Newsletter
Newsletter
EUROPE
No invitation for Ukraine to join NATO: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has failed in a last-ditch effort to secure an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO after leaders of the 31 countries signed off on a declaration that did not give a firm timetable or clear conditions for its eventual membership. A final NATO summit communique said that while Ukraine’s future is in NATO, the alliance would only extend an invitation to Ukraine when Kyiv had completed certain democratic and security sector reforms. theguardian.com
- Germany plans new military aid package, France to supply Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles. dw.com, reuters.com
- Berlin and Paris vow to press ahead with long-delayed joint tank venture. reuters.com
- Baltic states open airspace for NATO allies.
- Spain strengthens NATO’s eastern flank.
- Netherlands to host NATO summit in 2025.
- NATO countries pledge F-16 training for Ukraine. politico.eu
- Poland detains Russian spy, says interior minister. reuters.com
Turkey backs Sweden’s NATO membership: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to support Sweden’s bid to join NATO, the military alliance’s chief Jens Stoltenberg said. He said the Turkish leader would forward Sweden’s bid to parliament in Ankara and ensure ratification. Previously, Erdogan had appeared to link Turkish support for Sweden’s NATO bid to the EU re-opening frozen membership talks with Ankara. EU officials were quick to reject the demand, saying those were two separate issues. bbc.com
European Court of Human Rights condemns Russia over investigation into Nemtsov murder: The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Russia for failing to conduct an adequate and effective investigation into the 2015 murder in Moscow of Boris Nemtsov, one of Vladimir Putin’s main opponents. Nemtsov was shot four times at close range on a bridge near to the Kremlin on 27 February 2015. euronews.com
EU seals new US data transfer pact: The EU Commission announced a new data transfer pact with the United States on Monday, seeking to end the legal uncertainty plaguing thousands of companies that transfer personal data across the Atlantic. The Commission and the United States had been struggling to reach a new agreement after Europe’s top court annulled two previous pacts that underpinned the transfer of personal data across the Atlantic for services ranging from cloud infrastructure to payroll and banking. reuters.com
EU lawmakers adopt legislation to boost EU chips industry: Plans to secure the EU’s supply of chips by boosting production and innovation, and establishing emergency measures against shortages, were adopted by the EU Parliament on Tuesday. The new law aims to create a favourable environment for chip investments in Europe, by fast tracking permitting procedures and recognising their critical importance via a so-called „highest national significance statute“. europarl.europa.eu
Amazon challenges very large online platform designation: The retail giant is taking legal action to challenge the EU’s new content moderation rules for big tech companies, claiming that the company is being unfairly targeted by the legislation. On Tuesday, Amazon filed a petition with the EU’s General Court to request that the EU Commission annul its decision to designate Amazon as a “very large online platform” under the Digital Services Act (DSA), arguing that the company doesn’t meet the requirements to fall under such a category. theverge.com
EU policymakers prepare to close first aspects of AI regulation: The AI Act is a legislative proposal to regulate Artificial Intelligence based on its potential to cause harm. The draft law is currently at the last stage of the legislative process, the so-called trilogues between the EU Council, Parliament, and Commission. euractiv.com
- EU digital wallet pilot project kicks off in Paris. euractiv.com
- EU Council cuts down special product categories in cybersecurity law. euractiv.com
- Field tests on digital identities launched in the EU. derstandard.de
EU states adopt new regulation on batteries: The regulation covers the entire lifecycle of batteries, from the mining of raw materials to recycling, with the goal of ensuring EU-produced batteries are the world’s greenest. In a bid to reduce waste, the regulation sets targets for producers to collect batteries at the end of their life. Once collected, critical raw materials will be reclaimed from the waste batteries, ensuring they stay in the European production loop. euractiv.com
MEPs sling mud ahead of nature restoration vote: A tense debate ahead of a key vote on a new EU biodiversity law in the EU Parliament descended into a slanging match Tuesday. A right-wing alliance led by the Parliament’s largest grouping, the European People’s Party, is trying to kill a Green Deal nature restoration law proposed by the European Commission, warning about its impact on economic growth. The vote this Wednesday promises to be very tight. politico.eu
- Energy saving targets: EU Parliament adopts new rules to boost energy savings europarl.europa.eu
- EU climate chief Timmermans: China’s response on joint climate action was positive reuters.com
- Majority of EU citizens in favour of investing in renewable energies. rp-online.de
EU auditors call out Commission’s lack of efforts to improve soil health: With two-thirds of soils in Europe in bad condition, the European Court of Auditors said that EU rules and funds to manage farmland soils and manure sustainably are underused. EU auditors also noted that current standards lack ambition and EU countries have not been targeting funds on areas with the most urgent soil problems. brusselsmorning.com
Protection of journalists in the EU: The EU Parliament wants to reinforce protection of journalists and activists in the EU against unfounded and abusive lawsuits aimed to silence them. Under draft legislation endorsed on Tuesday in plenary, journalists, media organisations, human rights defenders, activists, researchers and artists will be protected in the EU from strategic lawsuits against public participation. These kinds of lawsuits are a particular form of harassment used primarily against journalists and human rights defenders to prevent or penalise speaking up on issues of public interest. europarl.europa.eu
EU signs New Zealand trade deal: The European Union signed a free trade agreement with New Zealand that aims to increase its exports there by €4.5 billion a year, a first such deal to also include sustainability goals. New Zealand’s Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor said the trade deal will cut costs and support exporters to grow and diversify their trade. bloomberg.com, reuters.com
EU Parliament wants to ban forced sterilisation of women with disabilities zdf.de
Poll: Europeans much less concerned about energy prices but inflation fears remain high euronews.com
Transport: MEPs adopt new rules for more charging stations and greener maritime fuels europarl.europa.eu
European Peace Facility: Council adopts an assistance measure in support of Ghana Armed Forces consilium.europa.eu
Trade: Australia-EU trade deal stalls over meat quotas ft.com
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
US President Joe Biden has praised NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg for his leadership. nato.int
NATION
MEPs call for EU search and rescue mission over Mediterranean ‚disgrace‘: According to the draft motion seen by Euronews, EU lawmakers want new, comprehensive search and rescue operations to be implemented by EU countries and Frontex, the EU border agency, in the absence of sufficient action by individual member states. It comes a month after a boat carrying up to 750 migrants capsized off the coast of Greece in one of the deadliest migration tragedies in the Mediterranean. euronews.com
Dutch PM Mark Rutte to leave politics: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Monday he would step down as leader of the country’s ruling party and leave politics, after his government collapsed over immigration policy. Rutte’s VVD party had proposed limiting entrance for children of war refugees who are already in the Netherlands, forcing families to wait for at least two years before they can be reunited. Two of VVD’s coalition parties – the Christian Union and D66 – refused to support the new proposed restrictions, leading to the split that eventually caused the Dutch government to collapse. cnn.com
France bans fireworks sales amid fears of renewed riots: Protesters have been filmed launching fireworks during the wave of violent riots that gripped the country following the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old teenager by a police officer in late June. In order to prevent the risk of serious public disorder during the July 14th festivities, the sale, carrying, transport and use of pyrotechnic articles and fireworks are prohibited throughout France until July 15th inclusive, according to the decree published in the official French government journal on Sunday. Bastille Day, which is France’s national day, is celebrated annually on July 14 with spectacular firework displays organised countrywide. cnn.com
France treading carefully on gas boiler ban: To decarbonise their economies, EU member states must massively electrify their energy systems. In the emissions-intensive building sector, this will involve a switch from fossil-fuel heating, particularly gas, to electric heat pump systems. In Germany, recent debates on the subject have caused a government crisis. French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne has sketched a timetable to ban the sale of new gas boilers in France but decision-makers are treading carefully as some fear the government may face similar difficulties as Germany with its own phase-out plan. euractiv.com
Heated TV debate between top Spanish candidates: The two main candidates to lead Spain met in the only televised face-to-face debate of the general election campaign late Monday. Organised by the Atresmedia media group, Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and leader of the PSOE Party faced Popular Party leader Alberto Nuñez Feijóo in what was a tense, often acrimonious debate which ran for over an hour and a half. euronews.com
Finland’s government plagued by new racism scandal: Finland’s right-wing government is facing yet another crisis after old comments from a far-right blog forum, purportedly written by Finns Party leader Riikka Purra, re-surfaced. The author of the posts writes anti-Islamic and violent comments, among others, and disparages immigrants including Somalis and „Turkish monkeys“. euronews.com
Italy faces train and airport strikes: Travellers in Italy face major disruption this week due to two nationwide public transport strikes affecting train services and airports, on 13 and 15 July, trade unions have announced. A 23-hour strike action called by unions representing railway staff is set to cause cancellations and delays to Frecce, Intercity and regional trains. On Saturday 15 July it is the turn of airport ground staff, with baggage handling and check-in services scheduled to stop for eight hours. wantedinrome.com
Seine to open for public swimming: A quarter of a century after the late president Jacques Chirac promised Parisians they would be able to swim in the Seine within three years, the French capital’s mayor has confirmed three river bathing areas are to open in the city in 2025. The sites will be monitored by lifeguards and marked by buoys, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said on Sunday. theguardian.com
Serbia: Protests against violence continue since 18 people died in a shooting spree in May tagesschau.de
New electoral rules and the “Lex Tusk”: Poland’s latest threats to EU values europarl.europa.eu
Georgia: Pride festival in Tbilisi stormed by right-wing protesters bbc.com
NUMBERS
More than 61,000 people died because of last year’s brutal summer heat waves across Europe, according to a study published on Monday in the journal Nature Medicine. nytimes.com
AT LAST
Boris Johnson becomes a father for the 8th time: Carrie Johnson announced that she and former British prime minister Boris Johnson have welcomed their third child together. Frank Alfred Odysseus Johnson was born on 5 July ay 9.15am, Carrie revealed in an Instagram post before joking: “Can you guess which name my husband chose?” People were quick to point out that the former PM is a fan of the Greek poet Homer and his epic poem The Odyssey, which tells the story Odysseus. independent.co.uk