and many others across Europe. And he argues that cities are key for a sustainable recovery in Europe
The Dominic Cummings Affair Will Impact Brexit Talks
By: EBR | Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Dominic Cummings, die-hard Brexiteer and UK sovereignty fetishist, is now part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s problems — and no longer a solution
Breton renews calls for a single European patent system
By: EBR | Tuesday, May 26, 2020
The EU should speed up plans to create a single European patents system because the current setup is “too expensive and fragmented,” Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton has said
COVID-19: Single market must emerge stronger from the crisis, say MEPs
By: EBR | Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee MEPs voiced concerns about the internal market during a debate with Commission Executive Vice-President Vestager on Monday
Electricity giants join forces on renewable hydrogen
By: EBR | Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Major European electricity groups – including Enel, Iberdrola, Orsted, and EDP – have issued a joint call urging the European Commission to prioritise renewable hydrogen in its upcoming pandemic recovery plan
The Coronavirus Must Push Europe to Rescue Multilateralism
By: EBR | Tuesday, May 26, 2020
From arms control to trade, the post-1945 order is crumbling fast. To protect its democratic way of life, Europe must create new global alliances built to deal with a post-pandemic world
Covid-19 in the Mediterranean – is ‘Team Europe’ getting it right in the South?
By: EBR | Friday, May 22, 2020
The EU is starting to ‘think neighbourhood’ before global. But what does this mean for countries in the Middle East and North Africa, asks Michael Benhamou
Eight EU states back ‘natural gas’ in net-zero transition
By: EBR | Friday, May 22, 2020
A group of eight EU countries from the Balkans and the east have joined forces to defend the “role of natural gas in a climate-neutral Europe”. In a joint paper, the group of eight calls for “combined electricity – gas solutions” in the transition to net-zero emissions by 2050
Parliament refuses apology for suspended Greek officials
By: EBR | Friday, May 22, 2020
The European Parliament has refused to publish on its English website a press release acknowledging its mistake when it targeted three Greek officials of its Athens branch as part of an administrative inquiry launched in 2018
‘Frugal Four’ working on counter-proposal to Franco-German recovery fund
By: EBR | Thursday, May 21, 2020
The €500 billion Franco-German EU recovery plan, presented on Monday (18 May), is too generous, according to the “Frugal Four” countries, who are working on a counter-proposal insisting on loans instead of grants and subsidies
Merkel’s European Legacy
By: EBR | Thursday, May 21, 2020
In the twilight of her career, will the German chancellor manage to produce a grand European compromise between the Northern “frugals” and the Southerners?
Reinforcing Europe’s resilience
By: EBR | Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Ηalting biodiversity loss and building a healthy and sustainable food system
The EU’s state aid regime is upside down
By: EBR | Wednesday, May 20, 2020
The European Commission’s approach to state aid is contradicting green recovery ambitions. While the EU recovery programme is focused on the Green Deal, national subsidy schemes are pouring money all across the economy without clear ecological focus
Merkel and Macron call for a €500 billion EU recovery fund
By: N. Peter Kramer | Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron agreed that the European Commission, on behalf of the EU, ought to be able to issue joint debt on a large scale to fight a problem they think is bigger than any single country can cope with alone
Commission welcomes Council adoption of €100 billion SURE instrument
By: EBR | Tuesday, May 19, 2020
The European Commission warmly welcomes the agreement between Member States in the Council on the regulation establishing the European instrument for temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE)
COVID-19 spotlighted European migrants’ vital role; the EU must tell their story
By: EBR | Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Six years ago, British author Hanif Kureishi wrote searingly of Europe’s fear of migrants who “invade, colonise and contaminate”. Migrants, he mused, had “no face, no status, no protection and no story”
EU plans sweeping bioenergy review by end 2020
By: EBR | Tuesday, May 19, 2020
The European Commission intends to push a “transformative approach” to all forms of bioenergy – including biofuels and woody biomass – as part of a biodiversity strategy due to be unveiled on Wednesday (20 May)
Gas industry urged to ‘accelerate’ transition to hydrogen
By: EBR | Monday, May 18, 2020
Hydrogen has become a central element of EU plans to reach net-zero emissions by mid-century. The key question now is how to accelerate the transition and upgrade the gas infrastructure, policymakers say
Green Deal – and electrification – should be the backbone of EU recovery plan
By: EBR | Friday, May 15, 2020
The Green Deal is Europe’s growth strategy. Making it the backbone of the recovery plan is not only necessary in a climate perspective, but also from an economic point of view – in order to create growth and work opportunities that are sustainable in the long run, argue Nordic energy CEOs and top executives
Europe, the only solution for tourism
By: EBR | Thursday, May 14, 2020
Coordinating measures and sharing criteria is crucial to saving Europe’s tourism sector



By: N. Peter Kramer
