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blog post<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Instead, it has produced false answers like telling a user to glue cheese to pizza if it gets unstuck, to eat rocks to help with your health, or that former US President Barack Obama is Muslim, which is a conspiracy theory that has been debunked.<\/p>\n<p>The AI Overview answers are the latest in a series of examples of where chatbot models respond incorrectly.<\/p>\n<p>One <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////vectara.com//blog//cut-the-bull-detecting-hallucinations-in-large-language-models///">study by Vectara<\/strong><\/a>, a generative AI startup, found that AI chatbots invented information anywhere from three to 27 per cent of the time.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What are AI hallucinations?<\/strong><\/h2><p>Large language models (LLMs), which power chatbots such as OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT and Google\u2019s Gemini, learn to predict a response based on the patterns they observe.<\/p>\n<p>The model calculates the most likely next word to answer your question based on what\u2019s in their database, according to Hanan Ouazan, partner and generative AI lead at Artefact.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s exactly how we work as human beings, we think before we talk,\u201d he told Euronews.<\/p>\n<p>But sometimes, the model\u2019s training data can be incomplete or biased, leading to incorrect answers or \u201challucinations\u201d being made by the chatbot.<\/p>\n<p>To Alexander Sukharevsky, a senior partner at QuantumBlack at McKinsey, it\u2019s more accurate to call AI \u201chybrid technology\u201d because the chatbot answers provided are \u201cmathematically calculated\u201d based on the data that they observe.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s no one reason why hallucinations happen, according to Google: it could be insufficient training data used by the model, incorrect assumptions, or hidden biases in the information the chatbot is using.<\/p>\n<p>{{related align=\"center\" size=\"fullwidth\" ratio=\"auto\" storyIdList=\"8461182\" data=https://www.euronews.com/news/europe/'Google's new AI summaries tool causes concern after producing misleading responses<\/a> <\/li>' }}<\/p>\n<p>Google identified several types of AI hallucinations, like incorrect predictions of events that might not actually happen, false positives by identifying non-existent threats, and false negatives that might not accurately detect a cancerous tumour.<\/p>\n<p>But Google acknowledges there can be significant consequences to hallucinations, such as a healthcare AI model incorrectly identifying a benign skin model as malignant, leading to \u201cunnecessary medical interventions\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Not all hallucinations are bad, according to Igor Sevo, the head of AI at HTEC Group, a global product development firm. It just depends on what the AI is being used for.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn creative situations, hallucinating is good,\u201d Sevo said, noting that AI models can write new passages of text or emails in a certain voice or style. \u201cThe question now is how to get the models to understand creative vs truthful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>{{related align=\"center\" size=\"fullwidth\" ratio=\"auto\" storyIdList=\"8437058\" data=https://www.euronews.com/news/europe/' Google to roll out AI-generated summaries at top of search engine<\/a> <\/li>' }}<\/p>\n<h2><strong>It\u2019s all about the data<\/strong><\/h2><p>Ouazan said the accuracy of a chatbot comes down to the quality of the dataset that it\u2019s being fed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf one [data] source is not 100 per cent\u2026 [the chatbot] might say something that is not right,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is the main reason why we have hallucination.\"<\/p>\n<p>For now, Ouazan said AI models are using a lot of web and open source data to train their models.<\/p>\n<p>{{quotation_v2 align=\"center\" size=\"fullwidth\" ratio=\"auto\" quote=\"\"At the end of the day, it's a journey. Businesses don't have good customer service from day one either.\"\" author=\"Alexander Sukharevsky, senior partner at QuantumBlack at McKinsey\" }}<\/p>\n<p>OpenAI, in particular, is also striking agreements with mass media organisations such as Axel Springer and News Corp and publications such as Le Monde to license their content so they can train their models on more reliable data.<\/p>\n<p>To Ouazan, it\u2019s not that AI needs more data to formulate accurate responses, it's that models need quality source data.<\/p>\n<p>Sukharevsky said he\u2019s not surprised that AI chatbots are making mistakes - they have to, in order for the humans running them to refine the technology and its datasets as they go.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think at the end of the day, it's a journey,\u201d Sukharevsky said. \u201cBusinesses don\u2019t have good customer service from day one either,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>{{related align=\"center\" size=\"fullwidth\" ratio=\"auto\" storyIdList=\"8433946\" data=https://www.euronews.com/news/europe/' OpenAI rival Anthropic launches chatbot Claude in Europe to give users more choice<\/a> <\/li>' }}<\/p>\n<p>A Google spokesperson told Euronews Next that its AI Overviews received many \u201cuncommon queries\u201d that were either doctored or that couldn\u2019t accurately be reproduced, leading to false or hallucinated answers.<\/p>\n<p>They maintain the company did \u201cextensive testing\u201d before launching AI Overviews and are taking \u201cswift action\u201d to improve their systems.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>How can AI companies stop hallucinations?<\/strong><\/h2><p>There are a few techniques Google recommends to slow this problem down, like regularisation, which penalises the model for making extreme predictions.<\/p>\n<p>The way to do this is to limit the number of possible outcomes that the AI model is able to predict, Google continued. Trainers can also give their model feedback, telling them what was liked and disliked about the answer so it will help the chatbot learn what users are looking for.<\/p>\n<p>AI should also be trained with information that is \"relevant\" to what it will be doing, like using a dataset of medical images for an AI that will assist with diagnosing patients.<\/p>\n<p>Companies with AI language models could record the most common queries and then bring a team together with individuals with different skills to figure out how to refine their answers, Sukharevksy said.<\/p>\n<p>For example, Sukharevsky said that English language experts could be well suited to do the AI\u2019s fine-tuning depending on what the most popular questions are.<\/p>\n<p>{{quotation_v2 align=\"center\" size=\"fullwidth\" ratio=\"auto\" quote=\"\u201cI think it\u2019s going to be solved, because if you don\u2019t make [AI chatbots] more reliable, nobody\u2019s going to use them.\"\" author=\"Igor Sevo, head of AI at HTEC Group\" }}<\/p>\n<p>Large companies with major computing power could also take a chance at creating their own evolutionary algorithms to improve the reliability of their models, according to Sevo.<\/p>\n<p>This is where AI models would hallucinate or make up training data for other models with truthful information that\u2019s already been identified by mathematical equations, Sevo continued.<\/p>\n<p>If thousands of models are competing against each other to find truthfulness, the produced models will be less prone to hallucinations, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s going to be solved, because if you don\u2019t make [AI chatbots] more reliable, nobody\u2019s going to use them,\u201d Sevo said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s in everyone\u2019s interest that these things will be used.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Smaller companies can give a shot at manually fine-tuning what data their models consider reliable or truthful based on their own set of standards, Sevo said, but that solution is more labour-intensive and expensive.<\/p>\n<p>Users should also be aware that hallucinations can happen, AI experts say.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would educate myself about what [AI chatbots] are, what they are not, so I have a basic understanding of its limitations as a user,\u201d Sukharevksy said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I see that things aren\u2019t working, I would let the tool evolve.\u201d<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1717057544,"updatedAt":1717133512,"publishedAt":1717133450,"firstPublishedAt":1717079700,"lastPublishedAt":1717133450,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/85\/04\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_bee383ef-49e8-5a72-9229-9385e5252d38-8468504.jpg","altText":"A Google employee gives a demonstration on artificial intelligence at the Google I\/O conference in Mountain View, California.","caption":"A Google employee gives a demonstration on artificial intelligence at the Google I\/O conference in Mountain View, 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7 - BE ISRAELI EMBASSY PROTESTERS","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"WATCH: Police disperse pro-Palestinian protest outside Belgian Embassy","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"WATCH: Police disperse pro-Palestinian protest outside Belgian Embass","titleListing2":"Despite lacking authorization, over 500 individuals gathered outside the Israeli embassy in Uccle for a pro-Palestinian demonstration. ","leadin":"Despite lacking authorization, over 500 individuals gathered outside the Israeli embassy in Uccle for a pro-Palestinian demonstration.","summary":"Despite lacking authorization, over 500 individuals gathered outside the Israeli embassy in Uccle for a pro-Palestinian demonstration.","keySentence":"","url":"watch-police-disperse-pro-palestinian-protest-outside-belgian-embassy","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2024\/05\/30\/watch-police-disperse-pro-palestinian-protest-outside-belgian-embassy","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Blocked by police, clashes ensued, leading to tear gas use and dispersal efforts. Some demonstrators redirected towards Ixelles, swelling in numbers unexpectedly. \n\nThe Belgian League of Human Rights condemned police actions from the previous day, while Amnesty International calls for a thorough investigation into the incident's legality.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Blocked by police, clashes ensued, leading to tear gas use and dispersal efforts. Some demonstrators redirected towards Ixelles, swelling in numbers unexpectedly. <\/p>\n<p>The Belgian League of Human Rights condemned police actions from the previous day, while Amnesty International calls for a thorough investigation into the incident's legality.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1717081127,"updatedAt":1717087685,"publishedAt":1717087203,"firstPublishedAt":1717087217,"lastPublishedAt":1717087203,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/97\/34\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_9949dfbf-3ef2-592f-ae4e-b5705e598e28-8469734.jpg","altText":"Pro-Palestinian organisations and student movements gathered in front of the Israeli embassy","caption":"Pro-Palestinian organisations and student movements gathered in front of the Israeli embassy","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"RTBF","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1920,"height":1080}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"caraco","title":"Alexis Caraco","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[{"urlSafeValue":"mauduit","title":"Frederique Mauduit","twitter":null}]},"keywords":[{"id":29226,"slug":"israel-hamas-war","urlSafeValue":"israel-hamas-war","title":"Israel Hamas war","titleRaw":"Israel Hamas war"},{"id":24,"slug":"belgium","urlSafeValue":"belgium","title":"Belgium","titleRaw":"Belgium"},{"id":4378,"slug":"protest","urlSafeValue":"protest","title":"Protest","titleRaw":"Protest"},{"id":14470,"slug":"israeli-palestinian-conflict","urlSafeValue":"israeli-palestinian-conflict","title":"Israeli-Palestinian conflict","titleRaw":"Israeli-Palestinian conflict"}],"widgets":[],"related":[{"id":2544438},{"id":2551932},{"id":2547716}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"7-zAGqWIevI","dailymotionId":"x8zcn9c"},"video":1,"videos":[{"duration":120000,"editor":"","filesizeBytes":15392099,"format":"mp4","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/med\/EN\/NC\/SU\/24\/05\/30\/en\/240530_NCSU_55672445_55672873_120000_173520_en.mp4","expiresAt":0,"quality":"md"},{"duration":120000,"editor":"","filesizeBytes":23887715,"format":"mp4","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/EN\/NC\/SU\/24\/05\/30\/en\/240530_NCSU_55672445_55672873_120000_173520_en.mp4","expiresAt":0,"quality":"hd"}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"AP","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"nocomment","urlSafeValue":"nocomment","title":"no comment","online":1,"url":"\/nocomment"},"vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":24,"urlSafeValue":"belgium","title":"Belgium","url":"\/news\/europe\/belgium"},"town":{"id":4129,"urlSafeValue":"brussels","title":"Brussels"},"grapeshot":"'neg_mobkoi_castrol','gb_safe_from_high','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','pos_ukraine-russia','pos_ukrainecrisis','gs_law','neg_facebook','neg_facebook_q4','neg_tiktok_q1_2024_eng','neg_intel_en','gs_society','gt_mixed','gs_law_misc','gb_sensitive_high_med','gb_sensitive_high_med_low','gb_sensitive_news-ent'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/video\/2024\/05\/30\/watch-police-disperse-pro-palestinian-protest-outside-belgian-embassy","lastModified":1717087203},{"id":2553106,"cid":8469146,"versionId":3,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240530_GNSU_55670275","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"ECT","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Bloc quits Energy Charter Treaty, leaving member states free to remain","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Bloc quits Energy Charter Treaty, leaving member states free to remain","titleListing2":"Bloc quits Energy Charter Treaty, leaving member states free to remain","leadin":"Decision greeted as a major success for the climate but environmentalists keep urging all EU countries without exception to withdraw the treaty.","summary":"Decision greeted as a major success for the climate but environmentalists keep urging all EU countries without exception to withdraw the treaty.","keySentence":"","url":"bloc-quits-energy-charter-treaty-leaving-member-states-free-to-remain","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/green\/2024\/05\/30\/bloc-quits-energy-charter-treaty-leaving-member-states-free-to-remain","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Energy ministers meeting in Brussels voted unanimously today (May 30) for the EU to officially withdraw the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) while leaving open the possibility for member states to remain in their own capacity.\n\nDeciding on the bloc's future in the ECT was one of the commitments\u00a0of the EU Belgian Presidency, the country\u2019s energy minister Tinne Van Der Straeten told reporters today shortly before joining her counterparts at the Energy Council.\n\nToday\u2019s decision followed a European Parliament vote\u00a0last month signalling an overwhelming intention to quit the treaty. The ECT is a post-Cold War international agreement designed to protect investments in unstable formerly communist states, but it has become a source of controversy since the treaty allows energy companies to sue countries taking measures that could harm their expected profits.\n\nSubscribe here\u00a0to stay informed on the latest EU policy development with our newsletter, \"The Policy Briefing\", your weekly insight on European rulemaking, key events and data trends.\n\nFor example, Germany has been sued by Swedish multinational power company Vattenfall under the ECT in relation to its phase-out of nuclear energy, which affected foreign investors in the nuclear sector. Spain, too,\u00a0has faced numerous cases, primarily due to changes in its renewable energy policies, which investors claimed breached the ECT by undermining their funds.\n\nTrying to find a solution to please EU countries who have notified their intention to leave, have already left, or want to remain part of the ECT, the Belgians proposed first for the EU, alongside the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), to officially withdraw from the treaty before the next ECT conference due in November, while simultaneously allowing EU countries who wish to remain within the treaty to do so.\n\n\u201cToday\u2019s adoption represents the final milestone in the Belgian roadmap we crafted for the ECT. Building on the groundwork laid by our Swedish predecessors, the Belgian presidency has worked tirelessly to break this complex deadlock and found a balance acceptable and useful to all,\u201d said Van der Straeten.\n\n\u00a0\n\nThe EU will express its position during the next ECT conference, where member states wanting to remain are expected to take the floor and express their intentions, a Belgian official told reporters during a press briefing ahead of today\u2019s vote.\n\nNine member states have announced their intention to withdraw from the ECT since October 2022 \u2014 Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. In the meantime France, Germany, Luxembourg and Poland have officially notified their withdrawal. The UK announced its intention in February while Italy was the first to quit the treaty in 2016.\n\n\u201cThe solution brokered by Belgium was the best possible one at the moment. It is crucial that a decision for the EU to leave is taken in the current mandate, otherwise it would risk being delayed for a long time,\u201d Paul de de Clerck, economic justice expert at Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE) told Euronews.\n\n\u201cWe expect that once the EU and all major member states have left the ECT, the rest of member states will also decide to leave. Not only is the ECT losing its relevance but having EU member states with different investment regimes is also difficult to match with EU competition rules as it will create an unequal playing field,\u201d de Clerck added.\n\nAmandine Van Den Berghe, lawyer at the environmental charity ClientEarth said the EU needs to work with other countries, such as the UK, to neutralise the 20-year sunset clause, which requires signatory states who wish to exit the treaty to comply with its provisions for 20 years.\n\n\"This is critical to minimise the risk of more costly damages claims being brought against them over the next two decades,\" Van Den Berghe said.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Energy ministers meeting in Brussels voted unanimously today (May 30) for the EU to officially withdraw the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) while leaving open the possibility for member states to remain in their own capacity.<\/p>\n<p>Deciding on the bloc's future in the ECT was one of the <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com//?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.euronews.com%2Fgreen%2F2024%2F03%2F01%2Fbelgian-presidency-seals-withdrawal-fix-from-energy-charter-treaty&data=05%7C02%7Cmarta.pacheco%40euronews.com%7C3d4ae34bd8d44f41a5f808dc80a5abfa%7Ce59fa28a32ed49aca5a09c46118cfecf%7C0%7C0%7C638526696249189791%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=UTxsBbhx6EWTqhmwRbgXC1pv%2F2Fhwp%2FtERNphK2us3k%3D&reserved=0\%22>commitments<\/a>\u00a0of the EU Belgian Presidency, the country\u2019s energy minister Tinne Van Der Straeten told reporters today shortly before joining her counterparts at the Energy Council.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s decision followed a European Parliament <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com//?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.euronews.com%2Fgreen%2F2024%2F04%2F09%2Fmeps-support-exit-from-treaty-allowing-big-oil-to-sue-governments-over-climate-action&data=05%7C02%7Cmarta.pacheco%40euronews.com%7C3d4ae34bd8d44f41a5f808dc80a5abfa%7Ce59fa28a32ed49aca5a09c46118cfecf%7C0%7C0%7C638526696249200054%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=vc9Rb%2BO7BCaK2eeCiHUMZB91xyqoIStPsVwBfBth6Do%3D&reserved=0\%22>vote<\/a>\u00a0last month signalling an overwhelming intention to quit the treaty. The ECT is a post-Cold War international agreement designed to protect investments in unstable formerly communist states, but it has become a source of controversy since the treaty allows energy companies to sue countries taking measures that could harm their expected profits.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Subscribe <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com//?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.euronews.com%2Fregister%3Fnewsletters%3Deupolicy_en%26utm_campaign%3Dpolicybriefing_en_article_policybriefing&data=05%7C02%7Cmarta.pacheco%40euronews.com%7C8a3445b32a854f59a29d08dc80b65bc2%7Ce59fa28a32ed49aca5a09c46118cfecf%7C0%7C0%7C638526767931801171%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=fbz2E%2F1TQDdo%2F0IXV7JZrSs5HnQQsLWS%2BdcANcoC1x0%3D&reserved=0\%22>here<\/a>\u00a0to stay informed on the latest EU policy development with our newsletter, \"The Policy Briefing\", your weekly insight on European rulemaking, key events and data trends.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>For example, Germany has been sued by Swedish multinational power company Vattenfall under the ECT in relation to its phase-out of nuclear energy, which affected foreign investors in the nuclear sector. Spain, too,\u00a0has faced numerous cases, primarily due to changes in its renewable energy policies, which investors claimed breached the ECT by undermining their funds.<\/p>\n<p>Trying to find a solution to please EU countries who have notified their intention to leave, have already left, or want to remain part of the ECT, the Belgians proposed first for the EU, alongside the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), to officially withdraw from the treaty before the next ECT conference due in November, while simultaneously allowing EU countries who wish to remain within the treaty to do so.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday\u2019s adoption represents the final milestone in the Belgian roadmap we crafted for the ECT. Building on the groundwork laid by our Swedish predecessors, the Belgian presidency has worked tirelessly to break this complex deadlock and found a balance acceptable and useful to all,\u201d said Van der Straeten.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"8362246\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//business//2024//04//09//meps-support-exit-from-treaty-allowing-big-oil-to-sue-governments-over-climate-action/">MEPs support exit from treaty allowing big oil to sue governments over climate action<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The EU will express its position during the next ECT conference, where member states wanting to remain are expected to take the floor and express their intentions, a Belgian official told reporters during a press briefing ahead of today\u2019s vote.<\/p>\n<p>Nine member states have announced their intention to withdraw from the ECT since October 2022 \u2014 Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. In the meantime France, Germany, Luxembourg and Poland have officially notified their withdrawal. The UK announced its intention in February while Italy was the first to quit the treaty in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe solution brokered by Belgium was the best possible one at the moment. It is crucial that a decision for the EU to leave is taken in the current mandate, otherwise it would risk being delayed for a long time,\u201d Paul de de Clerck, economic justice expert at Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE) told Euronews.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe expect that once the EU and all major member states have left the ECT, the rest of member states will also decide to leave. Not only is the ECT losing its relevance but having EU member states with different investment regimes is also difficult to match with EU competition rules as it will create an unequal playing field,\u201d de Clerck added.<\/p>\n<p>Amandine Van Den Berghe, lawyer at the environmental charity ClientEarth said the EU needs to work with other countries, such as the <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2024//02//22//uk-blames-eu-as-it-pulls-out-of-energy-charter-treaty/">UK, to neutralise the 20-year sunset clause, which requires signatory states who wish to exit the treaty to comply with its provisions for 20 years.<\/p>\n<p>\"This is critical to minimise the risk of more costly damages claims being brought against them over the next two decades,\" Van Den Berghe said.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1717071967,"updatedAt":1717080646,"publishedAt":1717079266,"firstPublishedAt":1717079270,"lastPublishedAt":1717079266,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Vuk Valcic \/ SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images","altText":"Vuk Valcic \/ SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images","callToActionText":null,"width":1512,"caption":"Vuk Valcic \/ SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images","url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/91\/46\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_cf6ac546-02ec-5807-8d63-f0d77c19654f-8469146.jpg","captionUrl":null,"height":1008}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"pacheco","twitter":"@themartache","title":"Marta Pacheco"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"urlSafeValue":"eu-policy","titleRaw":"EU Policy","id":29232,"title":"EU 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News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":24,"urlSafeValue":"belgium","title":"Belgium","url":"\/news\/europe\/belgium"},"town":{"id":3270,"urlSafeValue":"brussels","title":"Brussels"},"grapeshot":"'gv_safe','gb_safe','gb_safe_from_high','gb_safe_from_high_med','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','pos_ukraine-russia','gs_politics','gs_busfin','gs_politics_issues_policy','gs_politics_misc','gs_business','custom_politics_brussels','shadow9hu7_pos_ukrainecrisis','gs_busfin_indus','gs_busfin_indus_energy','gs_business_energy','gt_negative','eu_brussels_politics_eng','progressivemedia'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/green\/2024\/05\/30\/bloc-quits-energy-charter-treaty-leaving-member-states-free-to-remain","lastModified":1717079266},{"id":2553148,"cid":8469302,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240530_BUSU_55670849","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"germany lifts gas storage levy","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Berlin drops gas transit levy blamed for promoting imports from Russia","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Berlin drops gas transit levy blamed for promoting imports from Russia","titleListing2":"Berlin drops gas transit levy blamed for promoting imports from Russia","leadin":"Berlin has agreed to scrap a gas storage levy, with the European Commission questioning its legality under EU law, and eastern EU members suggesting it plays into Moscow's hands.","summary":"Berlin has agreed to scrap a gas storage levy, with the European Commission questioning its legality under EU law, and eastern EU members suggesting it plays into Moscow's hands.","keySentence":"","url":"berlin-drops-gas-transit-levy-blamed-for-promoting-imports-from-russia","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/business\/2024\/05\/30\/berlin-drops-gas-transit-levy-blamed-for-promoting-imports-from-russia","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Germany has announced it will drop a gas storage fee introduced during the energy crisis of 2022, after eastern EU members warned the increased cost of imports from the west was forcing their continued reliance on Russian gas.\n\nThe launch of Vladimir Putin\u2019s invasion of Ukraine saw Moscow weaponise gas supplies on which the EU, and Germany in particular, were heavily reliant. Berlin introduced the storage levy in October that year to partly offset the cost of stockpiling from alternative suppliers as wholesale prices rocketed ahead of winter.\n\n\u201cIt was never our intention to hamper the diversification, with this levy, away from Russian gas,\u201d said Sven Giegold, a state secretary at Germany\u2019s federal ministry for economy and climate action, as he arrived for an energy summit in Brussels on Thursday (30 May).\n\n\u201cQuite to the contrary, the income from that levy, financed mainly by German customers, has contributed to filling gas storage facilities and [thus] stabilising prices and markets,\u201d Giegold said, adding that EU countries would no longer have to pay the charge, which was originally intended to expire last month, from January 2025.\n\nThe German official, a former Green MEP, said he could not discuss the details of the legislative change, but that it was \u201cvery likely\u201d that German customers will continue to pay even as the levy is lifted from gas flows exiting Germany,\n\nIn a document circulated ahead of the meeting, Austria, Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia had restated their concern that the storage fee increased costs for gas traders and, ultimately, customers in their region.\n\n\u201cTogether with the scheduled end of transit of Russian gas via Ukraine by the end of this year, the levy will significantly reduce the security of supply of the whole CEE region and make it more vulnerable towards price fluctuations,\u201d they wrote.\n\nEnergy commissioner Kadri Simson warned at a previous energy ministers\u2019 summit in March that export restrictions or cross-border levies put solidarity at risk, and the EU executive had signalled it was considering legal action based on a possible infringement of European single-market rules.\n\nCzech industry and trade minister Jozef S\u00edkela, on his way into today\u2019s meeting, said the volume of Russian gas flowing into his country had increased since September as wholesale prices fell towards pre-war levels and the relative impact of Germany\u2019s levy increased.\n\n\u201cOf course none of the traders is telling us that this is Russian gas\u2026because this is gas from the Ukrainian, Austrian and Slovak storage,\u201d S\u00edkela said. \u201cBut if you count the flows, there is definitely a big portion of Russian gas, and we do not like to see Russian gas on Czech territory.\u201d\n\nDespite their altercation over the storage levy, Berlin and Prague joined forces ahead of the summit to call for the EU to set up a \u201chigh-level working group\u201d to accelerate a complete decoupling from Russia\u2019s energy market.\n\n\u201cThe aim, in cooperation with the European Commission, is to ensure a coordinated procedure in limiting the import of both gas and oil or nuclear fuel from Russia,\u201d S\u00edkela said on social media after a discussion of the topic.\n\nDespite the grinding war of attrition that is devastating the country, gas remains unaffected by the EU\u2019s incremental sanctions regime and has continued to flow through Ukraine in line with contracts between Russia\u2019s Gazprom and the EU \u2013 but this agreement is due to come to an end in December, and Simson has signalled there is no need or intention to renew it.\n\nSupply shortfalls due to Moscow\u2019s throttling of deliveries and the as yet unexplained destruction of the Nord Stream link to Germany have been largely offset by a ramping up of deliveries from Norway and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US and elsewhere, along with a recently extended voluntary demand reduction policy.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Germany has announced it will drop a gas storage fee introduced during the energy crisis of 2022, after eastern EU members warned the increased cost of imports from the west was forcing their continued reliance on Russian gas.<\/p>\n<p>The launch of Vladimir Putin\u2019s invasion of Ukraine saw Moscow weaponise gas supplies on which the EU, and Germany in particular, were heavily reliant. Berlin introduced the storage levy in October that year to partly offset the cost of stockpiling from alternative suppliers as wholesale prices rocketed ahead of winter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was never our intention to hamper the diversification, with this levy, away from Russian gas,\u201d said Sven Giegold, a state secretary at Germany\u2019s federal ministry for economy and climate action, as he arrived for an energy summit in Brussels on Thursday (30 May).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cQuite to the contrary, the income from that levy, financed mainly by German customers, has contributed to filling gas storage facilities and [thus] stabilising prices and markets,\u201d Giegold said, adding that EU countries would no longer have to pay the charge, which was originally intended to expire last month, from January 2025.<\/p>\n<p>The German official, a former Green MEP, said he could not discuss the details of the legislative change, but that it was \u201cvery likely\u201d that German customers will continue to pay even as the levy is lifted from gas flows exiting Germany,<\/p>\n<p>In a document circulated ahead of the meeting, Austria, Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia had restated their concern that the storage fee increased costs for gas traders and, ultimately, customers in their region.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTogether with the scheduled end of transit of Russian gas via Ukraine by the end of this year, the levy will significantly reduce the security of supply of the whole CEE region and make it more vulnerable towards price fluctuations,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Energy commissioner Kadri Simson warned at a previous energy ministers\u2019 summit in March that export restrictions or cross-border levies put solidarity at risk, and the EU executive had signalled it was considering legal action based on a possible infringement of European single-market rules.<\/p>\n<p>Czech industry and trade minister Jozef S\u00edkela, on his way into today\u2019s meeting, said the volume of Russian gas flowing into his country had increased since September as wholesale prices fell towards pre-war levels and the relative impact of Germany\u2019s levy increased.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course none of the traders is telling us that this is Russian gas\u2026because this is gas from the Ukrainian, Austrian and Slovak storage,\u201d S\u00edkela said. \u201cBut if you count the flows, there is definitely a big portion of Russian gas, and we do not like to see Russian gas on Czech territory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite their altercation over the storage levy, Berlin and Prague joined forces ahead of the summit to call for the EU to set up a \u201chigh-level working group\u201d to accelerate a complete decoupling from Russia\u2019s energy market.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe aim, in cooperation with the European Commission, is to ensure a coordinated procedure in limiting the import of both gas and oil or nuclear fuel from Russia,\u201d S\u00edkela said on social media after a discussion of the topic.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the grinding war of attrition that is devastating the country, gas remains unaffected by the EU\u2019s incremental sanctions regime and has continued to flow through Ukraine in line with contracts between Russia\u2019s Gazprom and the EU \u2013 but this agreement is due to come to an end in December, and Simson has signalled there is no need or intention to renew it.<\/p>\n<p>Supply shortfalls due to Moscow\u2019s throttling of deliveries and the as yet unexplained destruction of the Nord Stream link to Germany have been largely offset by a ramping up of deliveries from Norway and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US and elsewhere, along with a recently extended voluntary demand reduction policy.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1717074695,"updatedAt":1717076549,"publishedAt":1717076544,"firstPublishedAt":1717076549,"lastPublishedAt":1717076544,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/93\/02\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_2dfa8f4d-9e62-58d6-b683-4ba816090832-8469302.jpg","altText":"Jozef S\u00edkela (left) and Sven Giegold at EU Council energy summit, 30 May 2024","caption":"Jozef S\u00edkela (left) and Sven Giegold at EU Council energy summit, 30 May 2024","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"European Union","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":2278,"height":1519}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"hodgson","title":"Robert Hodgson","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":29232,"slug":"eu-policy","urlSafeValue":"eu-policy","title":"EU Policy","titleRaw":"EU 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crisis"}],"widgets":[],"related":[{"id":2493356},{"id":2482596},{"id":2234256}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"business","urlSafeValue":"business","title":"Business","online":0,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/business\/business\/business"},"vertical":"business","verticals":[{"id":11,"slug":"business","urlSafeValue":"business","title":"Business"},{"id":11,"slug":"business","urlSafeValue":"business","title":"Business"},{"id":2,"slug":"my-europe","urlSafeValue":"my-europe","title":"My Europe"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":11,"slug":"business","urlSafeValue":"business","title":"Business"},"themes":[{"id":"business","urlSafeValue":"business","title":"Business","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/business\/business"},{"id":"markets","urlSafeValue":"markets","title":"Markets","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/business\/markets"},{"id":"europe-news","urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe News","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":7,"urlSafeValue":"business","title":"Business"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":24,"urlSafeValue":"belgium","title":"Belgium","url":"\/news\/europe\/belgium"},"town":{"id":3270,"urlSafeValue":"brussels","title":"Brussels"},"grapeshot":"'gv_safe','shadow9hu7_pos_ukrainecrisis','gb_safe_from_high','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','gs_busfin','neg_ukraine_russia_war','shadow9hu7_pos_ukraine-russia','neg_intel_mobkoi','gs_politics','gs_business','gs_busfin_indus','neg_mobkoi_creed_eng','neg_mobkoi_new','gt_negative','neg_zegna_eng','gs_politics_issues_policy','gs_politics_misc','gs_busfin_indus_energy','gs_business_energy','gt_negative_fear','gb_death_injury_high_med','gb_death_injury_high_med_low','gb_death_injury_news-ent','gt_negative_anger'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/business\/2024\/05\/30\/berlin-drops-gas-transit-levy-blamed-for-promoting-imports-from-russia","lastModified":1717076544},{"id":2552882,"cid":8468382,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240530_BZSU_55667716","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"NEXT EUROPOL CYBERCRIME","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Four arrested in world\u2019s largest malware network operation, Europol says","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Four arrested in world\u2019s largest malware network operation - Europol","titleListing2":"Four arrested in world\u2019s largest malware network operation, Europol says","leadin":"Police arrested four people and took down 100 servers across Europe and North America in what Europol said was the biggest sweep against malware ever conducted.","summary":"Police arrested four people and took down 100 servers across Europe and North America in what Europol said was the biggest sweep against malware ever conducted.","keySentence":"","url":"four-arrested-in-worlds-largest-malware-network-operation-europol-says","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/2024\/05\/30\/four-arrested-in-worlds-largest-malware-network-operation-europol-says","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Police arrested four people and took down 100 servers across Europe and North America in a major sweep against malware, Europol said.\n\nThe European Union\u2019s law enforcement agency also said over 2,000 domains were now under the control of law enforcement.\n\nOperation Endgame, which was carried out between May 27 and 29, was \u201cthe largest ever operation against botnets, which play a major role in the deployment of ransomware,\u201d Europol said.\n\nIcedID, Smokeloader, SystemBC, Pikabot and Bumblebee are some examples of the botnets that are now disabled.\n\nThree Ukrainian nationals and one Armenian were arrested, with ten more international arrest warrants also issued.\n\nOne of the main suspects in the operation earned at least \u20ac69 million in cryptocurrency by renting out sites that would deploy ransomware.\n\nFinding the suspects took a coordinated effort from around the world, Europol said, with the operation initiated and led by France, Germany and the Netherlands.\n\n\u201cLaw enforcement authorities have managed to deal a significant blow to the cybercrime scene,\u201d Martina Link, vice president of Germany\u2019s Federal Criminal Police Office, said in a statement. \u201cThanks to intensive, international cooperation, six of the largest malware families were rendered harmless,\u201d she added.\n\nMore than 20 law enforcement officers from Denmark, France, Germany and the United States coordinated hundreds of officers on the ground as well as several virtual command posts with Armenia, French, Portuguese and Ukrainian officers in the field.\n\nLaura Beccuau, France\u2019s public prosecutor, said in a statement that these types of malware attacks \u201cnumber in the hundreds every year,\u201d and are committed often against private companies, individuals and public buildings, like hospitals.\n\nFrom 2022 to 2023, the number of cyberattacks in France increased by 30 per cent, she said.\n\nEuropol defines malware droppers, the type of technology seized in this operation, as a type of malicious software that lets cybercriminals bypass security measures on any device and lets them secretly install viruses, ransomware or spyware in its place.\n\nDroppers are also assigned to avoid being detected by security software by changing their code or impersonating legitimate software processes.\n\nEuropol said the operation is not yet over.\n\n\u201cSuspects involved in these and other botnets who have not yet been arrested, will be directly called to account for their actions,\u201d the law enforcement agency said.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Police arrested four people and took down 100 servers across Europe and North America in a major sweep against malware, Europol said.<\/p>\n<p>The European Union\u2019s law enforcement agency also said over 2,000 domains were now under the control of law enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>Operation Endgame, which was carried out between May 27 and 29, was \u201cthe largest ever operation against botnets, which play a major role in the deployment of ransomware,\u201d Europol said.<\/p>\n<p>IcedID, Smokeloader, SystemBC, Pikabot and Bumblebee are some examples of the botnets that are now disabled.<\/p>\n<p>Three Ukrainian nationals and one Armenian were arrested, with ten more international arrest warrants also issued.<\/p>\n<p>One of the main suspects in the operation earned at least \u20ac69 million in cryptocurrency by renting out sites that would deploy ransomware.<\/p>\n<p>Finding the suspects took a coordinated effort from around the world, Europol said, with the operation initiated and led by France, Germany and the Netherlands.<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"8354170,7588658\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//next//2023//05//08//europol-is-worried-criminals-may-exploit-the-powers-of-chatgpt-heres-how/">Europol is worried criminals may exploit the powers of ChatGPT. Here\u2019s why<\/a> <\/li><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2024//04//05//eus-most-threatening-criminal-networks-enter-legal-economy/">EU's most threatening criminal networks enter legal economy<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cLaw enforcement authorities have managed to deal a significant blow to the cybercrime scene,\u201d Martina Link, vice president of Germany\u2019s Federal Criminal Police Office, said in a statement. \u201cThanks to intensive, international cooperation, six of the largest malware families were rendered harmless,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>More than 20 law enforcement officers from Denmark, France, Germany and the United States coordinated hundreds of officers on the ground as well as several virtual command posts with Armenia, French, Portuguese and Ukrainian officers in the field.<\/p>\n<p>Laura Beccuau, France\u2019s public prosecutor, said in a statement that these types of malware attacks \u201cnumber in the hundreds every year,\u201d and are committed often against private companies, individuals and public buildings, like hospitals.<\/p>\n<p>From 2022 to 2023, the number of cyberattacks in France increased by 30 per cent, she said.<\/p>\n<p>Europol defines malware droppers, the type of technology seized in this operation, as a type of malicious software that lets cybercriminals bypass security measures on any device and lets them secretly install viruses, ransomware or spyware in its place.<\/p>\n<p>Droppers are also assigned to avoid being detected by security software by changing their code or impersonating legitimate software processes.<\/p>\n<p>Europol said the operation is not yet over.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSuspects involved in these and other botnets who have not yet been arrested, will be directly called to account for their actions,\u201d the law enforcement agency said.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1717054974,"updatedAt":1717059335,"publishedAt":1717059331,"firstPublishedAt":1717059335,"lastPublishedAt":1717059331,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/83\/82\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_722268b4-d878-52ff-933f-5b828ded6ff0-8468382.jpg","altText":"A person's hand rests on an illuminated keyboard.","caption":"A person's hand rests on an illuminated keyboard.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo\/Ted S. Warren, FILE","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":2394,"height":1571}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"desmarais","title":"Anna Desmarais","twitter":"anna_desmarais"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":9975,"slug":"europol","urlSafeValue":"europol","title":"Europol","titleRaw":"Europol"},{"id":21390,"slug":"cyber-crime","urlSafeValue":"cyber-crime","title":"cyber crime","titleRaw":"cyber crime"},{"id":29370,"slug":"crimen","urlSafeValue":"crimen","title":"Crime","titleRaw":"Crime"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2541364},{"id":2538236},{"id":2435374}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"tech-news","urlSafeValue":"tech-news","title":"Tech News","online":0,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/tech-news\/tech-news"},"vertical":"next","verticals":[{"id":9,"slug":"next","urlSafeValue":"next","title":"Next"},{"id":2,"slug":"my-europe","urlSafeValue":"my-europe","title":"My Europe"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":9,"slug":"next","urlSafeValue":"next","title":"Next"},"themes":[{"id":"tech-news","urlSafeValue":"tech-news","title":"Tech News","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/tech-news"},{"id":"europe-news","urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe News","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":40,"urlSafeValue":"tech-news","title":"Tech News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":24,"urlSafeValue":"belgium","title":"Belgium","url":"\/news\/europe\/belgium"},"town":{"id":3270,"urlSafeValue":"brussels","title":"Brussels"},"grapeshot":"'gv_crime','gb_spam_edu','gb_spam_high_med_low','gb_safe_from_high','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','pos_ukraine-russia','pos_ukrainecrisis','gs_law','gb_crime_edu','gb_crime_high_med_low','gs_tech_compute','gs_tech','gs_tech_computing','gs_tech_compute_apps_antivir','gs_tech_compute_apps','gb_spam_high_med','gb_spam_news-ent','neg_facebook','bespoke_kaspersky','neg_mobkoi_castrol','neg_facebook_q4','gs_politics','gs_politics_issues_policy','neg_saudiaramco','gt_negative','gb_crime_high_med','gb_crime_news-ent','gt_negative_anger'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/next\/2024\/05\/30\/four-arrested-in-worlds-largest-malware-network-operation-europol-says","lastModified":1717059331},{"id":2551616,"cid":8464162,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240528_BZSU_55651822","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"NEXT BELGIUM FAR RIGHT SOCIAL","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Belgium\u2019s far-right spends big on Meta ahead of EU elections, expert finds","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Belgium\u2019s far-right spends big on Meta ahead of EU elections - expert","titleListing2":"Belgium\u2019s far-right spends big on Meta ahead of EU elections, expert finds","leadin":"Vlaams Belang on the far right and Belgium\u2019s Workers Party on the far left are the biggest political advertising spenders in that country\u2019s social media campaign ahead of the European elections.","summary":"Vlaams Belang on the far right and Belgium\u2019s Workers Party on the far left are the biggest political advertising spenders in that country\u2019s social media campaign ahead of the European elections.","keySentence":"","url":"belgiums-far-right-spends-big-on-meta-ahead-of-eu-elections-expert-finds","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/2024\/05\/30\/belgiums-far-right-spends-big-on-meta-ahead-of-eu-elections-expert-finds","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"The account of Vlaams Belang, Belgium\u2019s Flemish nationalist party, posted an advertisement on April 26 with a video of young people fighting at a Geel bus stop. \n\n\u201cHave you also had enough of the \u2018enrichment\u2019 of the multicultural society?\u201d the caption reads in Dutch. \u201cOnly Vlaams Belang is talking about this\u2026and will restore law and order!\u201d \n\nFor between \u20ac600 to \u20ac800, Vlaams Belang got up to 125,000 Facebook impressions and 60,000 on Instagram from this ad, largely from their intended audience of 18 to 34-year-olds in Belgium\u2019s north, according to Meta Ad Library data. \n\nFor some, the social media campaign strategy of Vlaams Belang and party leader Tom Van Grieken is working. \n\nA Euronews\/Ipsos poll from March puts the party in the lead in Flanders with 23 per cent support there. \n\nVan Grieken's agenda includes: breaking up the country and establishing a Flemish republic with strict immigration regulations. \n\n\nThe story in Wallonia and Brussels is quite different, with the Belgian Socialist Party (PS) and the Belgian Reformist Movement (MR) parties in the lead in those respective areas.\u00a0 \n\nThis post is one example of how the Belgian far-right party has used extensive social media advertising, to win over online voters, who often skew younger. \n\nSpending hundreds of thousands on social media \n\nXavier Degraux, a digital marketing specialist in Charleroi, Belgium, used the Meta Ad Library platform to analyse the social media advertising of major Belgian political parties in the first three months of the election campaign starting February 10. \n\nHe found that Vlaams Belang spent the most of all Belgian parties, with just under \u20ac300,000 on sponsored Facebook and Instagram ads. \n\nThat outpaces the second-place party, the leftist Workers Party of Belgium (PVDA\/PTB), which spent \u20ac176,637. \n\nThat\u2019s just on the official party accounts: the party spent another \u20ac77,219 on the personal account of Vlaams Belang leader Van Grieken. \n\nFor the Workers Party, they spent \u20ac56,849 for leader\u00a0 Raoul Hedebouw. \n\nOverall, Degraux said he found that the extreme right is spending almost 10 times the amount per advertisement than the far left, which focuses more on microtargeting among certain key demographics. \n\nA separate Euronews analysis found that in Europe overall, while far-right parties such as Vlaams Belang and Hungary's Fidesz lead the field in social media ads, other parties are also spending large sums on Google ads ahead of the poll.\u00a0 \n\n\nDegraux found in Belgium that the spending of these two parties on Facebook and Instagram ads accounts for roughly 47 per cent of all the social media political advertising done in the country in the three months before the election. \n\nOnly political parties in Denmark and Sweden pay more per user on Facebook than those in Belgium, at \u20ac6.55 and \u20ac5.79, according to another analysis by Degraux. \n\nMeta\u2019s advertising standards say they\u2019ve restricted advertisements in EU countries that discourage people from voting in elections, call into question the legitimacy of an upcoming election, and prematurely claim an election victory. \n\nThe policy also includes advertisements about any current or future elections. It applies equally to elections where the results have not yet been finalised and officials have yet to be sworn into office. \n\nEuronews Next reached out to Vlaams Belang and the Workers Party of Belgium but did not receive a reply by publication. \n\nDegraux said he didn\u2019t notice any high advertising spending on TikTok by far-right parties in Belgium. \n\n\u2018They are storytelling all the time\u2019 \n\nIn March, Belgium\u2019s constitutional court ruled that 16 and 17-year-old teenagers have to vote in the upcoming European Elections or face a fine. \n\nWhat that means is parties like Vlaams Belang are taking to the digital campaign trail to win over the younger generation, and it is leading to a \u201cseparation\u201d in the political landscape, according to Degraux. \n\nThe extreme right \u201creally bet\u201d on social media to make a difference in their campaigns, Degraux continued, unlike moderate parties that are working with both traditional and new technologies to get to their voters. \n\n\u201cThey are humanising themselves a lot and are storytelling all the time,\u201d Degraux said. \n\n\u201cThey show themselves, they face the camera, they [are storytelling in] their day-to-day life\u2026it\u2019s normal for young people to be exposed to that content, so for [that audience] it could be a trick.\u201d \n\nTheir campaigns resemble that of former US President Donald Trump, the Republican Party\u2019s nominee for that country\u2019s 2024 elections, Degraux continued. \n\nVlaams Belang experiments with short, campaign catchphrases that that accelerate the content going viral. \n\nDespite both parties using similar storytelling techniques, Degraux said the far left invests much more in individual candidates than the far right, which is concentrated on elevating the platform of their president. \n\nAn informal agreement not to air far-right voices \n\nBelgium\u2019s far-right parties are also relying on social media during their campaign to get around a so-called \u201ccordon sanitaire,\u201d a long-standing, informal agreement between French-language broadcasters where legacy media will not give a platform to members or parties with racist or discriminatory views. \n\nThe cordon sanitaire was first mentioned when Flemish voters noticed the support behind Vlaams Blok (the precursor for Vlaams Belang) in the 1988 community elections, according to the Research Centre for socio-political information (Crisp). \n\nBut the agreement wasn\u2019t fully in force until 1991 when Vlaams Blok received 10.3 per cent of votes in Flanders and took 12 of the 212 seats in the country\u2019s chamber of representatives in what they refer to as \u201cblack Sunday\". \n\nPoliticians from the five major parties at the time signed another version of the agreement, where they consented to not creating political agreements with far-right parties. \n\nPascal Delwit, a political science professor at the University of Brussels, told the French newspaper Nouvel Obs that the cordon sanitaire is still efficient because the far-right parties are excluded from live-streamed leadership debates in French during the campaign, which gives them less visibility. \n\nThat was seen in the 2019 election, Delwit continued. \n\nBelgium\u2019s populist People\u2019s Party, although having a huge social media presence, had very little effect on their results on election day, where they did not break the five per cent vote threshold for any elected representatives in regional parliaments. The party was dissolved shortly after. \n\nDegraux pointed out, however, that there is no cordon sanitaire for social media or on established search platforms like YouTube or Google. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>The account of Vlaams Belang, Belgium\u2019s Flemish nationalist party, posted an advertisement on April 26 with a video of young people fighting at a Geel bus stop.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHave you also had enough of the \u2018enrichment\u2019 of the multicultural society?\u201d the caption reads in Dutch. \u201cOnly Vlaams Belang is talking about this\u2026and will restore law and order!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For between \u20ac600 to \u20ac800, Vlaams Belang got up to 125,000 Facebook impressions and 60,000 on Instagram from this ad, largely from their intended audience of 18 to 34-year-olds in Belgium\u2019s north, according to Meta Ad Library data.<\/p>\n<p>For some, the social media campaign strategy of Vlaams Belang and party leader Tom Van Grieken is working.<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"8463564\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//05//28//revealed-the-far-right-eu-election-ads-flooding-social-media/">Revealed: the far-right EU election ads flooding social media<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>A <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////fr.euronews.com//2024//03//28//un-parti-separatiste-dextreme-droite-en-tete-des-sondages-electoraux-en-belgique/">Euronews//Ipsos poll<\/strong><\/a> from March puts the party in the lead in Flanders with 23 per cent support there. <\/p>\n<p>Van Grieken's agenda includes: breaking up the country and establishing a Flemish republic with strict immigration regulations. <\/p>\n<p>The story in Wallonia and Brussels is quite different, with the Belgian Socialist Party (PS) and the Belgian Reformist Movement (MR) parties in the lead in those respective areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This post is one example of how the Belgian far-right party has used extensive social media advertising, to win over online voters, who often skew younger.<\/p>\n<h2>Spending hundreds of thousands on social media<\/h2><p>Xavier Degraux, a digital marketing specialist in Charleroi, Belgium, used the Meta Ad Library platform to analyse the social media advertising of major Belgian political parties in the first three months of the election campaign starting February 10.<\/p>\n<p>He found that Vlaams Belang spent the most of all Belgian parties, with just under \u20ac300,000 on sponsored Facebook and Instagram ads.<\/p>\n<p>That outpaces the second-place party, the leftist Workers Party of Belgium (PVDA\/PTB), which spent \u20ac176,637.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s just on the official party accounts: the party spent another \u20ac77,219 on the personal account of Vlaams Belang leader Van Grieken. <\/p>\n<p>For the Workers Party, they spent \u20ac56,849 for leader\u00a0Raoul Hedebouw.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, Degraux said he found that the extreme right is spending almost 10 times the amount per advertisement than the far left, which focuses more on microtargeting among certain key demographics. <\/p>\n<p>A <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//05//28//revealed-the-far-right-eu-election-ads-flooding-social-media/">separate Euronews analysis<\/strong><\/a> found that in Europe overall, while far-right parties such as Vlaams Belang and Hungary's Fidesz lead the field in social media ads, other parties are also spending large sums on Google ads ahead of the poll.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"8455956,8453616\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2024//05//23//von-der-leyen-doubles-down-on-deal-with-giorgia-meloni/">EU elections debate: Von der Leyen doubles down on deal with Meloni<\/a> <\/li><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//05//24//perro-sanxe-lives-on-spanish-pms-party-looks-for-youth-vote-in-european-elections-campaign/">'Perro Sanxe' and TikTok memes: Spanish PM's party seeks youth support in EU elections campaign <\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Degraux found in Belgium that the spending of these two parties on Facebook and Instagram ads accounts for roughly 47 per cent of all the social media political advertising done in the country in the three months before the election.<\/p>\n<p>Only political parties in Denmark and Sweden pay more per user on Facebook than those in Belgium, at \u20ac6.55 and \u20ac5.79, according to another analysis by Degraux.<\/p>\n<p>Meta\u2019s advertising standards say they\u2019ve restricted advertisements in EU countries that discourage people from voting in elections, call into question the legitimacy of an upcoming election, and prematurely claim an election victory.<\/p>\n<p>The policy also includes advertisements about any current or future elections. It applies equally to elections where the results have not yet been finalised and officials have yet to be sworn into office.<\/p>\n<p>Euronews Next reached out to Vlaams Belang and the Workers Party of Belgium but did not receive a reply by publication.<\/p>\n<p>Degraux said he didn\u2019t notice any high advertising spending on TikTok by far-right parties in Belgium.<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"8407564\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//next//2024//05//25//theres-a-lot-at-stake-young-academics-use-tiktok-to-educate-eu-voters-ahead-of-elections/">/u2018There/u2019s a lot at stake\u2019: Young academics use TikTok to educate EU voters ahead of elections<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2>\u2018They are storytelling all the time\u2019<\/h2><p>In March, Belgium\u2019s constitutional court ruled that 16 and 17-year-old teenagers have to vote in the upcoming European Elections or face a fine.<\/p>\n<p>What that means is parties like Vlaams Belang are taking to the digital campaign trail to win over the younger generation, and it is leading to a \u201cseparation\u201d in the political landscape, according to Degraux.<\/p>\n<p>The extreme right \u201creally bet\u201d on social media to make a difference in their campaigns, Degraux continued, unlike moderate parties that are working with both traditional and new technologies to get to their voters.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-quotation\n widget--size-fullwidth\n widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__content\">\n <blockquote class=\"widget__quote\">\n <span class=\"widget__quoteText\">\u201cThey show themselves, they face the camera, they [are storytelling in] their day-to-day life \u2026 it\u2019s normal for young people to be exposed to that content, so for [that audience] it could be a trick.\u201d<\/span>\n <\/blockquote>\n <cite class=\"widget__author\">\n <div class=\"widget__authorText\">\n Xavier Degraux, Belgian digital marketing specialist\n <\/div>\n <\/cite>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey are humanising themselves a lot and are storytelling all the time,\u201d Degraux said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey show themselves, they face the camera, they [are storytelling in] their day-to-day life\u2026it\u2019s normal for young people to be exposed to that content, so for [that audience] it could be a trick.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Their campaigns resemble that of former US President Donald Trump, the Republican Party\u2019s nominee for that country\u2019s 2024 elections, Degraux continued.<\/p>\n<p>Vlaams Belang experiments with short, campaign catchphrases that that accelerate the content going viral.<\/p>\n<p>Despite both parties using similar storytelling techniques, Degraux said the far left invests much more in individual candidates than the far right, which is concentrated on elevating the platform of their president.<\/p>\n<h2>An informal agreement not to air far-right voices<\/h2><p>Belgium\u2019s far-right parties are also relying on social media during their campaign to get around a so-called \u201ccordon sanitaire,\u201d a long-standing, informal agreement between French-language broadcasters where legacy media will not give a platform to members or parties with racist or discriminatory views.<\/p>\n<p>The cordon sanitaire was first mentioned when Flemish voters noticed the support behind Vlaams Blok (the precursor for Vlaams Belang) in the 1988 community elections, according to the Research Centre for socio-political information (Crisp).<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"7669792\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2023//06//12//a-year-ahead-belgium-lowers-voting-age-to-16-for-the-european-elections/">A year ahead: Belgium lowers voting age to 16 for the European elections<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>But the agreement wasn\u2019t fully in force until 1991 when Vlaams Blok received 10.3 per cent of votes in Flanders and took 12 of the 212 seats in the country\u2019s chamber of representatives in what they refer to as \u201cblack Sunday\".<\/p>\n<p>Politicians from the five major parties at the time signed another version of the agreement, where they consented to not creating political agreements with far-right parties.<\/p>\n<p>Pascal Delwit, a political science professor at the University of Brussels, told the French newspaper Nouvel Obs that the cordon sanitaire is still efficient because the far-right parties are excluded from live-streamed leadership debates in French during the campaign, which gives them less visibility.<\/p>\n<p>That was seen in the 2019 election, Delwit continued.<\/p>\n<p>Belgium\u2019s populist People\u2019s Party, although having a huge social media presence, had very little effect on their results on election day, where they did not break the five per cent vote threshold for any elected representatives in regional parliaments. The party was dissolved shortly after.<\/p>\n<p>Degraux pointed out, however, that there is no cordon sanitaire for social media or on established search platforms like YouTube or Google.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1716900424,"updatedAt":1717052508,"publishedAt":1717052445,"firstPublishedAt":1716908694,"lastPublishedAt":1717052445,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/41\/62\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_4a076e38-be84-5847-ae11-d1d4bc9ccb65-8464162.jpg","altText":"Far-right leader and chairman of the Vlaams Belang Tom Van Grieken","caption":"Far-right leader and chairman of the Vlaams Belang Tom Van Grieken","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Virginia Mayo\/AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":4740,"height":3119}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"desmarais","title":"Anna Desmarais","twitter":"anna_desmarais"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":29340,"slug":"european-elections-2024","urlSafeValue":"european-elections-2024","title":"European elections 2024","titleRaw":"European elections 2024"},{"id":24,"slug":"belgium","urlSafeValue":"belgium","title":"Belgium","titleRaw":"Belgium"},{"id":7715,"slug":"advertising","urlSafeValue":"advertising","title":"Advertising","titleRaw":"Advertising"},{"id":12052,"slug":"social-media","urlSafeValue":"social-media","title":"Social Media","titleRaw":"Social Media"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"quotation","count":1},{"slug":"related","count":4}],"related":[{"id":2551344},{"id":2550658},{"id":2549194}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"tech-news","urlSafeValue":"tech-news","title":"Tech News","online":0,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/tech-news\/tech-news"},"vertical":"next","verticals":[{"id":9,"slug":"next","urlSafeValue":"next","title":"Next"},{"id":2,"slug":"my-europe","urlSafeValue":"my-europe","title":"My Europe"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":9,"slug":"next","urlSafeValue":"next","title":"Next"},"themes":[{"id":"tech-news","urlSafeValue":"tech-news","title":"Tech 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News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":24,"urlSafeValue":"belgium","title":"Belgium","url":"\/news\/europe\/belgium"},"town":{"id":3270,"urlSafeValue":"brussels","title":"Brussels"},"grapeshot":"'gv_safe','gb_safe','gb_safe_from_high','gb_safe_from_high_med','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','pos_ukraine-russia','pos_ukrainecrisis','gs_politics','gs_politics_issues_policy','gs_politics_misc','custom_politics_brussels','gs_busfin','neg_tiktok_q1_2024_eng','gs_tech','neg_facebook','gs_politics_elections','gs_tech_compute','gs_busfin_indus','eu_brussels_politics_eng','neg_mobkoi_datacompliance','gt_mixed'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/next\/2024\/05\/30\/belgiums-far-right-spends-big-on-meta-ahead-of-eu-elections-expert-finds","lastModified":1717052445},{"id":2552458,"cid":8467044,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240529_HLBX_55662550","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"NEXT HEALTH COMMISSIONER","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Who's in the frame to be the next health Commissioner?","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":null,"titleListing2":"With a key contender suddenly out of the game, the race for the health portfolio in the next EU executive is back in play.","leadin":"With a key contender suddenly out of the game, the race for the health portfolio in the next EU executive is back in play.","summary":"With a key contender suddenly out of the game, the race for the health portfolio in the next EU executive is back in play.","keySentence":"","url":"whos-in-the-frame-to-be-the-next-health-commissioner","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/health\/2024\/05\/30\/whos-in-the-frame-to-be-the-next-health-commissioner","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Malta's official nominee for the next Commission, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne - a surgeon and Europe's longest-serving health minister - was considered a likely pick to replace Cypriot Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides. \n\nThe health community was however caught by surprise when Fearne was charged by prosecutors in a national corruption scandal, resigned and asked for his nomination to the EU Commission to be withdrawn. \n\nInevitably new names have now started to circulate as possible contenders for the health portfolio, albeit very prematurely in view of the elections next week. \n\nThese are some names that recur in relation to the post among the Brussels health community, although these appointments are always complicated by numerous external factors, on the balance of the executive as to gender and geography for example. \n\nWhy it won\u2019t (likely) be Kyriakides \n\nThe odds of the outgoing EU health champion winning the portfolio race again are quite slim \u2013 but still exist and she has not clarified yet whether she wants to be re-appointed. \n\n\"Commissioner Kyriakides is continuing to focus her full attention on her current work and the many important tasks and challenges to be addressed still during this mandate,\" a Commission source told Euronews. \n\nHaving weathered the pandemic, the Cypriot enjoys a good reputation on the health side \u2013 though she is perceived to have neglected her side-portfolio on food safety. \n\nShe\u2019s also appreciated by von der Leyen and considered one of the best speakers of the current College, having recently been sent to represent the Commission at international fora such as the Davos\u2019 World Economic Forum. \n\nTrickier for her re-appointment, however, is that despite being politically active in the centre-right European People\u2019s Party (EPP), her national Democratic Rally is no longer in the ruling coalition of Cyprus. \n\nIt is also quite rare for an outgoing Commissioner to be reappointed to the same portfolio \u2013 two exceptions to this general rule were made in the current administration for seasoned heavyweights Valdis Dombrovskis and Margrethe Vestager. \n\nThe Data Space twins \n\nA solid candidate appears to be Belgian Deputy PM and Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke , who currently chairs the health ministerial meetings for the rotating Council presidency held by Belgium. \n\nThe health programme of the Belgian presidency was unusually dense and ambitious, closer to a declaration of intent for health policymaking for the next five years rather than a six-month to-do list. \n\nVandenbroucke successfully concluded negotiations on the delicate Health Data Space file and launched the Critical Medicines Alliance to address the issue of drug shortages, earmarked to be a key topic in the next Commission. \n\nBelgium\u2019s Commissioner pick will depend on national elections in June though as, in general, top jobs like this or the Prime Minister\u2019s are agreed in coalition agreements through a complicated point system. \n\nHowever, in the event that no executive is up and running by the time Belgium is due to proffer a Commissioner\u2019s name (last time around, it took Belgium 494 days after the election to form a government) the current ruling coalition will do it. \n\nIn that case, Vandenbroucke stands a good chance of being appointed, considering he is a Flemish speaker and an informal rule provides for the post to alternate between the countries\u2019 language communities. \n\nVandenbroucke\u2019s counterpart on the Health Data Space file, Parliament\u2019s rapporteur Tomislav Sokol , is also rumoured to be a pick for Croatia if assigned to the health portfolio. \n\nAs an MEP, Sokol took an active part in some of the biggest health files of the mandate, including the update on the EU pharmaceutical legislation, and she was also a member of the parliament\u2019s health committee and the two special committees on cancer and the COVID-19 pandemic. \n\nThe two main problems standing between him and the Berlaymont are the current Croatian Commissioner Dubravka \u0160uica \u2013 who may be reappointed and may also get the health portfolio \u2013 and CroatianPM Andrej Plenkovi\u0107 who\u2019s rumoured to be the EPP\u2019s reserve choice for the Commission presidency if Ursula von der Leyen's candidacy fails. \n\n\u2018Impossible\u2019 picks \n\nOther names now doing the rounds seem less probable, however. \n\nFor instance, Chris Fearne\u2019s rumoured successor, Maltese environment minister Miriam Dalli was as an MEP active on health topics \u2013 particularly on the medicinal use of cannabis, on which Malta is a pioneer in Europe. However, energy topics are her forte, and she is more tipped for the transport portfolio. \n\nVlastimil V\u00e1lek , Czechia\u2019s deputy prime minister and minister of health in Petr Fiala\u2019s conservative government, is well-liked in the health community as he is a former radiologist and did a good job during the Czech presidency in 2022. \n\nAccording to an informal coalition agreement, Czechia\u2019s next Commissioner should however be picked between the Pirates or the liberal party, while Fiala\u2019s choice appears to be his trade minister Jozef S\u00edkela. \n\nEstonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is tipped to be the next EU\u2019s high representative for foreign affairs, but if she were called to replace Charles Michel as European Council chair instead, health could be a good portfolio for the country which pioneered the use of health records and genomic research. \n\nRiina Sikkut , who has served as Estonian health minister since April 2023 and is a member of party the Kallas\u2019 coalition, is considered a good pick if this situation materialises. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>Malta's official nominee for the next Commission, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne - a surgeon and Europe's longest-serving health minister - was considered a likely pick to replace Cypriot Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides.<\/p>\n<p>The health community was however caught by surprise when Fearne was charged by prosecutors in a national corruption scandal, resigned and asked for his nomination to the EU Commission to be withdrawn.<\/p>\n<p>Inevitably new names have now started to circulate as possible contenders for the health portfolio, albeit very prematurely in view of the elections next week.<\/p>\n<p>These are some names that recur in relation to the post among the Brussels health community, although these appointments are always complicated by numerous external factors, on the balance of the executive as to gender and geography for example.<\/p>\n<h2>Why it won\u2019t (likely) be Kyriakides<\/h2><p>The odds of the outgoing EU health champion winning the portfolio race again are quite slim \u2013 but still exist and she has not clarified yet whether she wants to be re-appointed.<\/p>\n<p>\"Commissioner Kyriakides is continuing to focus her full attention on her current work and the many important tasks and challenges to be addressed still during this mandate,\" a Commission source told Euronews.<\/p>\n<p>Having weathered the pandemic, the Cypriot enjoys a good reputation on the health side \u2013 though she is perceived to have neglected her side-portfolio on food safety.<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019s also appreciated by von der Leyen and considered one of the best speakers of the current College, having <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2024//01//18//guardrails-needed-for-ai-in-healthcare-says-commissioner/">recently been sent to represent the Commission at international fora such as the Davos\u2019 World Economic Forum.<\/p>\n<p>Trickier for her re-appointment, however, is that despite being politically active in the centre-right European People\u2019s Party (EPP), her national Democratic Rally is no longer in the ruling coalition of Cyprus.<\/p>\n<p>It is also quite rare for an outgoing Commissioner to be reappointed to the same portfolio \u2013 two exceptions to this general rule were made in the current administration for seasoned heavyweights Valdis Dombrovskis and Margrethe Vestager.<\/p>\n<h2>The Data Space twins<\/h2><p>A solid candidate appears to be Belgian Deputy PM and Health Minister <strong>Frank Vandenbroucke<\/strong>, who currently chairs the health ministerial meetings for the rotating Council presidency held by Belgium.<\/p>\n<p>The health programme of the Belgian presidency was unusually dense and ambitious, closer to a declaration of intent for health policymaking for the next five years rather than a six-month to-do list.<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"8204860\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//01//30//belgian-minister-commits-to-framework-for-health-data-interview/">Belgian minister commits to framework for health data - interview<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Vandenbroucke successfully <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2024//03//15//deal-on-landmark-health-data-space-clinched-in-the-eleventh-hour/">concluded negotiations<\/a> on the delicate Health Data Space file and <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2024//04//25//new-critical-medicines-alliance-starts-work-to-address-shortages/">launched the Critical Medicines Alliance<\/a> to address the issue of drug shortages, earmarked to be a key topic in the next Commission.<\/p>\n<p>Belgium\u2019s Commissioner pick will depend on national elections in June though as, in general, top jobs like this or the Prime Minister\u2019s are agreed in coalition agreements through a complicated point system.<\/p>\n<p>However, in the event that no executive is up and running by the time Belgium is due to proffer a Commissioner\u2019s name (last time around, it took Belgium 494 days after the election to form a government) the current ruling coalition will do it.<\/p>\n<p>In that case, Vandenbroucke stands a good chance of being appointed, considering he is a Flemish speaker and an informal rule provides for the post to alternate between the countries\u2019 language communities.<\/p>\n<p>Vandenbroucke\u2019s counterpart on the Health Data Space file, Parliament\u2019s rapporteur <strong>Tomislav Sokol<\/strong>, is also rumoured to be a pick for Croatia if assigned to the health portfolio.<\/p>\n<p>As an MEP, Sokol took an active part in some of the biggest health files of the mandate, including the update on the EU pharmaceutical legislation, and she was also a member of the parliament\u2019s health committee and the two special committees on cancer and the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>The two main problems standing between him and the Berlaymont are the current Croatian Commissioner <strong>Dubravka \u0160uica<\/strong> \u2013 who may be reappointed and may also get the health portfolio \u2013 and CroatianPM Andrej Plenkovi\u0107 who\u2019s rumoured to be the EPP\u2019s reserve choice for the Commission presidency if Ursula von der Leyen's candidacy fails.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Impossible\u2019 picks<\/h2><p>Other names now doing the rounds seem less probable, however.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, Chris Fearne\u2019s rumoured successor, Maltese environment minister <strong>Miriam Dalli<\/strong> was as an MEP active on health topics \u2013 particularly on the medicinal use of cannabis, on which Malta is a pioneer in Europe. However, energy topics are her forte, and she is more tipped for the transport portfolio.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vlastimil V\u00e1lek<\/strong>, Czechia\u2019s deputy prime minister and minister of health in Petr Fiala\u2019s conservative government, is well-liked in the health community as he is a former radiologist and did a good job during the Czech presidency in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>According to an informal coalition agreement, Czechia\u2019s next Commissioner should however be picked between the Pirates or the liberal party, while Fiala\u2019s choice appears to be his trade minister Jozef S\u00edkela.<\/p>\n<p>Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is tipped to be the next EU\u2019s high representative for foreign affairs, but if she were called to replace Charles Michel as European Council chair instead, health could be a good portfolio for the country which pioneered the use of health records and genomic research.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Riina Sikkut<\/strong>, who has served as Estonian health minister since April 2023 and is a member of party the Kallas\u2019 coalition, is considered a good pick if this situation materialises.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1716992341,"updatedAt":1717050702,"publishedAt":1717050643,"firstPublishedAt":1717046940,"lastPublishedAt":1717050643,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/70\/44\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_517e7728-1200-5561-8465-e9ddbc598671-8467044.jpg","altText":"With the main candidate suddenly out of the game, the race for the health portfolio in the next EU executive came back on again","caption":"With the main candidate suddenly out of the game, the race for the health portfolio in the next EU executive came back on again","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Xavier Lejeune\/EC - Audiovisual Service","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":4000,"height":2667}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"iraola","title":"Marta Iraola Iribarren","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":29232,"slug":"eu-policy","urlSafeValue":"eu-policy","title":"EU Policy","titleRaw":"EU Policy"},{"id":90,"slug":"eu-commission","urlSafeValue":"eu-commission","title":"European Commission","titleRaw":"European Commission"},{"id":139,"slug":"health","urlSafeValue":"health","title":"Health","titleRaw":"Health"},{"id":105,"slug":"european-union","urlSafeValue":"european-union","title":"European Union","titleRaw":"European Union"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2549010},{"id":2551700},{"id":2544718}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Gerardo Fortuna","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"health-news","urlSafeValue":"health-news","title":"Health news","online":0,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/health\/health-news\/health-news"},"vertical":"health","verticals":[{"id":12,"slug":"health","urlSafeValue":"health","title":"Health"},{"id":2,"slug":"my-europe","urlSafeValue":"my-europe","title":"My Europe"},{"id":12,"slug":"health","urlSafeValue":"health","title":"Health"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":12,"slug":"health","urlSafeValue":"health","title":"Health"},"themes":[{"id":"health-news","urlSafeValue":"health-news","title":"Health news","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/health\/health-news"},{"id":"europe-news","urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe News","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/news\/international"},{"id":"healthcare","urlSafeValue":"healthcare","title":"Healthcare","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/health\/healthcare"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":43,"urlSafeValue":"health-news","title":"Health news"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":24,"urlSafeValue":"belgium","title":"Belgium","url":"\/news\/europe\/belgium"},"town":{"id":541,"urlSafeValue":"brussels-belgium","title":"Brussels, Belgium"},"grapeshot":"'gv_safe','gb_safe','gb_safe_from_high','gb_safe_from_high_med','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','pos_ukraine-russia','gs_politics','gs_politics_issues_policy','gs_politics_misc','custom_politics_brussels','gs_health','gs_science','gs_health_misc','shadow9hu7_pos_ukrainecrisis','gt_negative','neg_facebook','gs_science_misc','neg_intel_en','neg_mobkoi_castrol','client_easports_sporting_gaming','gs_shopping_partysupplies'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet-brussels","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/health\/2024\/05\/30\/whos-in-the-frame-to-be-the-next-health-commissioner","lastModified":1717050643},{"id":2552758,"cid":8468062,"versionId":2,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240530_HLBX_55666514","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"PFIZERGATE PLAINTIFF COUNCIL","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Pfizergate plaintiff asks leaders to sack von der Leyen and Commission","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":null,"titleListing2":"The plaintiff in the Pfizergate affair has called on the European Council to force the resignation of EU executive chief Ursula von der Leyen and the rest of her Commissioners in a letter seen by Euronews.","leadin":"The plaintiff in the Pfizergate affair has called on the European Council to force the resignation of EU executive chief Ursula von der Leyen and the rest of her Commissioners in a letter seen by Euronews.","summary":"The plaintiff in the Pfizergate affair has called on the European Council to force the resignation of EU executive chief Ursula von der Leyen and the rest of her Commissioners in a letter seen by Euronews.","keySentence":"","url":"pfizergate-plaintiff-asks-leaders-to-sack-von-der-leyen-and-commission","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/health\/2024\/05\/30\/pfizergate-plaintiff-asks-leaders-to-sack-von-der-leyen-and-commission","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"The letter from the plaintiff's lawyer was addressed to all 27 EU leaders and Manfred Weber, the president of von der Leyen\u2019s European People\u2019s Party (EPP). Its receipt was logged yesterday (29 May) at the European Council.\n\nThe plaintiff asked EU leaders \u201cto refer the [Pfizergate] matter to the Court of Justice so that it may order the compulsory resignation and forfeiture of pension rights not only of Mrs von der Leyen but also of all the European Commissioners who make up her Commission.\u201d\n\nAdditionally, the plaintiff asked \u201cthe European People's Party to withdraw the candidacy of Ms von der Leyen for the post of President of the European Commission\u201d as well as \u201cprohibiting anyone from presenting the candidature of Mrs von der Leyen to the post of President of the European Commission or any other post within the European institutions as long as she is the subject of criminal proceedings.\u201d\n\nThe lawyer based her request on Article 245 (action incompatible with their duties) and Article 247 (serious misconduct) of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union (TFEU).\n\nThe case concerned the disclosure of calls and text messages exchanged between von der Leyen and Pfizer\u2019s CEO Albert Bourla through which both parties negotiated vaccine contracts during the COVID-19 crisis.\n\nFollowing a criminal complaint filed by Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Baldan, a Belgian lobbyist focusing on China-EU trade relations, the Belgian authorities initiated the case in early 2023. Subsequently, the governments of Hungary and Poland joined the lawsuit. The Commission is not a party in the case before the Court of Li\u00e8ge.\n\nVon der Leyen kept \u201cstubbornly refusing to disclose contracts for the purchase of COVID vaccines [...and] the electronic messages she exchanged with Mr Bourla, CEO of Pfizer\", according to the letter which said her actions offended \"public morality\" and \"shatter the legitimate confidence that citizens should be able to have in all members of the European Commission\".\n\n\u201cIt is clear that Mrs von der Leyen and the members of her Commission are no longer in a position to perform their duties,\" according to the letter, finding that this \"violates the principle of good administration provided for in Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis situation must be remedied as a matter of urgency,\u201d it continued.\n\nThe plaintiff also challenged the involvement of the EU\u2019s prosecutor office (EPPO) which has asked to take the case on, since under EU law, the body is meant to investigate, prosecute, and bring to judgment perpetrators of criminal offences damaging the EU budget.\n\nAccording to Baldan, the aim of the EPPO move was to \u201cdeclare all the civil parties, in this case, to be null and void, and therefore to annul the entire investigation,\u201d adding that the office might no longer have the necessary funds to complete its investigations by the end of 2024.\n\nThe EU Executive is aware of this letter but never comments on ongoing judicial proceedings, a Commission spokesperson told Euronews.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>The letter from the plaintiff's lawyer was addressed to all 27 EU leaders and Manfred Weber, the president of von der Leyen\u2019s European People\u2019s Party (EPP). Its receipt was logged yesterday (29 May) at the European Council.<\/p>\n<p>The plaintiff asked EU leaders \u201cto refer the [Pfizergate] matter to the Court of Justice so that it may order the compulsory resignation and forfeiture of pension rights not only of Mrs von der Leyen but also of all the European Commissioners who make up her Commission.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, the plaintiff asked \u201cthe European People's Party to withdraw the candidacy of Ms von der Leyen for the post of President of the European Commission\u201d as well as \u201cprohibiting anyone from presenting the candidature of Mrs von der Leyen to the post of President of the European Commission or any other post within the European institutions as long as she is the subject of criminal proceedings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The lawyer based her request on Article 245 (action incompatible with their duties) and Article 247 (serious misconduct) of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union (TFEU).<\/p>\n<p>The case concerned the disclosure of calls and text messages exchanged between von der Leyen and Pfizer\u2019s CEO Albert Bourla through which both parties negotiated vaccine contracts during the COVID-19 crisis.<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"8443626\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//health//2024//05//17//how-the-love-story-between-von-der-leyen-and-pfizer-turned-sour/">How the love story between von der Leyen and Pfizer turned sour<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Following a criminal complaint filed by Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Baldan, a Belgian lobbyist focusing on China-EU trade relations, the Belgian authorities initiated the case in early 2023. Subsequently, the governments of Hungary and Poland joined the lawsuit. The Commission is not a party in the case before the Court of Li\u00e8ge.<\/p>\n<p>Von der Leyen kept \u201cstubbornly refusing to disclose contracts for the purchase of COVID vaccines [...and] the electronic messages she exchanged with Mr Bourla, CEO of Pfizer\", according to the letter which said her actions offended \"public morality\" and \"shatter the legitimate confidence that citizens should be able to have in all members of the European Commission\".<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is clear that Mrs von der Leyen and the members of her Commission are no longer in a position to perform their duties,\" according to the letter, finding that this \"violates the principle of good administration provided for in Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis situation must be remedied as a matter of urgency,\u201d it continued.<\/p>\n<p>The plaintiff also challenged the involvement of the EU\u2019s prosecutor office (EPPO) which has asked to take the case on, since under EU law, the body is meant to investigate, prosecute, and bring to judgment perpetrators of criminal offences damaging the EU budget.<\/p>\n<p>According to Baldan, the aim of the EPPO move was to \u201cdeclare all the civil parties, in this case, to be null and void, and therefore to annul the entire investigation,\u201d adding that the office might no longer have the necessary funds to complete its investigations by the end of 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The EU Executive is aware of this letter but never comments on ongoing judicial proceedings, a Commission spokesperson told Euronews.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1717044601,"updatedAt":1717087559,"publishedAt":1717046441,"firstPublishedAt":1717046113,"lastPublishedAt":1717046441,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo\/Jean-Francois Badias","altText":"Additionally, the Pfizergate plaintiff asked \u201cthe European People's Party to withdraw the candidacy of Ms von der Leyen for the post of President of the European Commission.","callToActionText":null,"width":5808,"caption":"Additionally, the Pfizergate plaintiff asked \u201cthe European People's Party to withdraw the candidacy of Ms von der Leyen for the post of President of the European Commission.","url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/80\/62\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_1d1bf338-d765-58ac-8962-9704f71b560c-8468062.jpg","captionUrl":null,"height":3872}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"fortuna","twitter":"@gerardofortuna","title":"Gerardo Fortuna"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"urlSafeValue":"eu-policy","titleRaw":"EU Policy","id":29232,"title":"EU Policy","slug":"eu-policy"},{"urlSafeValue":"pfizer","titleRaw":"Pfizer","id":24236,"title":"Pfizer","slug":"pfizer"},{"urlSafeValue":"ursula-von-der-leyen","titleRaw":"Ursula von der Leyen","id":18906,"title":"Ursula von der Leyen","slug":"ursula-von-der-leyen"},{"urlSafeValue":"eu-commission","titleRaw":"European Commission","id":90,"title":"European Commission","slug":"eu-commission"},{"urlSafeValue":"covid-vaccine","titleRaw":"Covid Vaccine","id":24154,"title":"Covid Vaccine","slug":"covid-vaccine"},{"urlSafeValue":"european-people-s-party","titleRaw":"European People's Party","id":17774,"title":"European People's Party","slug":"european-people-s-party"}],"widgets":[{"count":1,"slug":"related"}],"related":[{"id":1998822},{"id":1822948},{"id":1501156}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"endDate":0,"startDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"health-news","urlSafeValue":"health-news","title":"Health 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Belgium"},"grapeshot":"'gb_safe_from_high','gb_safe_from_high_med','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','pos_ukraine-russia','gs_law','gs_politics','gs_politics_issues_policy','gs_politics_misc','gb_crime_edu','gb_crime_high_med_low','gs_law_misc','eu_brussels_politics_eng','neg_facebook','neg_intel_en','gv_crime','gs_busfin','gs_busfin_indus','gt_negative','neg_mobkoi_castrol','shadow9hu7_pos_ukrainecrisis','gs_covid19','neg_facebook_q4','gt_negative_anger'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet-brussels","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/health\/2024\/05\/30\/pfizergate-plaintiff-asks-leaders-to-sack-von-der-leyen-and-commission","lastModified":1717046441},{"id":2552106,"cid":8465742,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240529_E3BX_55653628","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"EU GREEN WEEK FLOODS","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"EU Green Week focuses on water management in the face of flooding risk","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"EU Green Week focuses on water management in the face of flooding risk","titleListing2":"EU Green Week focuses on water management in the face of flooding risk","leadin":"According to a report published by the European Environment Agency earlier this month, 12 per cent of Europe's population lives in areas at risk of flooding.","summary":"According to a report published by the European Environment Agency earlier this month, 12 per cent of Europe's population lives in areas at risk of flooding.","keySentence":"","url":"eu-green-week-focuses-on-water-management-in-the-face-of-flooding-risk","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/news\/2024\/05\/29\/eu-green-week-focuses-on-water-management-in-the-face-of-flooding-risk","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Water resilience in the face of the climate crisis is the focus of Green Week in Brussels. \n\nThe 2024 EU Green Week is part of a wider communication campaign dedicated to fostering awareness and promoting solutions in the face of the climate crisis.\u00a0 \n\nFloods have hit Europe with increasing intensity, such as those in eastern Belgium in July 2021, where 240 people died.\u00a0 \n\nIn a report published this month, the European Environment Agency sounded the alarm that 12 per cent of Europe's population lives in areas at risk of flooding. \n\nAlain Maron, Brussels Minister for Climate Transition commented that it is important that countries financially invest in climate change, as well as alter their mindset around the green transition. \n\n\"There are two main things: financial resources. This also means that all adaptation policies must be integrated into the European financial framework. Countries must invest massively in adaptation policies. That's one thing. The other thing is changes in practices. Implementing solutions based on nature. That's the most effective. And that doesn't necessarily cost more. But it's really a change of model, a change of mindset, almost a cultural change\" said Maron. \n\nAccording to the European Environment Agency, flooding could intensify mainly in north-western Europe and the centre of the continent. \n\nWatch the full video in the player above. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>Water resilience in the face of the climate crisis is the focus of Green Week in Brussels.<\/p>\n<p>The 2024 EU Green Week is part of a wider communication campaign dedicated to fostering awareness and promoting solutions in the face of the climate crisis.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Floods have hit Europe with increasing intensity, such as those in eastern Belgium in July 2021, where 240 people died.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In a report published this month, the European Environment Agency sounded the alarm that 12 per cent of Europe's population lives in areas at risk of flooding.<\/p>\n<p>Alain Maron, Brussels Minister for Climate Transition commented that it is important that countries financially invest in climate change, as well as alter their mindset around the green transition.<\/p>\n<p>\"There are two main things: financial resources. This also means that all adaptation policies must be integrated into the European financial framework. Countries must invest massively in adaptation policies. That's one thing. The other thing is changes in practices. Implementing solutions based on nature. That's the most effective. And that doesn't necessarily cost more. But it's really a change of model, a change of mindset, almost a cultural change\" said Maron.<\/p>\n<p>According to the European Environment Agency, flooding could intensify mainly in north-western Europe and the centre of the continent.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Watch the full video in the player above.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1716968284,"updatedAt":1717010825,"publishedAt":1717010363,"firstPublishedAt":1717010367,"lastPublishedAt":1717010363,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/57\/42\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_57a71ec5-825d-5005-a85c-679569c4712f-8465742.jpg","altText":"A cyclist stops to look at flood waters on a property in Geraardsbergen, Belgium, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024","caption":"A cyclist stops to look at flood waters on a property in Geraardsbergen, Belgium, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Virginia Mayo\/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":24226,"slug":"green-week","urlSafeValue":"green-week","title":"Green Week","titleRaw":"Green Week"},{"id":14972,"slug":"sel-bask-n-","urlSafeValue":"sel-bask-n-","title":"Floods","titleRaw":"Floods"},{"id":24,"slug":"belgium","urlSafeValue":"belgium","title":"Belgium","titleRaw":"Belgium"}],"widgets":[],"related":[{"id":2545100},{"id":2544996},{"id":2543742}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"G8RIeltZeJQ","dailymotionId":"x8zaqaa"},"video":1,"videos":[{"duration":152000,"editor":"","filesizeBytes":19638121,"format":"mp4","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/med\/EN\/E3\/BX\/24\/05\/29\/en\/240529_E3BX_55653628_55664261_152000_191901_en.mp4","expiresAt":0,"quality":"md"},{"duration":152000,"editor":"","filesizeBytes":29797737,"format":"mp4","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/EN\/E3\/BX\/24\/05\/29\/en\/240529_E3BX_55653628_55664261_152000_191901_en.mp4","expiresAt":0,"quality":"hd"}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Euronews","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"europe-news","urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe News","online":1,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/europe-news\/europe-news"},"vertical":"my-europe","verticals":[{"id":2,"slug":"my-europe","urlSafeValue":"my-europe","title":"My Europe"},{"id":8,"slug":"green","urlSafeValue":"green","title":"Green"},{"id":8,"slug":"green","urlSafeValue":"green","title":"Green"},{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":2,"slug":"my-europe","urlSafeValue":"my-europe","title":"My Europe"},"themes":[{"id":"europe-news","urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe News","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/europe-news"},{"id":"green-news","urlSafeValue":"green-news","title":"Green News","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/news\/international"},{"id":"climate","urlSafeValue":"climate","title":"Climate","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/news\/international"},{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":56,"urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":24,"urlSafeValue":"belgium","title":"Belgium","url":"\/news\/europe\/belgium"},"town":{"id":3270,"urlSafeValue":"brussels","title":"Brussels"},"grapeshot":"'gv_safe','gb_safe','gb_safe_from_high','gb_safe_from_high_med','gs_science','gs_science_weather'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet-brussels","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/my-europe\/2024\/05\/29\/eu-green-week-focuses-on-water-management-in-the-face-of-flooding-risk","lastModified":1717010363},{"id":2552482,"cid":8467154,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240529_GNSU_55662872","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"IMF CLIMATE ACTION EU","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Climate action will boost energy security in Europe by 8% by 2030, IMF Says","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Climate action will boost energy security in Europe by 8% by 2030, IMF","titleListing2":"Climate action will boost energy security in Europe by 8% by 2030, IMF Says","leadin":"IMF's study focuses on security of supply and resilience of countries' economies.","summary":"IMF's study focuses on security of supply and resilience of countries' economies.","keySentence":"","url":"climate-action-will-boost-energy-security-in-europe-by-8-by-2030-imf-says","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/green\/2024\/05\/29\/climate-action-will-boost-energy-security-in-europe-by-8-by-2030-imf-says","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Efforts to meet Europe\u2019s emission reduction targets led by industry and citizens will pay off according to an analysis published today (May 29) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which estimates the continent could improve energy security by 8% by 2030. \n\nHigher carbon prices, energy efficiency and accelerated permitting for renewables were key policy areas identified by the Washington DC- based IMF to improve Europe\u2019s energy security. \n\n\u201cAn illustrative policy package that cuts emissions by 55% compared to 1990 levels would improve the two energy security metrics by close to 8% by 2030 for Europe as a whole,\u201d read an IMF press statement, referring to the combination of the identified policy areas. \n\nFor the EU, the analysis predicts a reverse of 13 years of deterioration in economic resilience to energy disruptions and eight years of reduction in security of energy supply, due to decades of dependence on Russian\u2019s energy. \n\nThe study\u2019s reasoning lies primarily on the concept of reducing energy imports, by replacing fossil fuel imports with domestically produced renewables, which would help countries steer away from non-European suppliers and increase electrification to power vehicles and house heating systems. \n\nThe IMF\u2019s paper takes into account the effects of climate action on energy security and simulates the impacts of climate policies to reduce emissions on two security measures: security of supply and the resilience of a given country\u2019s economy. \n\nThe authors assessed the risk of a disruption to energy supply by combining how dependent a country is on imports for its energy consumption with how diversified those energy imports are. Secondly, they analysed how prepared a given country was to handle an energy disruption, based on the share of gross domestic product (GDP) it spends on energy. \n\nToday\u2019s paper sits at odds with conservatives and right-wing lawmakers in the European Parliament, who have rejected several climate legislative files claiming the policies under the EU\u2019s plan to reach net-neutrality by 2050, the European Green Deal, aren\u2019t \u201ccredible and achievable\u201d. \n\nThe European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and the Identity and Democracy (ID) political groups are poised to gain a significant number of seats in the upcoming European elections of 6-9 June, threatening the unravelling of five years of climate legislation. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>Efforts to meet Europe\u2019s emission reduction targets led by industry and citizens will pay off according to an analysis published today (May 29) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which estimates the continent could improve energy security by 8% by 2030.<\/p>\n<p>Higher <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2024//05//27//net-zero-industry-act-sign-off-heralds-carbon-capture-deployment/">carbon prices, energy efficiency and accelerated permitting for renewables were key policy areas identified by the Washington DC- based IMF to improve Europe\u2019s energy security.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAn illustrative policy package that cuts emissions by 55% compared to 1990 levels would improve the two energy security metrics by close to 8% by 2030 for Europe as a whole,\u201d read an IMF press statement, referring to the combination of the identified policy areas.<\/p>\n<p>For the EU, the analysis predicts a reverse of 13 years of deterioration in economic resilience to energy disruptions and eight years of reduction in security of energy supply, due to decades of dependence on Russian\u2019s energy.<\/p>\n<p>The study\u2019s reasoning lies primarily on the concept of reducing energy imports, by replacing fossil fuel imports with domestically produced renewables, which would help countries steer away from non-European suppliers and increase electrification to power vehicles and house heating systems.<\/p>\n<p>The IMF\u2019s paper takes into account the effects of climate action on energy security and simulates the impacts of climate policies to reduce emissions on two security measures: security of supply and the resilience of a given country\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n<p>The authors assessed the risk of a disruption to energy supply by combining how dependent a country is on imports for its energy consumption with how diversified those energy imports are. Secondly, they analysed how prepared a given country was to handle an energy disruption, based on the share of gross domestic product (GDP) it spends on energy.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s paper sits at odds with conservatives and right-wing lawmakers in the European Parliament, who have rejected several climate legislative files claiming the policies under the EU\u2019s plan to reach net-neutrality by 2050, the European Green Deal, aren\u2019t \u201ccredible and achievable\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and the Identity and Democracy (ID) political groups are poised to gain a significant number of seats in the upcoming European elections of 6-9 June, <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2024//05//02//green-leader-sees-huge-danger-to-climate-policy-as-elections-loom/">threatening the unravelling of five years of climate legislation.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1716993919,"updatedAt":1716997207,"publishedAt":1716997204,"firstPublishedAt":1716997207,"lastPublishedAt":1716997204,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/38\/56\/32\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_eb390bc7-d0e1-5a8a-9c4c-eda206bc1059-8385632.jpg","altText":"International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks during a news conference at the World Bank\/IMF Spring Meetings at the International Monetary Fund. ","caption":"International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks during a news conference at the World Bank\/IMF Spring Meetings at the International Monetary Fund. ","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Jose Luis Magana\/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved.","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"pacheco","title":"Marta Pacheco","twitter":"@themartache"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":29232,"slug":"eu-policy","urlSafeValue":"eu-policy","title":"EU Policy","titleRaw":"EU Policy"},{"id":12944,"slug":"climate","urlSafeValue":"climate","title":"Climate","titleRaw":"Climate"},{"id":146,"slug":"imf","urlSafeValue":"imf","title":"IMF","titleRaw":"IMF"},{"id":29576,"slug":"carbon-credits","urlSafeValue":"carbon-credits","title":"carbon credits","titleRaw":"carbon credits"},{"id":25988,"slug":"renewable-energy","urlSafeValue":"renewable-energy","title":"renewable energy","titleRaw":"renewable energy"},{"id":10981,"slug":"energy-efficiency","urlSafeValue":"energy-efficiency","title":"energy efficiency","titleRaw":"energy efficiency"}],"widgets":[],"related":[{"id":2527024},{"id":2537410},{"id":2474740}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"green-news","urlSafeValue":"green-news","title":"Green News","online":0,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/green\/green-news\/green-news"},"vertical":"green","verticals":[{"id":8,"slug":"green","urlSafeValue":"green","title":"Green"},{"id":8,"slug":"green","urlSafeValue":"green","title":"Green"},{"id":2,"slug":"my-europe","urlSafeValue":"my-europe","title":"My Europe"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":8,"slug":"green","urlSafeValue":"green","title":"Green"},"themes":[{"id":"green-news","urlSafeValue":"green-news","title":"Green 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News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":24,"urlSafeValue":"belgium","title":"Belgium","url":"\/news\/europe\/belgium"},"town":{"id":3270,"urlSafeValue":"brussels","title":"Brussels"},"grapeshot":"'gv_safe','gb_safe','gb_safe_from_high','gb_safe_from_high_med','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','pos_ukraine-russia','pos_ukrainecrisis','gs_science','gs_politics','gs_science_environ','progressivemedia','gs_business','gs_politics_issues_policy','gs_politics_misc','gs_economy_misc','gs_science_environment','custom_politics_brussels','neg_facebook_q4','gt_mixed','eu_brussels_politics_eng','neg_audi_list2'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/green\/2024\/05\/29\/climate-action-will-boost-energy-security-in-europe-by-8-by-2030-imf-says","lastModified":1716997204},{"id":2552164,"cid":8465972,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240529_GNSU_55659402","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"Belgian support for energy coops","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Belgium to champion citizen energy at ministerial summit","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Belgium to champion citizen energy at ministerial summit","titleListing2":"Belgium to champion citizen energy at ministerial summit","leadin":"Speaking exclusively to Euronews, Belgium's energy minister Tinne Van der Straeten explains why she is pushing for governments to recognise the important contribution community electricity projects and cooperatives could make to Europe's energy transition.","summary":"Speaking exclusively to Euronews, Belgium's energy minister Tinne Van der Straeten explains why she is pushing for governments to recognise the important contribution community electricity projects and cooperatives could make to Europe's energy transition.","keySentence":"","url":"belgium-to-champion-citizen-energy-at-ministerial-summit","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/business\/2024\/05\/29\/belgium-to-champion-citizen-energy-at-ministerial-summit","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Energy minister Tinne van der Straeten has told Euronews she hopes to secure inter-governmental recognition of the benefits of local energy cooperatives this week, at the last energy summit of Belgium\u2019s six-month EU Council presidency. \n\n\nVan der Straeten, a Green in Belgium\u2019s diverse coalition government, was speaking on Tuesday (28 May) after signing an NGO manifesto calling on the next European Parliament and EU executive to promote energy communities, arguing that potential \u2018energy citizens\u2019 could invest up to \u20ac240bn in the energy transition by 2030. \n\nEnergy communities are voluntary, cooperative schemes offering a local alternative to commercial energy companies, for instance through shared ownership of a wind turbine or solar array, helping to decentralise electricity production \u2013 and, advocates argue, reduce costs, fossil fuel dependence, and increase security of supply. \n\n\u201cIt\u2019s very important to develop an energy policy that is inclusive from a citizen perspective, but also from a nature perspective,\u201d van der Straeten said. \u201cAnd so including citizens in energy policy is of the utmost importance.\u201d \n\nThe minister recognised the need to bolster local distribution grids, echoing a call made last week by the European electricity industry, whose trade association Eurelectric estimates investment will need to double over the coming decades to enable the renewables roll-out implied by the EU\u2019s 2050 climate neutrality goal. \n\nEnergy ministers are due to adopt tomorrow (30 May) conclusions on \u2018advancing sustainable electricity grid infrastructure\u2019, and discuss progress in the EU Green Deal and the future development of the RePowerEU plan that saw a ramping up of renewable energy targets in response to the energy crisis precipitated by Vladimir Putin\u2019s undeclared war on Ukraine. \n\nAhead of the public exchange of views, the Belgian presidency has asked ministers to consider what \u201cadditional initiatives\u201d could be launched to help end the EU\u2019s dependence on Russian fossil fuels \u201cas soon as possible\u201d. \n\nFor the discussion on the Green Deal, ministers have been invited to reflect on how to accelerate progress towards meeting 2030 targets reducing energy demand and increasing the share of renewables in the European system to at least 42.5%, as well voicing their views on how best to develop grid infrastructure. \n\nVan der Straeten, who will chair the summit in Brussels, said achieving these goals would require bolstering the European grid at both the long-distance transmission and local distribution levels, and that this would require better planning and coordination as well as more direct involvement of citizens. \n\n\u201cI'm absolutely convinced that if we include energy communities more, we can better operate the grids, and we can be faster in developing, renewable energy,\u201d the Belgian federal minister said. \n\nA leaked draft of the conclusions on grid infrastructure, dated 18 May and seen by Euronews, would see the Council call on member states to ensure citizens and energy communities are closely involved in infrastructure planning, and to \u201crevisit\u201d procedures on grid connection and grid access capacity to ensure a \u201clevel playing\u201d between local actors and incumbent electricity firms. \n\nIt also asks governments \u201cto ensure that nature-inclusive design plans are in place, so as to reconcile grid development acceleration and generation, storage, flexibility and demand expansion with environmental and biodiversity protection\u201d. \n\nVan der Straeten said she was confident the final wording agreed on Thursday would include support for citizen energy projects, and told Euronews that the NGO behind the energy communities manifesto, REScoop.eu, had been invited to a lunch with ministers during the summit. \n\nThe Brussels-based campaign group sets out ten demands for candidates in the upcoming EU elections, including full implementation of existing rules that support the development of local energy projects, access to EU funding and exemption from the general prohibition of state aid \u2013 and EU-level strategy for their support across all areas of EU policy. \n\nREScoop\u2019s president Dirk Vansintjan welcomed Van der Straeten\u2019s support, and the signal it gave of \u201cpolitical backing for citizen-led energy initiatives, and places citizens at the heart of the energy transition\u201d. \n\nThe group\u2019s AGM and forum in Prague earlier this month also saw strong interest from Ukrainian participants in developing community energy projects, Vansintjan said. \u201cTheir evaluation of what's happening there is we need to decentralise energy production because you're very vulnerable if you depend on a few large installations,\u201d he said. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>Energy minister Tinne van der Straeten has told Euronews she hopes to secure inter-governmental recognition of the benefits of local energy cooperatives this week, at the last energy summit of Belgium\u2019s six-month EU Council presidency. <\/p>\n<p>Van der Straeten, a Green in Belgium\u2019s diverse coalition government, was speaking on Tuesday (28 May) after signing an NGO manifesto calling on the next European Parliament and EU executive to promote energy communities, arguing that potential \u2018energy citizens\u2019 could invest up to \u20ac240bn in the energy transition by 2030.<\/p>\n<p>Energy communities are voluntary, cooperative schemes offering a local alternative to commercial energy companies, for instance through shared ownership of a wind turbine or solar array, helping to decentralise electricity production \u2013 and, advocates argue, reduce costs, fossil fuel dependence, and increase security of supply.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s very important to develop an energy policy that is inclusive from a citizen perspective, but also from a nature perspective,\u201d van der Straeten said. \u201cAnd so including citizens in energy policy is of the utmost importance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The minister recognised the need to bolster local distribution grids, echoing a call made last week by the European electricity industry, whose trade association Eurelectric estimates investment will need to double over the coming decades to enable the renewables roll-out implied by the EU\u2019s 2050 climate neutrality goal.<\/p>\n<p>Energy ministers are due to adopt tomorrow (30 May) conclusions on \u2018advancing sustainable electricity grid infrastructure\u2019, and discuss progress in the EU Green Deal and the future development of the RePowerEU plan that saw a ramping up of renewable energy targets in response to the energy crisis precipitated by Vladimir Putin\u2019s undeclared war on Ukraine.<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"8454878\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//business//2024//05//23//electricity-firms-seek-huge-investment-support-for-distribution-grids/">Electricity firms seek huge investment support for distribution grids<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Ahead of the public exchange of views, the Belgian presidency has asked ministers to consider what \u201cadditional initiatives\u201d could be launched to help end the EU\u2019s dependence on Russian fossil fuels \u201cas soon as possible\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>For the discussion on the Green Deal, ministers have been invited to reflect on how to accelerate progress towards meeting 2030 targets reducing energy demand and increasing the share of renewables in the European system to at least 42.5%, as well voicing their views on how best to develop grid infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>Van der Straeten, who will chair the summit in Brussels, said achieving these goals would require bolstering the European grid at both the long-distance transmission and local distribution levels, and that this would require better planning and coordination as well as more direct involvement of citizens.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI'm absolutely convinced that if we include energy communities more, we can better operate the grids, and we can be faster in developing, renewable energy,\u201d the Belgian federal minister said.<\/p>\n<p>A leaked draft of the conclusions on grid infrastructure, dated 18 May and seen by Euronews, would see the Council call on member states to ensure citizens and energy communities are closely involved in infrastructure planning, and to \u201crevisit\u201d procedures on grid connection and grid access capacity to ensure a \u201clevel playing\u201d between local actors and incumbent electricity firms.<\/p>\n<p>It also asks governments \u201cto ensure that nature-inclusive design plans are in place, so as to reconcile grid development acceleration and generation, storage, flexibility and demand expansion with environmental and biodiversity protection\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Van der Straeten said she was confident the final wording agreed on Thursday would include support for citizen energy projects, and told Euronews that the NGO behind the energy communities manifesto, REScoop.eu, had been invited to a lunch with ministers during the summit.<\/p>\n<p>The Brussels-based campaign group sets out ten demands for candidates in the upcoming EU elections, including full implementation of existing rules that support the development of local energy projects, access to EU funding and exemption from the general prohibition of state aid \u2013 and EU-level strategy for their support across all areas of EU policy.<\/p>\n<p>REScoop\u2019s president Dirk Vansintjan welcomed Van der Straeten\u2019s support, and the signal it gave of \u201cpolitical backing for citizen-led energy initiatives, and places citizens at the heart of the energy transition\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The group\u2019s AGM and forum in Prague earlier this month also saw strong interest from Ukrainian participants in developing community energy projects, Vansintjan said. \u201cTheir evaluation of what's happening there is we need to decentralise energy production because you're very vulnerable if you depend on a few large installations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1716973233,"updatedAt":1716996521,"publishedAt":1716996518,"firstPublishedAt":1716996521,"lastPublishedAt":1716996518,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/59\/72\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_43480994-5ba3-5779-bfd1-06b0975ee89e-8465972.jpg","altText":"Belgian energy minister Tinne Van der Straeten and the president of energy cooperatives' association Dirk Vansintjan","caption":"Belgian energy minister Tinne Van der Straeten and the president of energy cooperatives' association Dirk Vansintjan","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Jesse De Meulenaere \/ REScoop.eu","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"hodgson","title":"Robert Hodgson","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":29232,"slug":"eu-policy","urlSafeValue":"eu-policy","title":"EU Policy","titleRaw":"EU 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News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":24,"urlSafeValue":"belgium","title":"Belgium","url":"\/news\/europe\/belgium"},"town":{"id":4129,"urlSafeValue":"brussels","title":"Brussels"},"grapeshot":"'gv_safe','gb_safe','gb_safe_from_high','gb_safe_from_high_med','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','gs_busfin','gs_politics','gs_politics_issues_policy','gs_politics_misc','progressivemedia','gs_business','gs_busfin_indus','gs_busfin_indus_energy','gs_business_energy','shadow9hu7_pos_ukrainecrisis','custom_politics_brussels','eu_brussels_politics_eng','neg_ukraine_russia_war','shadow9hu7_pos_ukraine-russia','neg_facebook_q4','gt_mixed'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/green\/2024\/05\/29\/belgium-to-champion-citizen-energy-at-ministerial-summit","lastModified":1716996518},{"id":2552490,"cid":8467186,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240529_BZBX_55663056","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"META THREAT REPORT","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"EU elections mostly safe from foreign interference online - Meta report","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"EU elections mostly safe from foreign interference online -report","titleListing2":"EU elections mostly safe from foreign interference online - Meta report","leadin":"There have been attempts to influence local votes instead, the report added.","summary":"There have been attempts to influence local votes instead, the report added.","keySentence":"","url":"eu-elections-mostly-safe-from-foreign-interference-online-meta-report","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/2024\/05\/29\/eu-elections-mostly-safe-from-foreign-interference-online-meta-report","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Malicious attempts to influence users on Meta\u2019s platforms mostly focussed on local rather than the upcoming EU elections, a threat report published by Meta today (29 May) suggests. \n\n\u201cWhile we\u2019ve seen public discourse ahead of the EU parliamentary elections focus primarily on foreign threats, the majority of the EU-focused inauthentic behaviour we\u2019ve disrupted so far has been domestic in nature,\u201d the mid-year update into the global threat landscape, said. \n\nMost of the attempts to spread fake news were made at citizens in member state and were linked to individuals associated with local campaigns or candidates. Some of the tactics used included inauthentic amplification of accounts or pages of domestic politicians through likes, shares and comments to make them appear more popular than they were. However, Meta \u2013 which owns Facebook and Instagram \u2013 did not see any evidence that these clusters were gaining traction among users. \n\n\u201cOn the foreign threats side, the attempts we\u2019ve seen so far were primarily focused on undermining support for Ukraine among the EU member states, rather than directly targeting the EU parliamentary elections,\u201d David Agranovich, director of global threat disruption at Meta said at a press briefing. In addition, Meta did not see any proof of new generative AI tools getting more traction. \n\nThe report also looked into a long running covert influence operation from Russia, known as Doppelganger, which involves a large network of websites spoofing legitimate news outlets, and seems to have scaled down its impact significantly. \n\nMeta noticed a major shift in this operation\u2019s tactics on its platform after two companies in Russia who were linked to the operation were sanctioned by the EU in 2023 and by the US Treasury Department in 2024. \n\n\u201cThere is a major shift in tactics, they no longer link to spoof websites and don't comment links on other posts anymore,\" Agranovich said.\u00a0 \n\nEU elections \n\nAhead of the EU elections, Meta announced in February, that it is to set up an EU-specific 'operations centre' to combat misinformation. Under the EU\u2019s Digital Services Act (DSA), online platforms with more than 45 million monthly average users, including Facebook and TikTok, are obliged to take measures against disinformation and election manipulation. \n\nMeta\u2019s centre will bring together in-house experts to identify potential threats and put specific mitigations in place across apps and technologies in real time, according to a statement by the company's head of EU affairs, Marco Pancini. \n\nIn a Euronews analysis published yesterday on election spending, Meta, owner of social media network Facebook, sees most spending on ads by far-right parties from Hungary and Belgium. \n\nThey\u2019re followed by German liberals the FDP \u2013 whose post on the EU\u2019s Erasmus+ education programme has gained over one million views \u2013 and Italy\u2019s centre-right Forza Italia. \n\n\nEU rules agreed in February forbid pre-election spending from abroad, and in principle campaign ads shouldn\u2019t be targeted based on political views \u2013 though even the European Commission has apparently fallen foul of those strictures in its own social media promotions. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>Malicious attempts to influence users on Meta\u2019s platforms mostly focussed on local rather than the upcoming EU elections, a threat report <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////transparency.meta.com//en-gb//metasecurity//threat-reporting///">published by Meta today (29 May) suggests.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile we\u2019ve seen public discourse ahead of the EU parliamentary elections focus primarily on foreign threats, the majority of the EU-focused inauthentic behaviour we\u2019ve disrupted so far has been domestic in nature,\u201d the mid-year update into the global threat landscape, said.<\/p>\n<p>Most of the attempts to spread fake news were made at citizens in member state and were linked to individuals associated with local campaigns or candidates. Some of the tactics used included inauthentic amplification of accounts or pages of domestic politicians through likes, shares and comments to make them appear more popular than they were. However, Meta \u2013 which owns Facebook and Instagram \u2013 did not see any evidence that these clusters were gaining traction among users.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn the foreign threats side, the attempts we\u2019ve seen so far were primarily focused on undermining support for Ukraine among the EU member states, rather than directly targeting the EU parliamentary elections,\u201d David Agranovich, director of global threat disruption at Meta said at a press briefing. In addition, Meta did not see any proof of new generative AI tools getting more traction.<\/p>\n<p>The report also looked into a long running covert influence operation from Russia, known as Doppelganger, which involves a large network of websites spoofing legitimate news outlets, and seems to have scaled down its impact significantly.<\/p>\n<p>Meta noticed a major shift in this operation\u2019s tactics on its platform after two companies in Russia who were linked to the operation were sanctioned by the EU in 2023 and by the US Treasury Department in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is a major shift in tactics, they no longer link to spoof websites and don't comment links on other posts anymore,\" Agranovich said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"8397202,8464162,8384360\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//next//2024//05//30//belgiums-far-right-spends-big-on-meta-ahead-of-eu-elections-expert-finds/">Belgium/u2019s far-right spends big on Meta ahead of EU elections, expert finds<\/a> <\/li><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//next//2024//04//19//meta-teases-llama-3-as-the-most-intelligent-ai-assistant-that-you-can-freely-use/">Meta teases Llama 3 as 'the most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use'<\/a> <\/li><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//business//2024//04//25//metas-stock-plunges-amid-disappointing-q2-revenue-outlook/">Meta stock plunges: Why the company failed to cheer investors with latest results<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2>EU elections<\/h2><p>Ahead of the EU elections, Meta announced in February, that it is to set up an EU-specific 'operations centre' to combat misinformation. Under the EU\u2019s Digital Services Act (DSA), online platforms with more than 45 million monthly average users, including Facebook and TikTok, are obliged to take measures against disinformation and election manipulation.<\/p>\n<p>Meta\u2019s centre will bring together in-house experts to identify potential threats and put specific mitigations in place across apps and technologies in real time, according to a <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//next//2024//02//26//meta-second-to-set-up-eu-online-election-centre-to-fight-disinformation/">statement by the company's head of EU affairs, Marco Pancini.<\/p>\n<p>In a Euronews analysis <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//05//28//revealed-the-far-right-eu-election-ads-flooding-social-media/">published yesterday on election spending, Meta, owner of social media network Facebook, sees most spending on ads by far-right parties from Hungary and Belgium.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re followed by German liberals the FDP \u2013 whose post on the EU\u2019s Erasmus+ education programme has gained over one million views \u2013 and Italy\u2019s centre-right Forza Italia. <\/p>\n<p>EU rules agreed in February forbid pre-election spending from abroad, and in principle campaign ads shouldn\u2019t be targeted based on political views \u2013 though even the European Commission has apparently fallen foul of those strictures in its own social media promotions.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1716994711,"updatedAt":1716996242,"publishedAt":1716996239,"firstPublishedAt":1716996242,"lastPublishedAt":1716996239,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/71\/86\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_d86de2d7-cf87-5860-b271-59c9ea3185a3-8467186.jpg","altText":"Facebook has not seen a rise in EU election disinformation. ","caption":"Facebook has not seen a rise in EU election disinformation. ","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Sean Kilpatrick\/AP2009","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":3438,"height":2242}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"kroet","title":"Cynthia Kroet","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":29232,"slug":"eu-policy","urlSafeValue":"eu-policy","title":"EU Policy","titleRaw":"EU Policy"},{"id":29340,"slug":"european-elections-2024","urlSafeValue":"european-elections-2024","title":"European elections 2024","titleRaw":"European elections 2024"},{"id":28330,"slug":"disinformation","urlSafeValue":"disinformation","title":"disinformation","titleRaw":"disinformation"},{"id":16858,"slug":"online-internet-platformlar-","urlSafeValue":"online-internet-platformlar-","title":"online internet platforms","titleRaw":"online internet platforms"},{"id":26440,"slug":"meta","urlSafeValue":"meta","title":"Meta","titleRaw":"Meta"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2543608},{"id":2537128},{"id":2536380}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"tech-news","urlSafeValue":"tech-news","title":"Tech News","online":0,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/tech-news\/tech-news"},"vertical":"next","verticals":[{"id":9,"slug":"next","urlSafeValue":"next","title":"Next"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":9,"slug":"next","urlSafeValue":"next","title":"Next"},"themes":[{"id":"tech-news","urlSafeValue":"tech-news","title":"Tech News","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/tech-news"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":40,"urlSafeValue":"tech-news","title":"Tech News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":24,"urlSafeValue":"belgium","title":"Belgium","url":"\/news\/europe\/belgium"},"town":{"id":3270,"urlSafeValue":"brussels","title":"Brussels"},"grapeshot":"'gv_safe','gb_safe','gb_safe_from_high','gb_safe_from_high_med','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','pos_ukraine-russia','gs_tech','gs_politics','gs_tech_compute','gt_negative','gs_tech_compute_net','gs_politics_issues_policy','gs_politics_misc','gs_busfin','custom_politics_brussels','neg_tiktok_q1_2024_eng','gs_tech_compute_net_social','neg_facebook','bespoke_kaspersky','shadow9hu7_pos_ukrainecrisis','eu_brussels_politics_eng','gt_negative_mistrust','gt_negative_dislike','gt_negative_fear'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet-brussels","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/next\/2024\/05\/29\/eu-elections-mostly-safe-from-foreign-interference-online-meta-report","lastModified":1716996239},{"id":2552442,"cid":8466968,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240529_E3WB_55662377","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"EU DEFENCE PACTS","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Brussels has six more defence partnerships in pipeline, senior EU diplomat says","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Brussels has six more defence partnerships in pipeline: Borrell","titleListing2":"Brussels has six more defence partnerships in pipeline, senior EU diplomat says","leadin":"The announcement follows deals with Moldova and Norway as the bloc attempts to bolster its military credentials.","summary":"The announcement follows deals with Moldova and Norway as the bloc attempts to bolster its military credentials.","keySentence":"","url":"brussels-has-six-more-defence-partnerships-in-pipeline-senior-eu-diplomat-says","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/2024\/05\/29\/brussels-has-six-more-defence-partnerships-in-pipeline-senior-eu-diplomat-says","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"The EU has half a dozen more defence deals planned, after signing two with Moldova and Norway in recent days, the bloc\u2019s most senior diplomat said today (29 May). \n\nBrussels is attempting to bolster its military credentials given the Ukraine war and possible second Trump presidency \u2013 and the next EU executive, due to take office in November, may well appoint a dedicated defence commissioner. \n\n\u201cSix more are in the pipeline,\u201d EU High Representative Josep Borrell told the Schuman Forum in Brussels, after the bloc signed security and defence deals with Moldova and Norway. \n\n\u201cWe want to create a network around the world in order to ensure that all together we can contribute better to the world\u2019s security and peace,\u201d added Borrell, who heads up the EU\u2019s external action service. \n\nThat comes one day after he approved a deal with Norway, a NATO member that borders Russia, that will see cooperation in areas such as Ukraine, maritime security and peace mediation. \n\nThe deal \u201cwill enable us to enhance dialogue on areas of mutual interest\u201d, Bj\u00f8rn Arild Gram, Norway\u2019s defence minister told the conference. \u201cI think it will strengthen security for all of us.\u201d \n\nWith some of its member states studiously neutral, the EU has historically played a limited role on defence matters. \n\nBut, with war returning to the continent, and US presidential candidate Trump publicly inviting Russia to invade supposed allies, Europeans are starting to realise they should get their house in order. \n\nUrsula von der Leyen, previously German defence minister, has promised to make the topic a key plank of a hoped-for second term as European Commission President. \n\nBorrell denied that reinforcing EU military policy would undermine arrangements with the US, saying rather that it will strengthen NATO\u2019s European pillar. \n\nA spokesperson for the EU external action service declined to comment on the six candidates for deals, which are normally only announced after signature. \n\nBut, further in the future, one candidate could be London, at least after July elections. \n\nThough plans for an EU-UK defence deal were jettisoned amid fractious Brexit talks, Labour leader Keir Starmer, who polls suggest will be elected Prime Minister, has talked of the need to step up security cooperation with the bloc. \n\nEU member state Belgium yesterday signed a security pact with Ukraine, pledging to send \u20ac977 million in military aid and 30 fighter jets to the war-torn country.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\n","htmlText":"<p>The EU has half a dozen more defence deals planned, after signing two with Moldova and Norway in recent days, the bloc\u2019s most senior diplomat said today (29 May).<\/p>\n<p>Brussels is attempting to bolster its military credentials given the Ukraine war and possible second Trump presidency \u2013 and the next EU executive, due to take office in November, may well appoint a dedicated defence commissioner.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSix more are in the pipeline,\u201d EU High Representative Josep Borrell told the Schuman Forum in Brussels, after the bloc signed security and defence deals with Moldova and Norway.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want to create a network around the world in order to ensure that all together we can contribute better to the world\u2019s security and peace,\u201d added Borrell, who heads up the EU\u2019s external action service.<\/p>\n<p>That comes one day after he approved a deal with Norway, a NATO member that borders Russia, that will see cooperation in areas such as Ukraine, maritime security and peace mediation.<\/p>\n<p>The deal \u201cwill enable us to enhance dialogue on areas of mutual interest\u201d, Bj\u00f8rn Arild Gram, Norway\u2019s defence minister told the conference. \u201cI think it will strengthen security for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With some of its member states studiously neutral, the EU has historically played a limited role on defence matters.<\/p>\n<p>But, with war returning to the continent, and US presidential candidate Trump publicly inviting Russia to invade supposed allies, Europeans are starting to realise they should get their house in order.<\/p>\n<p>Ursula von der Leyen, previously German defence minister, has promised to make the topic a key plank of a hoped-for second term as European Commission President.<\/p>\n<p>Borrell denied that reinforcing EU military policy would undermine arrangements with the US, saying rather that it will strengthen NATO\u2019s European pillar.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for the EU external action service declined to comment on the six candidates for deals, which are normally only announced after signature.<\/p>\n<p>But, further in the future, one candidate could be London, at least after July elections.<\/p>\n<p>Though plans for an EU-UK defence deal were jettisoned amid fractious Brexit talks, Labour leader Keir Starmer, who polls suggest will be elected Prime Minister, has talked of the need to step up security cooperation with the bloc.<\/p>\n<p>EU member state Belgium yesterday signed a security pact with Ukraine, pledging to send \u20ac977 million in military aid and 30 fighter jets to the war-torn country.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1716991399,"updatedAt":1716991883,"publishedAt":1716991876,"firstPublishedAt":1716991883,"lastPublishedAt":1716991876,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/69\/68\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_3fedd843-fe88-541b-82f8-a910ccaa7c1a-8466968.jpg","altText":"The EU's Josep Borrell with Denmark's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide and Defence Minister Bj\u00f8rn Arild Gram","caption":"The EU's Josep Borrell with Denmark's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide and Defence Minister Bj\u00f8rn Arild Gram","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"European Union, 2024","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":4000,"height":2667}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"schickler","title":"Jack Schickler","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":29232,"slug":"eu-policy","urlSafeValue":"eu-policy","title":"EU Policy","titleRaw":"EU Policy"},{"id":68,"slug":"defence","urlSafeValue":"defence","title":"Defence","titleRaw":"Defence"},{"id":16444,"slug":"josep-borrell","urlSafeValue":"josep-borrell","title":"Josep Borrell","titleRaw":"Josep Borrell"},{"id":215,"slug":"norway","urlSafeValue":"norway","title":"Norway","titleRaw":"Norway"},{"id":196,"slug":"moldova","urlSafeValue":"moldova","title":"Moldova","titleRaw":"Moldova"}],"widgets":[],"related":[{"id":2549276},{"id":2551514},{"id":2551200}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"europe-news","urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe News","online":1,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/europe-news\/europe-news"},"vertical":"my-europe","verticals":[{"id":2,"slug":"my-europe","urlSafeValue":"my-europe","title":"My Europe"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":2,"slug":"my-europe","urlSafeValue":"my-europe","title":"My Europe"},"themes":[{"id":"europe-news","urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe News","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/europe-news"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":56,"urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":24,"urlSafeValue":"belgium","title":"Belgium","url":"\/news\/europe\/belgium"},"town":{"id":3270,"urlSafeValue":"brussels","title":"Brussels"},"grapeshot":"'gb_safe_from_high','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','gs_politics','gs_politics_issues_policy','gs_politics_misc','shadow9hu7_pos_ukrainecrisis','custom_politics_brussels','eu_brussels_politics_eng','gb_death_injury_high_med','gb_death_injury_high_med_low','gb_death_injury_news-ent','neg_ukraine_russia_war','shadow9hu7_pos_ukraine-russia','neg_mobkoi_creed_eng','neg_mobkoi_new','gs_politics_british','gv_military','gs_busfin','gs_busfin_indus','gs_politics_american','gs_war_conflict'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet-web","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/my-europe\/2024\/05\/29\/brussels-has-six-more-defence-partnerships-in-pipeline-senior-eu-diplomat-says","lastModified":1716991876},{"id":2552172,"cid":8466020,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240529_BZBX_55659532","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"AI OFFICE ANNOUNCEMENT","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"AI Office set-up announced, Lucilla Sioli to be in charge ","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"AI Office set-up announced, Lucilla Sioli to be in charge ","titleListing2":"AI Office set-up announced, Lucilla Sioli to be in charge ","leadin":"Commission announces set-up of unit tasked with overseeing the AI Act.","summary":"Commission announces set-up of unit tasked with overseeing the AI Act.","keySentence":"","url":"ai-office-set-up-announced-lucilla-sioli-to-be-in-charge","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/2024\/05\/29\/ai-office-set-up-announced-lucilla-sioli-to-be-in-charge","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Lucilla Sioli, currently Director for AI and Digital Industry within the European Commission and an EU official since 1997, will formally lead the AI Office, the EU executive announced today (29 May).\u00a0 \n\nThe AI Office, a restructuring of an existing unit dealing with AI within the Commission, will consist of five main departments, each led by a director tasked with overseeing the implementation of the AI Act. It will employ 140 people in total including technological experts, lawyers and policy specialists, some 80 of whom will still need to be recruited. \n\nThe departments will focus on regulation and compliance, safety, excellence and robotics, AI for societal good, as well as innovation. In addition, there will be two advisors on the scientific approach and international affairs. \n\nContrary to previous claims, including from Sioli herself, that the formal approval of the internal restructuring would take more time , the EU executive went ahead to greenlight the appointments and units which will take effect on 16 June. \n\nSupervision \n\nThe AI office, an internal department within the Commission, will supervise the rules for general-purpose AI systems and function as a central coordination body for AI policy at EU level, coordinating with other departments within the EU executive, its agencies, companies and the 27 Member States. \n\nThe AI Act \u2013 Europe\u2019s ground-breaking law to regulate machine learning technology \u2013 is set to officially enter into force in June. This means that compliance deadlines for companies are also approaching. In November, bans on prohibited practices specified in the AI Act will start to apply. The general-purpose AI rules will apply one year after entry into force, in May 2025, and the obligations for high-risk systems will kick in in three years. \n\nThe AI Board, which will consist of the 27 national regulators and will assist the AI Office to harmonise the rules, will have its first meeting in June. Those first meetings will be attended by representatives from the member states, as the countries have another twelve months to appoint a formal regulatory authority. \n\nEarlier this month, the Commission began further recruitment for the Office with a call for applications for experts from national administrations, as well as legal, policy and technology experts. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>Lucilla Sioli, currently Director for AI and Digital Industry within the European Commission and an EU official since 1997, will formally lead the AI Office, the EU executive <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////ec.europa.eu//commission//presscorner//detail//en//ip_24_2982/">announced today (29 May).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The AI Office, a restructuring of an existing unit dealing with AI within the Commission, will consist of five main departments, each led by a director tasked with overseeing the implementation of the AI Act. It will employ 140 people in total including technological experts, lawyers and policy specialists, some 80 of whom will still need to be recruited.<\/p>\n<p>The departments will focus on regulation and compliance, safety, excellence and robotics, AI for societal good, as well as innovation. In addition, there will be two advisors on the scientific approach and international affairs.<\/p>\n<p>Contrary to previous claims, including from Sioli herself, that the formal approval of the internal restructuring would <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//next//2024//05//23//clarity-on-head-of-ai-office-likely-after-summer/">take more time<\/a>, the EU executive went ahead to greenlight the appointments and units which will take effect on 16 June.<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"8301112,8465530,8463638\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//next//2024//03//12//as-ai-act-enters-into-force-focus-shifts-to-countries-oversight-appointments/">As the EU AI Act enters into force, focus shifts to countries' oversight appointments<\/a> <\/li><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//business//2024//05//29//ai-fuels-surge-in-tech-company-earnings-in-europe-and-the-us/">AI fuels surge in tech company earnings in Europe and the US<\/a> <\/li><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//next//2024//05//28//commission-should-invest-more-in-ai-auditors-say/">Commission should invest more in AI, Auditors say<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2>Supervision<\/h2><p>The AI office, an internal department within the Commission, will supervise the rules for general-purpose AI systems and function as a central coordination body for AI policy at EU level, coordinating with other departments within the EU executive, its agencies, companies and the 27 Member States.<\/p>\n<p>The AI Act \u2013 Europe\u2019s ground-breaking law to regulate machine learning technology \u2013 is set to officially enter into force in June. This means that compliance deadlines for companies are also approaching. In November, bans on prohibited practices specified in the AI Act will start to apply. The general-purpose AI rules will apply one year after entry into force, in May 2025, and the obligations for high-risk systems will kick in in three years.<\/p>\n<p>The AI Board, which will consist of the 27 national regulators and will assist the AI Office to harmonise the rules, will have its first meeting in June. Those first meetings will be attended by representatives from the member states, as the countries have another twelve months to appoint a formal regulatory authority.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, the Commission began further recruitment for the Office with a call for applications for experts from national administrations, as well as legal, policy and technology experts.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1716974316,"updatedAt":1716983977,"publishedAt":1716983975,"firstPublishedAt":1716983977,"lastPublishedAt":1716983975,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/60\/20\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_1e11abfa-13bf-52b1-9ff7-ad5e06f6e7f7-8466020.jpg","altText":"Lucila Sioli, a EU Commission official who will lead the AI Office.","caption":"Lucila Sioli, a EU Commission official who will lead the AI Office.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Flickr\/Lisbon Council\/Creative Commons.","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":4256,"height":2832}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"kroet","title":"Cynthia Kroet","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":29232,"slug":"eu-policy","urlSafeValue":"eu-policy","title":"EU Policy","titleRaw":"EU Policy"},{"id":12661,"slug":"artificial-intelligence","urlSafeValue":"artificial-intelligence","title":"Artificial intelligence","titleRaw":"Artificial intelligence"},{"id":28264,"slug":"ai-act","urlSafeValue":"ai-act","title":"AI Act","titleRaw":"AI Act"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2548244},{"id":2503550},{"id":2462778}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"tech-news","urlSafeValue":"tech-news","title":"Tech News","online":0,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/tech-news\/tech-news"},"vertical":"next","verticals":[{"id":9,"slug":"next","urlSafeValue":"next","title":"Next"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":9,"slug":"next","urlSafeValue":"next","title":"Next"},"themes":[{"id":"tech-news","urlSafeValue":"tech-news","title":"Tech News","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/tech-news"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":40,"urlSafeValue":"tech-news","title":"Tech News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":24,"urlSafeValue":"belgium","title":"Belgium","url":"\/news\/europe\/belgium"},"town":{"id":3270,"urlSafeValue":"brussels","title":"Brussels"},"grapeshot":"'gv_safe','gb_safe','gb_safe_from_high','gb_safe_from_high_med','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','pos_ukraine-russia','pos_ukrainecrisis','gs_busfin','gs_business','gs_tech','gs_tech_computing','gs_tech_robotics','gs_busfin_economy','gs_science_misc','mobkoi_sophie_campaign_en','gs_business_careers','bespoke_kaspersky','eu_brussels_politics_eng'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet-brussels","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/next\/2024\/05\/29\/ai-office-set-up-announced-lucilla-sioli-to-be-in-charge","lastModified":1716983975},{"id":2551552,"cid":8463926,"versionId":2,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240528_E3BX_55651070","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"MEPS PARENTAL LEAVE","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Lack of parental leave \u2018discourages\u2019 youth from running for elections ","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Lack of parental leave \u2018discourages\u2019 youth from running for elections ","titleListing2":"Lack of parental leave \u2018discourages\u2019 youth from running for elections ","leadin":"With the European Parliament election less than two weeks away, its incoming members will still not have official parental leave recognised, which could prevent young people from running for office.","summary":"With the European Parliament election less than two weeks away, its incoming members will still not have official parental leave recognised, which could prevent young people from running for office.","keySentence":"","url":"lack-of-parental-leave-discourages-youth-from-running-for-elections","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/2024\/05\/29\/lack-of-parental-leave-discourages-youth-from-running-for-elections","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"The European Parliament is the most equal parliament in the bloc, with around 40% women MEPs in 2024, compared to almost 16% in 1979. Still, EU lawmakers can't claim parental leave, can't vote remotely, and can't appoint a temporary replacement.\n\n\u201cIf we want a gender-balanced system where fathers, not just mothers, can combine childcare and political activity, we need to recognise the right to a family life,\u201d Raquel Garc\u00eda Hermida-van der Walle, candidate for the EU elections in The Netherlands for D66 (Renew Europe), told Euronews.\n\nCurrent electoral laws and the European Parliament\u2019s internal rules don\u2019t envisage the possibility for temporary MEP replacements for maternity, paternity or parental leave nor may votes be transferred by proxy to another member.\n\nIn 2022, the Parliament adopted a proposal for a regulation on the election of MEPs which would introduce this possibility. However the proposal remains stalled with the council two years later.\n\n\u201cParental leave is not about making elected representatives' mandate more comfortable. It's about ensuring the continuity of a mandate conferred by the people to represent them,\u201d MEP Le\u00efla Chaibi (France\/The Left) told Euronews.\n\nChaibi is one of 13 MEPs who last year called for the EU institution to reform its rules to adapt to modern times in a manifesto signed by Parliament President Roberta Metsola (Malta\/EPP).\n\nFollowing the manifesto, Metsola introduced a specific provision for MEPs on maternity leave who missed votes, making the reason for their absence transparent.\n\nFrom now on, an asterisk next to MEPs' names will indicate those who can't attend votes due to maternity, paternity or parental leave - but further measures are still to come.\n\nOne of the main asks of the manifesto was the introduction of provisions to enable remote voting, a system already installed and used during the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\nAccording to the European Parliament's press services, Metsola has been looking into the possibility of extending use for MEPs on maternity, paternity or parental leave with an internal working group on information and technology innovation strategy.\n\nIn a letter dated 2 April 2024, the working group concluded that the introduction of hybrid voting in plenary raises a number of technical, organisational and procedural challenges that need to be further assessed.\n\nThe group identified the authentication method, the quality of the remote network connection and the real-time nature of the voting process as the main challenges.\n\nThe potential solutions identified were seen as risky even if applied to a small number of voters and as a threat to the essential trust provided by the current voting system.\n\n\u201cThis [lack of parental leave] does not encourage the participation of young people or people starting their family life, especially women,\u201d Garc\u00eda Hermida said, adding that \u201cyou might think twice about running if you are a young politician and you want to have children, or if you have just had children\u201d.\n\nBut the EU institution argues that, regardless of gender, no \"leave authorisation\" is necessary or possible, as MEPs organise the exercise of their free mandate themselves.\n\n\u201cThe European Parliament has facilities in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg to allow parents to work leaving their children in adapted family rooms,\u201d a Parliament spokesperson told Euronews when asked whether they were planning any internal reforms.\n\nFor the French left-wing lawmaker, who last year became a mother, the absence of reforms raises a problem of representation.\n\n\u201cThis lack of measures does not encourage young people, especially women, to stand for election,\u201d Chaibi argued.\n\nIn fact, the average age of an MEP in May 2024 is 53 years old, and only three of them are under 30 years old.\n\nThe Parliament said it will keep looking for possible solutions to this issue during the next mandate, as 14 member states already explicitly entitle MEPs to these leave arrangements, including Belgium, Germany, Italy and Sweden.\n\nIn Germany, members of the Bundestag are entitled to up to six weeks of maternity leave before the birth of a child and a further eight weeks after, while in Spain, although not officially recognised, MPs can vote remotely while they are absent from parliament.\n\n\u201cThe European parliament should be an example of what we expect from companies and citizens,\" said Chaibi, who is standing for re-election. \u201cBy not taking any action to replace elected representatives on parental leave, the EU institution is sending out the wrong signal\u201d.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>The European Parliament is the most equal parliament in the bloc, with around 40% women MEPs in 2024, compared to almost 16% in 1979. Still, EU lawmakers can't claim parental leave, can't vote remotely, and can't appoint a temporary replacement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we want a gender-balanced system where fathers, not just mothers, can combine childcare and political activity, we need to recognise the right to a family life,\u201d Raquel Garc\u00eda Hermida-van der Walle, candidate for the EU elections in The Netherlands for D66 (Renew Europe), told Euronews.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-flourish widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-chart u-min-height-375\" data-src=\"visualisation\/18124931?92060\"><\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Current electoral laws and the European Parliament\u2019s internal rules don\u2019t envisage the possibility for temporary MEP replacements for maternity, paternity or parental leave nor may votes be transferred by proxy to another member.<\/p>\n<p>In 2022, the Parliament adopted a proposal for a regulation on the election of MEPs which would introduce this possibility. However the proposal remains stalled with the council two years later.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cParental leave is not about making elected representatives' mandate more comfortable. It's about ensuring the continuity of a mandate conferred by the people to represent them,\u201d MEP Le\u00efla Chaibi (France\/The Left) told Euronews.<\/p>\n<p>Chaibi is one of 13 MEPs who last year called for the EU institution to reform its rules to adapt to modern times in a manifesto signed by Parliament President Roberta Metsola (Malta\/EPP).<\/p>\n<p>Following the manifesto, Metsola introduced a specific provision for MEPs on maternity leave who missed votes, making the reason for their absence transparent.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-tweet widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio\u2014auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <div class=\"widget__tweet\" data-tweet-id=\"1727323768274686385\"><\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>From now on, an asterisk next to MEPs' names will indicate those who can't attend votes due to maternity, paternity or parental leave - but further measures are still to come.<\/p>\n<p>One of the main asks of the manifesto was the introduction of provisions to enable remote voting, a system already installed and used during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>According to the European Parliament's press services, Metsola has been looking into the possibility of extending use for MEPs on maternity, paternity or parental leave with an internal working group on information and technology innovation strategy.<\/p>\n<p>In a letter dated 2 April 2024, the working group concluded that the introduction of hybrid voting in plenary raises a number of technical, organisational and procedural challenges that need to be further assessed.<\/p>\n<p>The group identified the authentication method, the quality of the remote network connection and the real-time nature of the voting process as the main challenges.<\/p>\n<p>The potential solutions identified were seen as risky even if applied to a small number of voters and as a threat to the essential trust provided by the current voting system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis [lack of parental leave] does not encourage the participation of young people or people starting their family life, especially women,\u201d Garc\u00eda Hermida said, adding that \u201cyou might think twice about running if you are a young politician and you want to have children, or if you have just had children\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>But the EU institution argues that, regardless of gender, no \"leave authorisation\" is necessary or possible, as MEPs organise the exercise of their free mandate themselves.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe European Parliament has facilities in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg to allow parents to work leaving their children in adapted family rooms,\u201d a Parliament spokesperson told Euronews when asked whether they were planning any internal reforms.<\/p>\n<p>For the French left-wing lawmaker, who last year became a mother, the absence of reforms raises a problem of representation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis lack of measures does not encourage young people, especially women, to stand for election,\u201d Chaibi argued.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the average age of an MEP in May 2024 is 53 years old, and only three of them are under 30 years old.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-flourish widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-chart u-min-height-375\" data-src=\"visualisation\/18125113?92060\"><\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The Parliament said it will keep looking for possible solutions to this issue during the next mandate, as 14 member states already explicitly entitle MEPs to these leave arrangements, including Belgium, Germany, Italy and Sweden.<\/p>\n<p>In Germany, members of the Bundestag are entitled to up to six weeks of maternity leave before the birth of a child and a further eight weeks after, while in Spain, although not officially recognised, MPs can vote remotely while they are absent from parliament.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe European parliament should be an example of what we expect from companies and citizens,\" said Chaibi, who is standing for re-election. \u201cBy not taking any action to replace elected representatives on parental leave, the EU institution is sending out the wrong signal\u201d.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1716895918,"updatedAt":1717079894,"publishedAt":1716962449,"firstPublishedAt":1716898091,"lastPublishedAt":1716962449,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Daina Le Lardic\/EP","altText":"13 MEPs called on the European Parliament to reform its internal rules in June 2023","callToActionText":null,"width":6000,"caption":"13 MEPs called on the European Parliament to reform its internal rules in June 2023","url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/39\/26\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_96b47b94-1dfa-5021-b666-aed4402b6574-8463926.jpg","captionUrl":null,"height":4000},{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"X\/Leila Chaibi","altText":"13 MEPs called the European Parliament for reforming its internal rules in June 2023","callToActionText":null,"width":1280,"caption":"13 MEPs called the European Parliament for reforming its internal rules in June 2023","url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/39\/26\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_0ef8e4d4-c475-5698-89b6-97874a17a832-8463926.jpg","captionUrl":null,"height":721}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"soler","twitter":"pausoler98","title":"Paula Soler"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[{"urlSafeValue":"trindade-p","twitter":null,"title":"Ines Trindade Pereira"}]},"keywords":[{"urlSafeValue":"european-elections-2024","titleRaw":"European elections 2024","id":29340,"title":"European elections 2024","slug":"european-elections-2024"},{"urlSafeValue":"european-parliament","titleRaw":"European Parliament","id":13844,"title":"European Parliament","slug":"european-parliament"},{"urlSafeValue":"eu-policy","titleRaw":"EU Policy","id":29232,"title":"EU Policy","slug":"eu-policy"}],"widgets":[{"count":1,"slug":"twitter"},{"count":2,"slug":"flourish"}],"related":[{"id":2551344},{"id":1845014},{"id":2532976}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"gIF58VjUeao"},"video":1,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"endDate":0,"startDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Marta Iraola-Iribarren","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"europe-news","urlSafeValue":"europe-news","title":"Europe 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News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":24,"urlSafeValue":"belgium","title":"Belgium","url":"\/news\/europe\/belgium"},"town":{"id":4129,"urlSafeValue":"brussels","title":"Brussels"},"grapeshot":"'gv_safe','gb_safe','gb_safe_from_high','gb_safe_from_high_med','gs_politics','eu_brussels_politics_pt','gs_politics_misc','gs_politics_elections'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet-brussels","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/my-europe\/2024\/05\/29\/lack-of-parental-leave-discourages-youth-from-running-for-elections","lastModified":1716962449},{"id":2550856,"cid":8461670,"versionId":2,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240529_CESU_55643059","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"CUBE EU ARMY MYTH","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Fact-check: Is the EU setting up a European army?","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Fact-check: Is the EU setting up a European army?","titleListing2":"Fact-check: Is the EU setting up a European army?","leadin":"Critics of the EU have long claimed that the bloc has created a joint army or soon will, citing calls from pro-European voices who want an ever-closer union. The Cube unpacks the myth.","summary":"Critics of the EU have long claimed that the bloc has created a joint army or soon will, citing calls from pro-European voices who want an ever-closer union. The Cube unpacks the myth.","keySentence":"","url":"fact-check-is-the-eu-setting-up-a-european-army","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/2024\/05\/29\/fact-check-is-the-eu-setting-up-a-european-army","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"The idea that the European Union has created or is creating a pan-European army that will conscript citizens from member states is often used to attack the bloc\u2019s leadership and general direction. \n\nIt\u2019s typically peddled by right-wing parties and Eurosceptics active on social media to accuse the EU of attacking its members\u2019 sovereignty. \n\nBut many proponents of \"ever closer union\" also invoke the idea, arguing that a European army as a way the continent can better defend itself and reduce its reliance on the US. \n\nOne of the best examples of EU army scare stories came during the Brexit debate, when \"Leave\" supporters whipped up fears of British citizens being drafted into a Europe-wide military force without any having say in the matter. \n\nIs there any truth in this? To put it simply: no, there\u2019s no such thing as an EU army, and nor will there be one in the near future. \n\n\"As far as I know, and I consider myself relatively informed, there are no secret plans locked up in offices somewhere in Brussels with this type of plan,\" said Professor Daniel Fiott, head\u00a0of the Defence and Statecraft Programme at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy of the Brussels School of Governance. \n\n\"So I think you kind of hit the nail on the head with the word 'myth' in this context and in this debate,\" he told The Cube. \n\nThe idea that the EU would set up an army is a particularly emotive issue, hence its susceptibility to false narratives: on the one hand, you have European federalists who yearn for a fully integrated European army, while on the other, you have those who believe it directly contradicts the notion of national independence. \n\nIt's worth pointing out that the idea of an EU army does have some distant foundation in fact, but it\u2019s not the case now. \n\nFiott noted that after World War II, in the 1950s, there was an attempt to set up a European army, but it failed. \n\nBelgium, West Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands all ratified the European Defence Community treaty, which would have set up a supranational army, yet it ultimately fell by the wayside when France and later Italy aborted the process. \n\nNevertheless, that failed effort obviously fuelled some of the suspicions we see today. \n\nThe EU does, of course, have a common security and defence policy, together with a defence agency, but it\u2019s a long way from maintaining an actual army. \n\nAccording to the bloc itself, the common policy \"enables the Union to take a leading role in peacekeeping operations, conflict prevention and in the strengthening of the international security. It is an integral part of the EU's comprehensive approach towards crisis management, drawing on civilian and military assets.\" \n\nFiott explained that the current arrangement effectively sees individual member states agreeing by treaty to cooperate closely on defence. \n\n\"What that really means in practice, and we have lots of cases of that, by the way, is that you can deploy force abroad, whether that be military force or even, in some cases, civilian experts,\" he said. \n\n\"The principle remains the same: that you have a head of a mission, but that mission is normally made up of individual member states, all collaborating with each other.\" \n\n\"And that basically means dedicating personnel to certain missions,\" Fiott added. \"And also deciding on how much money, financial resources or military capabilities should be pooled as part of that effort.\" \n\nThere are, of course, other European military partnerships and alliances too, most notably NATO. \n\nThe majority of the alliance\u2019s member states are also EU members, so rather than integrating their forces under EU mechanisms, further alignment through NATO might be the best way forward for European defence, according to Sven Biscop, professor of strategy and foreign policies at Ghent University, and director of the Europe in the World programme at Egmont, the Royal Institute for International Relations in Brussels. \n\n\"It strikes me that after 25 years of near standstill in terms of defence spending, capability development, the idea just seems to be to to carry on without any fundamental overhaul,\" he told The Cube. \"I don't think that that makes sense.\" \n\n\"My view is that we should shift our attention to what member states obviously find most important, and that is NATO,\" he said. \"So I would say: try to align the contributions of the European allies within NATO so that all European NATO allies together have a complete set of forces.\" \n\nBiscop explained that if European countries are lacking in any way militarily, they should be able to use EU instruments and the European defence fund to help European NATO allies build up what they're missing. \n\nAs things stand, the European forces within NATO can only be fully operational with the support of the US, according to Biscop, but that needs to change. \n\n\"My ideal instead is that in the end, the Europeans in NATO need but the single American to be effective, the 'Saceur': the so-called Supreme Allied Commander Europe, because that's always an American general,\" he said. \"With all the other assets, Europeans should be able to provide themselves, and there the EU instruments can help.\" \n\n","htmlText":"<p>The idea that the European Union has created or is creating a pan-European army that will conscript citizens from member states is often used to attack the bloc\u2019s leadership and general direction.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s typically peddled by right-wing parties and Eurosceptics active on social media to accuse the EU of attacking its members\u2019 sovereignty.<\/p>\n<p>But many proponents of \"ever closer union\" also invoke the idea, arguing that a European army as a way the continent can better defend itself and reduce its reliance on the US.<\/p>\n<p>One of the best examples of EU army scare stories came during the Brexit debate, when \"Leave\" supporters whipped up fears of British citizens being drafted into a Europe-wide military force without any having say in the matter.<\/p>\n<p>Is there any truth in this? To put it simply: no, there\u2019s no such thing as an EU army, and nor will there be one in the near future.<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"8449248,8442262\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//05//22//why-is-central-europe-at-a-heightened-risk-of-fake-news-ahead-of-the-european-elections/">Why is Central Europe at heightened risk of fake news ahead of European elections?<\/a> <\/li><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//05//20//fake-news-on-the-rise-as-the-european-elections-draw-near/">Fake news on the rise as the European elections draw near<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\"As far as I know, and I consider myself relatively informed, there are no secret plans locked up in offices somewhere in Brussels with this type of plan,\" said Professor Daniel Fiott, head\u00a0of the Defence and Statecraft Programme at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy of the Brussels School of Governance.<\/p>\n<p>\"So I think you kind of hit the nail on the head with the word 'myth' in this context and in this debate,\" he told The Cube.<\/p>\n<p>The idea that the EU would set up an army is a particularly emotive issue, hence its susceptibility to false narratives: on the one hand, you have European federalists who yearn for a fully integrated European army, while on the other, you have those who believe it directly contradicts the notion of national independence.<\/p>\n<p>It's worth pointing out that the idea of an EU army does have some distant foundation in fact, but it\u2019s not the case now.<\/p>\n<p>Fiott noted that after World War II, in the 1950s, there was an attempt to set up a European army, but it failed.<\/p>\n<p>Belgium, West Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands all ratified the European Defence Community treaty, which would have set up a supranational army, yet it ultimately fell by the wayside when France and later Italy aborted the process.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, that failed effort obviously fuelled some of the suspicions we see today.<\/p>\n<p>The EU does, of course, have a common security and defence policy, together with a defence agency, but it\u2019s a long way from maintaining an actual army.<\/p>\n<p>According to the bloc itself, the common policy \"enables the Union to take a leading role in peacekeeping operations, conflict prevention and in the strengthening of the international security. It is an integral part of the EU's comprehensive approach towards crisis management, drawing on civilian and military assets.\"<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6669921875\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//08//46//16//70//808x539_cmsv2_6386fa14-9e6d-572f-9989-8bed56a89240-8461670.jpg/" alt=\"From left, servicemen from Estonia, Britain and France attend the NATO's Spring Storm exercise in Kilingi-Nomme, Estonia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/16\/70\/384x256_cmsv2_6386fa14-9e6d-572f-9989-8bed56a89240-8461670.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/16\/70\/640x427_cmsv2_6386fa14-9e6d-572f-9989-8bed56a89240-8461670.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/16\/70\/750x500_cmsv2_6386fa14-9e6d-572f-9989-8bed56a89240-8461670.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/16\/70\/828x552_cmsv2_6386fa14-9e6d-572f-9989-8bed56a89240-8461670.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/16\/70\/1080x720_cmsv2_6386fa14-9e6d-572f-9989-8bed56a89240-8461670.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/16\/70\/1200x800_cmsv2_6386fa14-9e6d-572f-9989-8bed56a89240-8461670.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/16\/70\/1920x1281_cmsv2_6386fa14-9e6d-572f-9989-8bed56a89240-8461670.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">From left, servicemen from Estonia, Britain and France attend the NATO's Spring Storm exercise in Kilingi-Nomme, Estonia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Hendrik Osula\/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Fiott explained that the current arrangement effectively sees individual member states agreeing by treaty to cooperate closely on defence.<\/p>\n<p>\"What that really means in practice, and we have lots of cases of that, by the way, is that you can deploy force abroad, whether that be military force or even, in some cases, civilian experts,\" he said.<\/p>\n<p>\"The principle remains the same: that you have a head of a mission, but that mission is normally made up of individual member states, all collaborating with each other.\"<\/p>\n<p>\"And that basically means dedicating personnel to certain missions,\" Fiott added. \"And also deciding on how much money, financial resources or military capabilities should be pooled as part of that effort.\"<\/p>\n<p>There are, of course, other European military partnerships and alliances too, most notably NATO.<\/p>\n<p>The majority of the alliance\u2019s member states are also EU members, so rather than integrating their forces under EU mechanisms, further alignment through NATO might be the best way forward for European defence, according to Sven Biscop, professor of strategy and foreign policies at Ghent University, and director of the Europe in the World programme at Egmont, the Royal Institute for International Relations in Brussels.<\/p>\n<p>\"It strikes me that after 25 years of near standstill in terms of defence spending, capability development, the idea just seems to be to to carry on without any fundamental overhaul,\" he told The Cube. \"I don't think that that makes sense.\"<\/p>\n<p>\"My view is that we should shift our attention to what member states obviously find most important, and that is NATO,\" he said. \"So I would say: try to align the contributions of the European allies within NATO so that all European NATO allies together have a complete set of forces.\"<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-left\" data-ratio=\"0.6669921875\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//08//46//16//70//808x539_cmsv2_52e437c9-87e8-5af8-9027-2e913ab04526-8461670.jpg/" alt=\"Flags of NATO member countries flap in the wind outside NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, April 3, 2024.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/16\/70\/384x256_cmsv2_52e437c9-87e8-5af8-9027-2e913ab04526-8461670.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/16\/70\/640x427_cmsv2_52e437c9-87e8-5af8-9027-2e913ab04526-8461670.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/16\/70\/750x500_cmsv2_52e437c9-87e8-5af8-9027-2e913ab04526-8461670.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/16\/70\/828x552_cmsv2_52e437c9-87e8-5af8-9027-2e913ab04526-8461670.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/16\/70\/1080x720_cmsv2_52e437c9-87e8-5af8-9027-2e913ab04526-8461670.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/16\/70\/1200x800_cmsv2_52e437c9-87e8-5af8-9027-2e913ab04526-8461670.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/16\/70\/1920x1281_cmsv2_52e437c9-87e8-5af8-9027-2e913ab04526-8461670.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Flags of NATO member countries flap in the wind outside NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, April 3, 2024.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Virginia Mayo\/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Biscop explained that if European countries are lacking in any way militarily, they should be able to use EU instruments and the European defence fund to help European NATO allies build up what they're missing.<\/p>\n<p>As things stand, the European forces within NATO can only be fully operational with the support of the US, according to Biscop, but that needs to change.<\/p>\n<p>\"My ideal instead is that in the end, the Europeans in NATO need but the single American to be effective, the 'Saceur': the so-called Supreme Allied Commander Europe, because that's always an American general,\" he said. \"With all the other assets, Europeans should be able to provide themselves, and there the EU instruments can help.\"<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1716817795,"updatedAt":1716959202,"publishedAt":1716959156,"firstPublishedAt":1716901988,"lastPublishedAt":1716959156,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Canva\/Euronews","altText":"The myth that the EU is creating a European army has resurged on social media ahead of the European elections","callToActionText":null,"width":1920,"caption":"The myth that the EU is creating a European army has resurged on social media ahead of the European elections","url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/16\/70\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_4235f3d7-fe19-5b63-9c4d-724ce2e4eb3b-8461670.jpg","captionUrl":null,"height":1080},{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":null,"altText":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"caption":null,"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/16\/70\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_6386fa14-9e6d-572f-9989-8bed56a89240-8461670.jpg","captionUrl":null,"height":683},{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":null,"altText":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"caption":null,"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/16\/70\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_52e437c9-87e8-5af8-9027-2e913ab04526-8461670.jpg","captionUrl":null,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"thomas-ja","twitter":"@jwjthomas","title":"James Thomas"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"urlSafeValue":"army","titleRaw":"Army","id":4687,"title":"Army","slug":"army"},{"urlSafeValue":"defence","titleRaw":"Defence","id":68,"title":"Defence","slug":"defence"},{"urlSafeValue":"european-elections-2024","titleRaw":"European elections 2024","id":29340,"title":"European elections 2024","slug":"european-elections-2024"},{"urlSafeValue":"fact-checking","titleRaw":"Fact checking","id":26642,"title":"Fact 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Decoded"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":24,"urlSafeValue":"belgium","title":"Belgium","url":"\/news\/europe\/belgium"},"town":{"id":3270,"urlSafeValue":"brussels","title":"Brussels"},"grapeshot":"'gb_safe','gb_safe_from_high','gb_safe_from_high_med','pos_ukrainecriris_ru','gs_politics','gs_politics_issues_policy','gs_politics_misc','gt_negative','gt_negative_mistrust'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/my-europe\/2024\/05\/29\/fact-check-is-the-eu-setting-up-a-european-army","lastModified":1716959156},{"id":2551458,"cid":8463638,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240528_BZBX_55650262","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"EU AUDITORS REPORT ON AI","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Commission should invest more in AI, Auditors say","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Commission should invest more in AI, Auditors say","titleListing2":"Commission should invest more in AI, Auditors say","leadin":"Despite AI regulation, the EU Executive fails to coordinate national plans.","summary":"Despite AI regulation, the EU Executive fails to coordinate national plans.","keySentence":"","url":"commission-should-invest-more-in-ai-auditors-say","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/2024\/05\/28\/commission-should-invest-more-in-ai-auditors-say","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"The European Commission needs to invest more in artificial intelligence if it wants to achieve its ambitions and be on a par with the US and China, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) said in a report published today (29 May). \n\nThe auditors, responsible for vetting EU finances, said that despite developing AI regulation \u2013 which will formally enter into force next month \u2013 the Commission failed to coordinate with the individual member states on AI policy and to systematically monitor investment. \n\n\u201cGoing forward, stronger governance and more \u2013 and better targeted \u2013 public and private investment will be paramount if the EU is to achieve its AI ambitions,\u201d the report said. \n\nThe audit \u2013 conducted through surveys at the 27 national authorities in charge of coordinating AI policies \u2013 looked mainly at the effectiveness of the Commission\u2019s actions in overseeing national AI plans in 2018 and 2021, regulatory reforms and the implementation of EU-funded measures to stimulate the deployment and scaling-up of AI innovations. \n\nThe report shows that bloc-wide and national measures were \u201cnot effectively coordinated\u201d because the Commission lacked the necessary governance tools and information. For example, it was unclear how member states should contribute to achieving EU investment targets.\u00a0 \n\nIn addition, the Commission was slow to implement new facilities for bringing AI innovation into the market, partly due to the late adoption of the Digital Europe funding programme, which meant that significant results were not achieved by the time of the audit. \n\n\u201cSizeable and focused AI investment is a game-changer in setting the speed of EU economic growth in the years to come,\u201d said ECA member Mihails Kozlovs, who led the audit. \u201cIn the AI race, there is a risk that the winner takes it all. If the EU wishes to succeed in its ambition, the Commission and the member states must join forces more effectively, pick up the pace, and unlock the EU\u2019s potential to succeed in this ongoing major technological revolution,\u201d Kozlovs said. \n\nFrance \n\nThe US has long been a frontrunner in AI, while China plans to become the global AI leader by 2030, the report said, with both relying on substantial private investment. The EU\u2019s AI targets for public and private investment were \u20ac20bn over the 2018-2020 period, and \u20ac20bn each year over the following decade. \n\nThe share of businesses in the EU using AI differs significantly between member states. France and Germany for example have announced the largest public AI investments, while some other countries have failed develop any national AI strategy. Earlier this week (22 May) France's President Emmanuel Macron announced investment aiming to project the country to become a world leader on AI. A new programme will see investment of \u20ac400m across nine universities to facilitate AI research sites and grow talent in the sector.\u00a0 \n\nThe EU aims to see 75% of firms using AI by 2030, claiming that adoption of such technologies by companies and the public sector can lead to productivity gains and help solve societal challenges. \n\nThe European Commission has been contacted for a response. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>The European Commission needs to invest more in artificial intelligence if it wants to achieve its ambitions and be on a par with the US and China, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) said in a report published today (29 May).<\/p>\n<p>The auditors, responsible for vetting EU finances, said that despite developing AI regulation \u2013 which will formally enter into force next month \u2013 the Commission failed to coordinate with the individual member states on AI policy and to systematically monitor investment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGoing forward, stronger governance and more \u2013 and better targeted \u2013 public and private investment will be paramount if the EU is to achieve its AI ambitions,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n<p>The audit \u2013 conducted through surveys at the 27 national authorities in charge of coordinating AI policies \u2013 looked mainly at the effectiveness of the Commission\u2019s actions in overseeing national AI plans in 2018 and 2021, regulatory reforms and the implementation of EU-funded measures to stimulate the deployment and scaling-up of AI innovations.<\/p>\n<p>The report shows that bloc-wide and national measures were \u201cnot effectively coordinated\u201d because the Commission lacked the necessary governance tools and information. For example, it was unclear how member states should contribute to achieving EU investment targets.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In addition, the Commission was slow to implement new facilities for bringing AI innovation into the market, partly due to the late adoption of the Digital Europe funding programme, which meant that significant results were not achieved by the time of the audit.<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"8451328,8456794,8455558\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//next//2024//05//24//ai-could-both-help-and-harm-the-environment-depending-on-how-its-used-piccard-says/">AI could help or harm the environment depending on how it\u2019s used, Piccard says<\/a> <\/li><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//next//2024//05//22//macron-announces-new-investments-in-tech-says-paris-will-be-city-of-ai/">Macron announces new investments in tech, says Paris will be \u2018city of AI\u2019<\/a> <\/li><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2024//05//23//vivatech-2024-artificial-intelligence-takes-centre-stage-at-annual-french-tech-show/">VivaTech 2024: Artificial intelligence takes centre stage at annual French tech show<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cSizeable and focused AI investment is a game-changer in setting the speed of EU economic growth in the years to come,\u201d said ECA member Mihails Kozlovs, who led the audit. \u201cIn the AI race, there is a risk that the winner takes it all. If the EU wishes to succeed in its ambition, the Commission and the member states must join forces more effectively, pick up the pace, and unlock the EU\u2019s potential to succeed in this ongoing major technological revolution,\u201d Kozlovs said.<\/p>\n<h2>France<\/h2><p>The US has long been a frontrunner in AI, while China plans to become the global AI leader by 2030, the report said, with both relying on substantial private investment. The EU\u2019s AI targets for public and private investment were \u20ac20bn over the 2018-2020 period, and \u20ac20bn each year over the following decade.<\/p>\n<p>The share of businesses in the EU using AI differs significantly between member states. France and Germany for example have announced the largest public AI investments, while some other countries have failed develop any national AI strategy. Earlier this week (22 May) France's President Emmanuel Macron <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//next//2024//05//22//macron-announces-new-investments-in-tech-says-paris-will-be-city-of-ai/">announced investment aiming to project the country to become a world leader on AI. A new programme will see investment of \u20ac400m across nine universities to facilitate AI research sites and grow talent in the sector.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The EU aims to see 75% of firms using AI by 2030, claiming that adoption of such technologies by companies and the public sector can lead to productivity gains and help solve societal challenges.<\/p>\n<p><em>The European Commission has been contacted for a response.<\/em><\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1716890853,"updatedAt":1716933836,"publishedAt":1716933788,"firstPublishedAt":1716891484,"lastPublishedAt":1716933788,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/36\/38\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_bbe92130-c24c-5481-b7a1-bc70719d22fd-8463638.jpg","altText":"Robots on display at the Viva Technology fair in Paris.","caption":"Robots on display at the Viva Technology fair in Paris.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Michel Euler\/Copyright 2017 The AP. All rights reserved.","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":4500,"height":3012}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"kroet","title":"Cynthia Kroet","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":29232,"slug":"eu-policy","urlSafeValue":"eu-policy","title":"EU Policy","titleRaw":"EU Policy"},{"id":12661,"slug":"artificial-intelligence","urlSafeValue":"artificial-intelligence","title":"Artificial intelligence","titleRaw":"Artificial intelligence"},{"id":11071,"slug":"investment","urlSafeValue":"investment","title":"Investment","titleRaw":"Investment"},{"id":15198,"slug":"digital-economy","urlSafeValue":"digital-economy","title":"Digital Economy","titleRaw":"Digital Economy"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2504380},{"id":2498748},{"id":2498008}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"tech-news","urlSafeValue":"tech-news","title":"Tech News","online":0,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/tech-news\/tech-news"},"vertical":"next","verticals":[{"id":9,"slug":"next","urlSafeValue":"next","title":"Next"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":9,"slug":"next","urlSafeValue":"next","title":"Next"},"themes":[{"id":"tech-news","urlSafeValue":"tech-news","title":"Tech News","url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/tech-news"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":40,"urlSafeValue":"tech-news","title":"Tech News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":24,"urlSafeValue":"belgium","title":"Belgium","url":"\/news\/europe\/belgium"},"town":{"id":3270,"urlSafeValue":"brussels","title":"Brussels"},"grapeshot":"'gv_safe','gb_safe','gb_safe_from_high','gb_safe_from_high_med','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','pos_ukraine-russia','gs_busfin','gs_politics','gs_tech_computing','gs_tech','gs_politics_issues_policy','gs_politics_misc','gs_busfin_economy','gt_mixed','bespoke_kaspersky','eu_brussels_politics_eng','gs_business_misc','shadow9hu7_pos_ukrainecrisis','neg_facebook_q4','custom_investment'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet-brussels","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/next\/2024\/05\/29\/commission-should-invest-more-in-ai-auditors-say","lastModified":1716933788},{"id":2551700,"cid":8464518,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240528_HLBX_55652990","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"State aids Health","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Commission greenlights \u20ac1bn cross-border state aid to enhance drug discovery","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":null,"titleListing2":"The EU executive approves investment to fill unmet medical needs with a cross-border state aid scheme to develop and test novel drugs as well as advanced therapy products.","leadin":"The EU executive approves investment to fill unmet medical needs with a cross-border state aid scheme to develop and test novel drugs as well as advanced therapy products.","summary":"The EU executive approves investment to fill unmet medical needs with a cross-border state aid scheme to develop and test novel drugs as well as advanced therapy products.","keySentence":"","url":"commission-greenlights-1bn-cross-border-state-aid-to-enhance-drug-discovery","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/health\/2024\/05\/28\/commission-greenlights-1bn-cross-border-state-aid-to-enhance-drug-discovery","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"The European Commission today (28 May) approved its first Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) in the health sector - dubbed \u2018Med4Cure\u2019 - enabling \u20ac1bn in public funding across six countries to benefit from lighter touch state aid approvals. \n\nThe IPCEI framework provides the Commission with lighter state aid rules to assess public funding of projects involving at least four member states working together on research and development. \n\nMed4Cure involves 14 projects by 13 companies in six EU countries \u2013 Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, and Spain \u2013 which will combine to provide up to \u20ac1bn in public funding. \n\nThe initial public aid allowed by the EU is expected to unlock nearly \u20ac6bn in additional private investment to fund the lifetime of projects whose completion is not anticipated before 2036. \n\n\u201cThe main scope [of Med4Cure] is to turn scientific knowledge into real innovative treatments for conditions such as diabetes and heart diseases,\u201d Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager told reporters, touting the significance of IPCEIs in the EU policy toolbox. \n\n\u201cMed4Cure will support breakthrough innovation in the health space. It focuses on developing treatments for so-called orphan diseases, which affect fewer than 1 in 2000 people,\u201d said Vestager. \n\nOne project, for instance, will develop and test advanced therapy products made from human biological material to restore the cornea of patients with visual impairment caused by a rare disease. \n\nThe Med4Cure initiative will be focused on different workstreams, from collecting and studying samples of bioresources such as tissues and blood to developing a network of biobanks that could improve the understanding of viruses and various diseases. \n\nOther workstreams will include preclinical models to test novel therapies and diagnostic methods, the validation of vaccines and gene therapies, and the development of more sustainable technologies for producing pharmaceuticals \u2013 for instance, to reduce water use in the industrial process. \n\nThe Commission has approved nine other IPCEIs since 2018 \u2013 including on next-generation cloud services, batteries, microelectronics and the hydrogen value chain. \n\nThese projects have involved 22 member states, with the Commission assessing more than 330 projects from nearly 250 companies. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>The European Commission today (28 May) approved its first Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) in the health sector - dubbed \u2018Med4Cure\u2019 - enabling \u20ac1bn in public funding across six countries to benefit from lighter touch state aid approvals.<\/p>\n<p>The IPCEI framework provides the Commission with lighter state aid rules to assess public funding of projects involving at least four member states working together on research and development.<\/p>\n<p>Med4Cure involves 14 projects by 13 companies in six EU countries \u2013 Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, and Spain \u2013 which will combine to provide up to \u20ac1bn in public funding.<\/p>\n<p>The initial public aid allowed by the EU is expected to unlock nearly \u20ac6bn in additional private investment to fund the lifetime of projects whose completion is not anticipated before 2036.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe main scope [of Med4Cure] is to turn scientific knowledge into real innovative treatments for conditions such as diabetes and heart diseases,\u201d Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager told reporters, touting the significance of IPCEIs in the EU policy toolbox.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMed4Cure will support breakthrough innovation in the health space. It focuses on developing treatments for so-called orphan diseases, which affect fewer than 1 in 2000 people,\u201d said Vestager.<\/p>\n<p>One project, for instance, will develop and test advanced therapy products made from human biological material to restore the cornea of patients with visual impairment caused by a rare disease.<\/p>\n<p>The Med4Cure initiative will be focused on different workstreams, from collecting and studying samples of bioresources such as tissues and blood to developing a network of biobanks that could improve the understanding of viruses and various diseases.<\/p>\n<p>Other workstreams will include preclinical models to test novel therapies and diagnostic methods, the validation of vaccines and gene therapies, and the development of more sustainable technologies for producing pharmaceuticals \u2013 for instance, to reduce water use in the industrial process.<\/p>\n<p>The Commission has approved nine other IPCEIs since 2018 \u2013 including on next-generation cloud services, batteries, microelectronics and the hydrogen value chain.<\/p>\n<p>These projects have involved 22 member states, with the Commission assessing more than 330 projects from nearly 250 companies.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1716906146,"updatedAt":1716908520,"publishedAt":1716908516,"firstPublishedAt":1716908520,"lastPublishedAt":1716908516,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/45\/18\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_01578d8f-6e31-5838-a336-6beea8fe3ad2-8464518.jpg","altText":"Med4Cure involves 14 projects by 13 companies in six EU countries \u2013 Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, and Spain.","caption":"Med4Cure involves 14 projects by 13 companies in six EU countries \u2013 Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, and Spain.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"David Vincent\/Copyright 2021 The AP. All rights reserved","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":5472,"height":3648},{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/45\/18\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_dba33d3b-58d3-5ee4-832d-729cb96b12f3-8464518.jpg","altText":"Lorem","caption":"Lorem","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"David Vincent\/Copyright 2021 The AP. All rights reserved","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"fortuna","title":"Gerardo Fortuna","twitter":"@gerardofortuna"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":29232,"slug":"eu-policy","urlSafeValue":"eu-policy","title":"EU Policy","titleRaw":"EU Policy"},{"id":385,"slug":"pharmaceutical-companies","urlSafeValue":"pharmaceutical-companies","title":"Pharmaceutical companies","titleRaw":"Pharmaceutical companies"},{"id":13574,"slug":"drugs","urlSafeValue":"drugs","title":"Drugs","titleRaw":"Drugs"},{"id":12806,"slug":"research-development","urlSafeValue":"research-development","title":"Research & Development","titleRaw":"Research & Development"},{"id":90,"slug":"eu-commission","urlSafeValue":"eu-commission","title":"European Commission","titleRaw":"European Commission"},{"id":21108,"slug":"public-money","urlSafeValue":"public-money","title":"public money","titleRaw":"public money"}],"widgets":[],"related":[{"id":2504388},{"id":2483694},{"id":2542644}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"health-news","urlSafeValue":"health-news","title":"Health news","online":0,"url":"\/\/www.euronews.com\/health\/health-news\/health-news"},"vertical":"health","verticals":[{"id":12,"slug":"health","urlSafeValue":"health","title":"Health"},{"id":2,"slug":"my-europe","urlSafeValue":"my-europe","title":"My Europe"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":12,"slug":"health","urlSafeValue":"health","title":"Health"},"themes":[{"id":"health-news","urlSafeValue":"health-news","title":"Health 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Belgium"},"grapeshot":"'gv_safe','gb_safe','gb_safe_from_high','gb_safe_from_high_med','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','pos_ukraine-russia','pos_ukrainecrisis','gs_health','gt_positive','gt_positive_curiosity','gs_politics','gs_health_misc','gs_politics_issues_policy','gs_politics_misc','neg_intel_en','neg_mobkoi_castrol','gs_science_misc','gs_science','gs_health_specialities','eu_brussels_politics_eng','custom_politics_brussels'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet-brussels","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/health\/2024\/05\/28\/commission-greenlights-1bn-cross-border-state-aid-to-enhance-drug-discovery","lastModified":1716908516},{"id":2551634,"cid":8464212,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240528_GNSU_55651993","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"EU-AU MOU CRM","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Commission clinches raw materials deal with Australia","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Commission clinches raw materials deal with Australia","titleListing2":"Commission clinches raw materials deal with Australia","leadin":"Trade partnership will give access to a vast pool of critical raw minerals to assist the EU aim of diversifying supply.","summary":"Trade partnership will give access to a vast pool of critical raw minerals to assist the EU aim of diversifying supply.","keySentence":"","url":"commission-clinches-raw-materials-deal-with-australia","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/green\/2024\/05\/28\/commission-clinches-raw-materials-deal-with-australia","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"The European Commission today (28 May) announced it has forged its 13th trade partnership designed to source critical raw materials from outside the bloc, with Australia. \n\nValdis Dombrovskis and Thierry Breton, respectively commissioners for trade and the internal market, appeared alongside signatory Australian trade minister Don Farrell, claiming the deal was \u201cbased on mutual benefits\u201d \u2014 enabling the EU to diversify supply, and the development of Canberra\u2019s domestic critical minerals sector. \n\nAustralia is one of the world's leading producers of aluminium ore, cobalt, copper, iron ore, lithium, lead, rare earth elements, uranium, and zinc, all of which deemed indispensable for the manufacturing of batteries fit to power electric vehicles (EVs) \u2014 a flagship EU executive ambition under the so-called European Green Deal to decarbonise transport and slash carbon dioxide and air pollution levels. \n\nThe trade deal should come into force over the next six months, according to the Commission, and sets out cooperation on the integration of sustainable raw materials value chains, research and innovation as well as the promotion of environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards. \n\n\u201cOur trade partnership focuses on integrated value chains, boosting research and innovation for both sides as well as sustainable production. This will also help us to deliver the green and digital transition,\u201d said Dombrovkis. \n\nFrench commissioner Breton said today\u2019s deal \u201cwill boost cooperation, investments and business opportunities\u201d. \n\n\u201cWe now need to move forward swiftly and work together with governments and private sector to unlock the full investment and business potential,\u201d he added. \n\nThe Australian minister echoed Breton, saying the trade partnership \u201cwill encourage investment from the EU into Australian renewable energy projects\u201d, and adding that the country\u2019s minerals will make a great contribution to the development of EVs and wind turbines. \n\n\u201cInvestment from our international partners is vital to achieving Australia\u2019s full potential as a Renewable Energy Superpower \u2013 and helps create more secure well-paid jobs for Australians,\u201d said Farrell \n\nThe EU had been courting Australia since last year, having reportedly failed to secure a deal on the sidelines of the G7 trade ministers in Japan, last October, due to the bloc\u2019s rules on geographic indicators which would block Australian producers from labelling products with European names such as \u2018prosecco\u2019 or \u2018feta\u2019. During a flash visit to Brussels last summer, Farrell also expressed lack of enthusiasm with the offers given by the EU for Australian beef, lamb and sugar producers. \n\nDivergencies among the parties were overcome with today\u2019s signing of a trade deal, and add Australia to the growing list of countries with whom the EU has concluded similar agreements: Argentina, Canada, Chile, Democratic Republic of Congo, Greenland, Kazakhstan, Namibia, Norway, Rwanda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Zambia. A partnership with Serbia is looming too, Euronews learned during a high-level event on raw materials held recently in Brussels. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>The European Commission today (28 May) announced it has forged its 13th trade partnership designed to source critical raw materials from outside the bloc, with Australia.<\/p>\n<p>Valdis Dombrovskis and Thierry Breton, respectively commissioners for trade and the internal market, appeared alongside signatory Australian trade minister Don Farrell, claiming the deal was \u201cbased on mutual benefits\u201d \u2014 enabling the EU to diversify supply, and the development of Canberra\u2019s domestic critical minerals sector.<\/p>\n<p>Australia is one of the world's leading producers of aluminium ore, cobalt, copper, iron ore, lithium, lead, rare earth elements, uranium, and zinc, all of which deemed indispensable for the manufacturing of batteries fit to power <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//business//2024//04//19//car-sales-in-europe-decline-is-the-future-of-electric-vehicles-at-stake/">electric vehicles<\/a> (EVs) \u2014 a flagship EU executive ambition under the so-called European Green Deal to decarbonise transport and slash carbon dioxide and air pollution levels.<\/p>\n<p>The trade deal should come into force over the next six months, according to the Commission, and sets out cooperation on the integration of sustainable raw materials value chains, research and innovation as well as the promotion of environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur trade partnership focuses on integrated value chains, boosting research and innovation for both sides as well as sustainable production. This will also help us to deliver the green and digital transition,\u201d said Dombrovkis.<\/p>\n<p>French commissioner Breton said today\u2019s deal \u201cwill boost cooperation, investments and business opportunities\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe now need to move forward swiftly and work together with governments and private sector to unlock the full investment and business potential,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>The Australian minister echoed Breton, saying the trade partnership \u201cwill encourage investment from the EU into Australian renewable energy projects\u201d, and adding that the country\u2019s minerals will make a great contribution to the development of EVs and wind turbines.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInvestment from our international partners is vital to achieving Australia\u2019s full potential as a Renewable Energy Superpower \u2013 and helps create more secure well-paid jobs for Australians,\u201d said Farrell<\/p>\n<p>The EU had been courting Australia since last year, having reportedly failed to secure a deal on the sidelines of the G7 trade ministers in Japan, last October, due to the bloc\u2019s rules on geographic indicators which would block Australian producers from labelling products with European names such as \u2018prosecco\u2019 or \u2018feta\u2019. During a flash visit to Brussels last summer, Farrell also expressed lack of enthusiasm with the offers given by the EU for Australian beef, lamb and sugar producers.<\/p>\n<p>Divergencies among the parties were overcome with today\u2019s signing of a trade deal, and add Australia to the growing list of countries with whom the EU has concluded similar agreements: Argentina, Canada, Chile, Democratic Republic of Congo, Greenland, Kazakhstan, Namibia, Norway, Rwanda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Zambia. A partnership with <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2024//05//17//commissioner-touts-imminent-agreement-with-serbia-on-raw-materials/">Serbia is looming too, Euronews learned during a high-level event on raw materials held recently in Brussels.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1716901451,"updatedAt":1716908291,"publishedAt":1716908285,"firstPublishedAt":1716908291,"lastPublishedAt":1716908285,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/42\/12\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_1d2c3249-5dd4-5771-94ee-eff51d9824c7-8464212.jpg","altText":"The open pit of the Greenbushes mine, Western Australia, seen from the public mine lookout.","caption":"The open pit of the Greenbushes mine, Western Australia, seen from the public mine lookout.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Calistemon \/ Wikimedia 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LUFTHANSA ITA","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Trade unions push Brussels to approve Lufthansa\u2019s \u20ac325m ITA buy","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Trade unions push Brussels to approve Lufthansa\u2019s \u20ac325m ITA buy ","titleListing2":"Trade unions push Brussels to approve Lufthansa\u2019s \u20ac325m ITA buy","leadin":"EU antitrust officials are worried the takeover of the former Alitalia fleet could raise prices and cut choice on flights to central Europe and the US.","summary":"EU antitrust officials are worried the takeover of the former Alitalia fleet could raise prices and cut choice on flights to central Europe and the US.","keySentence":"","url":"trade-unions-push-brussels-to-approve-lufthansas-325m-ita-buy","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/business\/2024\/05\/28\/trade-unions-push-brussels-to-approve-lufthansas-325m-ita-buy","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Airline staff representatives today (28 May) called for Brussels to act rapidly to allow Lufthansa\u2019s \u20ac325m purchase of Italy's state-owned ITA Airways stock. \n\nThe letter seen by Euronews adds to pressure on Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission\u2019s lead antitrust official, as time runs out for her to take a view on the deal. \n\n\u201cA quick and positive decision\" on the merger can \u201csignal that you, the EU Commission, are focusing on strength, competitiveness in a fair market environment and growth in Europe,\u201d said the letter, dated 28 May and signed by 11 aviation unions including Germany\u2019s ver.di and Italy\u2019s ANPAC. \n\n\u201cThe aim must be to strengthen our European aviation industry, its value creation, its jobs with European standards and to keep its tax revenues in Europe,\u201d added the letter, sent to Vestager and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. \n\nThe letter also cites the existing burden of EU environmental laws, Russian sanctions, and asymmetric market access on the sector. \n\nThe case is causing a political storm in Italy, and transport minister Matteo Salvini has said Brussels blocking the deal would be tantamount to a \u201chostile act\u201d. \n\nItaly\u2019s economics and finance ministry is sole shareholder in ITA, which took over from Alitalia, the debt-stricken 70-year-old flag carrier which saw its final flight in 2021. \n\nIn a March statement, the Commission raised concerns that the Lufthansa-ITA deal could limit choice on flights between Italy and central Europe, and give ITA a dominant position at Milan\u2019s Linate airport. \n\nLufthansa already forms part of the Star Alliance with major global players such as United Airlines, and Brussels fears further consolidation could curb long-haul competition still more on routes to the US, Canada and Japan. \n\nAntitrust officials are now locked in talks to see if Lufthansa can offer any remedies, such as shedding services to alleviate competition concerns. \n\nThe deadline for the Commission\u2019s decision is 4 July \u2013 meaning it comes at a politically tense time, as von der Leyen seeks approval for a second term in office from EU leaders, including Italy\u2019s Giorgia Meloni. \n\nAt a press conference today, Vestager said the Lufthansa-ITA case was \u201congoing\u201d, with officials still examining potential remedies. \n\nVestager said she'd approved the \u201chuge majority\u201d of thousands of merger cases, with outright prohibitions \u201creally rare\u201d. \n\nBut Brussels has on occasion stood firm under political pressure, blocking a planned rail sector tie-up between Siemens and Alstom that had been championed by Paris and Berlin. \n\nA Commission spokesperson did not immediately respond to a comment on the letter. \n\nA Lufthansa spokesperson told Euronews it remained confident of getting a green light from the Commission, but declined to comment on remedies it had proposed.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\n","htmlText":"<p>Airline staff representatives today (28 May) called for Brussels to act rapidly to allow Lufthansa\u2019s \u20ac325m purchase of Italy's state-owned ITA Airways stock.<\/p>\n<p>The letter seen by Euronews adds to pressure on Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission\u2019s lead antitrust official, as time runs out for her to take a view on the deal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA quick and positive decision\" on the merger can \u201csignal that you, the EU Commission, are focusing on strength, competitiveness in a fair market environment and growth in Europe,\u201d said the letter, dated 28 May and signed by 11 aviation unions including Germany\u2019s ver.di and Italy\u2019s ANPAC.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe aim must be to strengthen our European aviation industry, its value creation, its jobs with European standards and to keep its tax revenues in Europe,\u201d added the letter, sent to Vestager and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.<\/p>\n<p>The letter also cites the existing burden of EU environmental laws, Russian sanctions, and asymmetric market access on the sector.<\/p>\n<p>The case is causing a political storm in Italy, and transport minister Matteo Salvini has said Brussels blocking the deal would be tantamount to a \u201chostile act\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Italy\u2019s economics and finance ministry is sole shareholder in ITA, which took over from Alitalia, the debt-stricken 70-year-old flag carrier which saw its final flight in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>In a March statement, the Commission raised concerns that the Lufthansa-ITA deal could limit choice on flights between Italy and central Europe, and give ITA a dominant position at Milan\u2019s Linate airport.<\/p>\n<p>Lufthansa already forms part of the Star Alliance with major global players such as United Airlines, and Brussels fears further consolidation could curb long-haul competition still more on routes to the US, Canada and Japan.<\/p>\n<p>Antitrust officials are now locked in talks to see if Lufthansa can offer any remedies, such as shedding services to alleviate competition concerns.<\/p>\n<p>The deadline for the Commission\u2019s decision is 4 July \u2013 meaning it comes at a politically tense time, as von der Leyen seeks approval for a second term in office from EU leaders, including Italy\u2019s Giorgia Meloni.<\/p>\n<p>At a press conference today, Vestager said the Lufthansa-ITA case was \u201congoing\u201d, with officials still examining potential remedies.<\/p>\n<p>Vestager said she'd approved the \u201chuge majority\u201d of thousands of merger cases, with outright prohibitions \u201creally rare\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>But Brussels has on occasion stood firm under political pressure, blocking a planned rail sector tie-up between Siemens and Alstom that had been championed by Paris and Berlin.<\/p>\n<p>A Commission spokesperson did not immediately respond to a comment on the letter.<\/p>\n<p>A Lufthansa spokesperson told Euronews it remained confident of getting a green light from the Commission, but declined to comment on remedies it had proposed.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1716905171,"updatedAt":1716906675,"publishedAt":1716906670,"firstPublishedAt":1716906675,"lastPublishedAt":1716906670,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/04\/38\/26\/80\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_c1c91f67-0a3b-5a3f-8283-78c979347f8d-4382680.jpg","altText":"Lufthansa needs EU permission to buy ITA Airways","caption":"Lufthansa needs EU permission to buy ITA Airways","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":5095,"height":3442}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"schickler","title":"Jack Schickler","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":29232,"slug":"eu-policy","urlSafeValue":"eu-policy","title":"EU Policy","titleRaw":"EU 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News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":24,"urlSafeValue":"belgium","title":"Belgium","url":"\/news\/europe\/belgium"},"town":{"id":3270,"urlSafeValue":"brussels","title":"Brussels"},"grapeshot":"'gv_safe','gb_safe','gb_safe_from_high','gb_safe_from_high_med','pos_equinor','pos_facebook','pos_pmi','pos_ukraine-russia','gs_busfin','gs_politics','gs_politics_issues_policy','gs_politics_misc','gs_busfin_indus_aviation','gs_busfin_indus','gs_travel','gs_travel_type','custom_politics_brussels','italy_eng','shadow9hu7_pos_ukrainecrisis','eu_brussels_politics_eng','custom_investment','neg_facebook'","versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"sujet","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"path":"\/my-europe\/2024\/05\/28\/trade-unions-push-brussels-to-approve-lufthansas-325m-ita-buy","lastModified":1716906670},{"id":2551692,"cid":8464470,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":"240528_GNSU_55652879","owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"HYDROGEN STATE AID EU","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Brussels green lights \u20ac1.4bn in state subsidy for hydrogen projects","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Brussels green lights \u20ac1.4bn in state subsidy for hydrogen projects","titleListing2":"Brussels green lights \u20ac1.4bn in state subsidy for hydrogen projects","leadin":"The European Commission hopes to further boost EU clean energy technology by approving whopping state subsidies for a range of projects aimed at using hydrogen to replace fossil fuels in tranport.","summary":"The European Commission hopes to further boost EU clean energy technology by approving whopping state subsidies for a range of projects aimed at using hydrogen to replace fossil fuels in tranport.","keySentence":"","url":"brussels-green-lights-14bn-in-state-subsidy-for-hydrogen-projects","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/business\/2024\/05\/28\/brussels-green-lights-14bn-in-state-subsidy-for-hydrogen-projects","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Airbus, BMW and Michelin are among 11 companies set to receive millions in public subsidy to develop low-carbon hydrogen technology after EU competition officials approved a whopping package of state aid for an \u2018important project of common European interest\u2019 (IPCEI). \n\n\nThe Hy2Move project, which as its name implies is intended to develop transport fuels, was prepared jointly by Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Slovakia and Spain, who requested an exemption from single market rules that normally prohibit national subsidies. \n\nIt is hoped the state aid will be matched by \u20ac3.3bn in private sector investment into projects such as developing fuels cells sufficiently powerful for use in ships and trains, and lightweight hydrogen tanks that can safely store the explosive gas for use as an aviation fuel. \n\nAlthough it named the companies involved \u2013 also including smaller firms such as Slovak light aircraft maker Tomark and Estonian energy storage firm Skeleton \u2013 the Commission said it was unable to reveal details of the specific projects for which state aid has been approved until it has agreed \u201con any confidential business secrets that need to be removed\u201d. \n\nHy2Move is the fourth green hydrogen-related IPCEI to be approved after projects related to technology development, new real-world applications and infrastructure, and brings the total approved state subsidies to \u20ac18.9bn. \n\nMargrethe Vestager, the European Commission vice-president responsible for competition policy, said hydrogen could help decarbonise transport, but that up-front investment could be \u201crisky for one state or one company alone\u201d. She stressed that the anticipated private sector investment was a concrete figure based on calls for expressions of interest and agreements within the member states concerned, and not merely an expression of hope. \n\nThe upsurge of attention to hydrogen as a potential solution for decarbonising transport and heavy industry has led to talk of \u2018hydrogen hype\u2019, and even Commission officials have expressed doubts about meeting the 2030 annual production target of 10 million tonnes of green hydrogen. \n\nUnder a recently adopted package of gas market rules, the European Commission has yet to develop legal criteria for \u2018low-carbon hydrogen\u2019, which NGOs warned last month must be robust enough to ensure \u2018blue\u2019 hydrogen made from natural gas is a genuinely climate friendly, and not merely a means of prolonging demand for the fossil fuel. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>Airbus, BMW and Michelin are among 11 companies set to receive millions in public subsidy to develop low-carbon hydrogen technology after EU competition officials approved a whopping package of state aid for an \u2018important project of common European interest\u2019 (IPCEI). <\/p>\n<p>The Hy2Move project, which as its name implies is intended to develop transport fuels, was prepared jointly by Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Slovakia and Spain, who requested an exemption from single market rules that normally prohibit national subsidies.<\/p>\n<p>It is hoped the state aid will be matched by \u20ac3.3bn in private sector investment into projects such as developing fuels cells sufficiently powerful for use in ships and trains, and lightweight hydrogen tanks that can safely store the explosive gas for use as an aviation fuel.<\/p>\n<p>Although it named the companies involved \u2013 also including smaller firms such as Slovak light aircraft maker Tomark and Estonian energy storage firm Skeleton \u2013 the Commission said it was unable to reveal details of the specific projects for which state aid has been approved until it has agreed \u201con any confidential business secrets that need to be removed\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Hy2Move is the fourth green hydrogen-related IPCEI to be approved after projects related to technology development, new real-world applications and infrastructure, and brings the total approved state subsidies to \u20ac18.9bn.<\/p>\n<p>Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission vice-president responsible for competition policy, said hydrogen could help decarbonise transport, but that up-front investment could be \u201crisky for one state or one company alone\u201d. She stressed that the anticipated private sector investment was a concrete figure based on calls for expressions of interest and agreements within the member states concerned, and not merely an expression of hope.<\/p>\n<p>The upsurge of attention to hydrogen as a potential solution for decarbonising transport and heavy industry has led to talk of \u2018hydrogen hype\u2019, and even Commission officials have expressed doubts about meeting the 2030 annual production target of 10 million tonnes of green hydrogen.<\/p>\n<p>Under a recently adopted package of gas market rules, the European Commission has yet to develop legal criteria for \u2018low-carbon hydrogen\u2019, which NGOs warned last month must be robust enough to ensure \u2018blue\u2019 hydrogen made from natural gas is a genuinely climate friendly, and not merely a means of prolonging demand for the fossil fuel.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1716905861,"updatedAt":1716906458,"publishedAt":1716906453,"firstPublishedAt":1716906458,"lastPublishedAt":1716906453,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/44\/70\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_2b1ebef4-feff-5a32-b5a9-59ba488a2cfd-8464470.jpg","altText":"French President Emmanuel Macron, center right, and Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, look at a concept hybrid-hydrogen aircraft, at the Paris Air Show last year","caption":"French President Emmanuel Macron, center right, and Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, look at a concept hybrid-hydrogen aircraft, at the Paris Air Show last year","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Michel Euler\/Copyright 2023 The AP. All rights reserved.","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"hodgson","title":"Robert Hodgson","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":29232,"slug":"eu-policy","urlSafeValue":"eu-policy","title":"EU Policy","titleRaw":"EU 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BELGIUM MILK PROTEST","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Farmers protest in Brussels demanding 'fair' milk prices","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"","titleListing2":"Farmers protest in Brussels demanding 'fair' milk prices","leadin":"Dozens of dairy farmers from across Europe demonstrated in Brussels on Monday to demand 'fair' milk prices and income.","summary":"Dozens of dairy farmers from across Europe demonstrated in Brussels on Monday to demand 'fair' milk prices and income.","keySentence":"","url":"farmers-wheel-plaster-cows-through-brussels-to-demand-fair-milk-prices","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2024\/05\/28\/farmers-wheel-plaster-cows-through-brussels-to-demand-fair-milk-prices","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"The protest was held as European agriculture ministers met in the Belgian capital.\u00a0 \n\n","htmlText":"<p>The protest was held as European agriculture ministers met in the Belgian 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PALESTINE RECOGNITION","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Norway hands over recognition documents to Palestinian prime minister in Brussels","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Norway hands over recognition documents to Palestinian PM","titleListing2":"Norway hands over recognition documents to Palestinian prime minister in Brussels","leadin":"Oslo has formalised its support for Palestinian statehood in a largely symbolic move that has infuriated the Israeli government.","summary":"Oslo has formalised its support for Palestinian statehood in a largely symbolic move that has infuriated the Israeli government.","keySentence":"","url":"norway-hands-over-recognition-documents-to-palestinian-prime-minister-in-brussels","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2024\/05\/28\/norway-hands-over-recognition-documents-to-palestinian-prime-minister-in-brussels","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Norway handed over papers to the Palestinian prime minister marking the latest step towards its formal recognition of\u00a0a Palestinian State. \n\nThe document states that recognition will officially begin from May 28, 2024. \n\nThe handover of the papers by Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide to Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa was made in Brussels, where Mustafa is meeting with foreign ministers of EU nations and high-level EU officials. \n\n\nNorway pledged last Wednesday to recognise the Palestinian state, joining\u00a0Ireland and Spain. \n\nThe Israeli government has reacted furiously to the news, which comes as the Israeli military's latest actions in\u00a0Gaza horrify many of its closest allies. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>Norway handed over papers to the Palestinian prime minister marking the latest step towards its formal recognition of\u00a0a Palestinian State.<\/p>\n<p>The document states that recognition will officially begin from May 28, 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The handover of the papers by Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide to Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa was made in Brussels, where Mustafa is meeting with foreign ministers of EU nations and high-level EU officials. <\/p>\n<p>Norway pledged last Wednesday to recognise the Palestinian state, joining\u00a0Ireland and Spain.<\/p>\n<p>The Israeli government has reacted furiously to the news, which comes as the Israeli military's latest actions in\u00a0Gaza horrify many of its closest allies.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1716894226,"updatedAt":1716911480,"publishedAt":1716900215,"firstPublishedAt":1716900219,"lastPublishedAt":1716900215,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/38\/20\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_f2a2b9a1-abe1-5b4d-bb4d-8592872bc864-8463820.jpg","altText":"Norway hands over recognition document to Palestine PM","caption":"Norway hands over recognition document to Palestine PM","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP 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Claims Leak","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Leaked push for deal on \u2018green claims\u2019 rules raises fears of double standards","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Push for deal on \u2018green claims\u2019 rules raises fears of double standards","titleListing2":"Leaked push for deal on \u2018green claims\u2019 rules raises fears of double standards","leadin":"Incoming EU legislation could force petroleum firms to temper their claims to be heading for net-zero emissions, but raises questions over the use of offsetting to fulfil climate action pledges.","summary":"Incoming EU legislation could force petroleum firms to temper their claims to be heading for net-zero emissions, but raises questions over the use of offsetting to fulfil climate action pledges.","keySentence":"","url":"leaked-push-for-deal-on-green-claims-rules-raises-fears-of-double-standards","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/business\/2024\/05\/28\/leaked-push-for-deal-on-green-claims-rules-raises-fears-of-double-standards","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Companies would be largely free to rely on carbon offsetting to back up their claims to be climate friendly, under a leaked draft inter-governmental position on a European anti-greenwashing directive, sparking criticism that one set of standards might apply to companies and another to the products and services they sell. \n\n\nIn an updated compromise text, dated 22 May and seen by Euronews, Belgium has made what may be its final attempt to forge an inter-governmental position on a proposed Green Claims Directive before it hands over the rotating presidency of the EU Council to Hungary in July. \n\nA key sticking point over months of back-room talks has been the extent to which offsetting, where firms buy tradable carbon credits to balance their greenhouse gas emissions, should be permitted to back up corporate claims regarding their climate impact. \n\nThe European Parliament has agreed such offsetting should only be used for \u2018residual\u2019 carbon emissions \u2013 those that remain when a firm has exhausted all practicable means to reduce them in-house. \n\nHowever, the latest draft suggests member states may push for broader opportunities to use certified carbon credits \u2013 whose advocates say reflect and promote genuine climate mitigation measures such as renewable energy deployment or reforestation projects \u2013 when they enter final-stretch negotiations with MEPs. \n\nHowever, with even the Parliament permitting a limited use of offsetting, the Green Claims Directive looks set to be at odds with separate rules on environmental claims related to products and services, adopted in March and banning any climate-friendliness assertions, from bananas to budget flights, that are based on carbon offsetting. \n\nSubscribe here to stay informed on the latest EU policy development with our newsletter, \"The Policy Briefing\", your weekly insight on European rulemaking, key events and data trends. \n\n\nThis raises the possibility of a situation where a company is banned from selling \u2018low carbon\u2019 or \u2018green\u2019 flights based on offsetting, but could assert in its advertisements that the corporation as a whole has reduced its carbon footprint or is on a path towards \u2018net-zero\u2019 \u2013 a pledge that has been made by everyone from tech giants to flat-pack furniture makers and big oil. \n\n\u201cCarbon offsetting doesn't magically erase emissions - it simply greenwashes them using an accounting trick,\u201d said Margaux Le Gallou, a specialist on greenwashing practices at the Brussels-based Environmental Coalition on Standards, an NGO. \u201cIf the Council allows the use of carbon credits without limits, companies will have little incentive to reduce their emissions.\u201d \n\n\u201cThe Green Claims Directive must align with the science and EU climate commitments under the Paris Agreement by banning the use of carbon credits for everything beyond residual emissions,\u201d le Gallou told Euronews. \n\nBut is not all good news for companies, notably petroleum firms: the compromise text adds a definition clarifying that a company\u2019s total carbon footprint would be based on scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. \n\nThe climate pledges of most petroleum firms are based on scope 1 and 2 emissions, meaning greenhouse gases emitted directly by the firm, and those related to the energy it consumes, for instance through electricity from a coal- or gas-fired power plant. Scope 3 covers emissions only indirectly linked to a company, including the end use of its products. \n\nThe compromise text was due to be discussed by national delegates in a Council environment working group today (28 May). The Belgian presidency hopes to schedule it for adoption by senior diplomats on 5 June, then environment ministers at a 17 June summit.\u00a0 \n\nNegotiations with a newly elected European Parliament are unlikely to begin before mid-September at the earliest, diplomatic sources told Euronews.. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>Companies would be largely free to rely on carbon offsetting to back up their claims to be climate friendly, under a leaked draft inter-governmental position on a European anti-greenwashing directive, sparking criticism that one set of standards might apply to companies and another to the products and services they sell. <\/p>\n<p>In an updated compromise text, dated 22 May and seen by Euronews, Belgium has made what may be its final attempt to forge an inter-governmental position on a proposed Green Claims Directive before it hands over the rotating presidency of the EU Council to Hungary in July.<\/p>\n<p>A key sticking point over months of back-room talks has been the extent to which offsetting, where firms buy tradable carbon credits to balance their greenhouse gas emissions, should be permitted to back up corporate claims regarding their climate impact.<\/p>\n<p>The European Parliament has agreed such offsetting should only be used for \u2018residual\u2019 carbon emissions \u2013 those that remain when a firm has exhausted all practicable means to reduce them in-house.<\/p>\n<p>However, the latest draft suggests member states may push for broader opportunities to use certified carbon credits \u2013 whose advocates say reflect and promote genuine climate mitigation measures such as renewable energy deployment or reforestation projects \u2013 when they enter final-stretch negotiations with MEPs.<\/p>\n<p>However, with even the Parliament permitting a limited use of offsetting, the Green Claims Directive looks set to be at odds with separate rules on environmental claims related to products and services, adopted in March and banning any climate-friendliness assertions, from bananas to budget flights, that are based on carbon offsetting.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Subscribe <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//register?newsletters=eupolicy_en&utm_campaign=policybriefing_en_article_policybriefing\%22>here<\/a> to stay informed on the latest EU policy development with our newsletter, \"The Policy Briefing\", your weekly insight on European rulemaking, key events and data trends.<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>This raises the possibility of a situation where a company is banned from selling \u2018low carbon\u2019 or \u2018green\u2019 flights based on offsetting, but could assert in its advertisements that the corporation as a whole has reduced its carbon footprint or is on a path towards \u2018net-zero\u2019 \u2013 a pledge that has been made by everyone from tech giants to flat-pack furniture makers and big oil.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCarbon offsetting doesn't magically erase emissions - it simply greenwashes them using an accounting trick,\u201d said Margaux Le Gallou, a specialist on greenwashing practices at the Brussels-based Environmental Coalition on Standards, an NGO. \u201cIf the Council allows the use of carbon credits without limits, companies will have little incentive to reduce their emissions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Green Claims Directive must align with the science and EU climate commitments under the Paris Agreement by banning the use of carbon credits for everything beyond residual emissions,\u201d le Gallou told Euronews.<\/p>\n<p>But is not all good news for companies, notably petroleum firms: the compromise text adds a definition clarifying that a company\u2019s total carbon footprint would be based on scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.<\/p>\n<p>The climate pledges of most petroleum firms are based on scope 1 and 2 emissions, meaning greenhouse gases emitted directly by the firm, and those related to the energy it consumes, for instance through electricity from a coal- or gas-fired power plant. Scope 3 covers emissions only indirectly linked to a company, including the end use of its products.<\/p>\n<p>The compromise text was due to be discussed by national delegates in a Council environment working group today (28 May). The Belgian presidency hopes to schedule it for adoption by senior diplomats on 5 June, then environment ministers at a 17 June summit.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Negotiations with a newly elected European Parliament are unlikely to begin before mid-September at the earliest, diplomatic sources told Euronews..<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1716824647,"updatedAt":1716890924,"publishedAt":1716890919,"firstPublishedAt":1716890924,"lastPublishedAt":1716890919,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/19\/26\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_398f05ea-ea4c-531d-8b3f-ee83e97b12d0-8461926.jpg","altText":"BP refinery in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.","caption":"BP refinery in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Martin Meissner\/AP","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":594}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"hodgson","title":"Robert 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Web Michel podcast","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"EU Council chief Charles Michel supports the recognition of Palestinian statehood","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"EU Council chief Michel supports recognition of Palestinian statehood","titleListing2":"Michel supports the recognition of Palestinian statehood","leadin":"Three European countries \u2014 Ireland, Spain and Norway \u2014 now formally recognise a state of Palestine.","summary":"Three European countries \u2014 Ireland, Spain and Norway \u2014 now formally recognise a state of Palestine.","keySentence":"","url":"eu-council-chief-charles-michel-supports-the-recognition-of-palestinian-statehood","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/2024\/05\/28\/eu-council-chief-charles-michel-supports-the-recognition-of-palestinian-statehood","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"European Council President Charles Michel is \u201cin favour of the recognition of Palestine\u201d and calls for a coordinated approach among EU and third countries to bring about concrete progress on the matter, he told Euronews in an exclusive interview.\n\nMichel's comments on Monday to\u00a0EU Senior Correspondent Ma\u00efa De La Baume came on the eve of Spain, Ireland and Norway formally recognising a state of Palestine, seven months after the Gaza war broke out.\n\nAsked whether other countries should recognise the Middle Eastern state, Michel said that the move should be used \u201cas a leverage to make some progress\u201d.\n\n\"I am in favour of the two-state solution and of the recognition of a Palestinian state. But this state has to be viable. And it is why I think that the best would be a coordinated approach with EU member states and third countries, to create a leverage,\u201d the European Council president added.\n\nMichel considers the move a good step\u00a0but said he understands other states \u201cneed more time\u201d.\n\nMichel\u2019s own country is among those. Belgian Foreign Affairs Minister Hadja Lahbib wrote on X (ex-Twitter) on Monday that \u201cBelgium is working for a recognition with rights and freedoms for Palestinians\u201d.\n\nIsrael has reacted angrily to the three European countries' decision to recognise Palestine, with foreign minister Israel Katz describing it as a \"reward (to) Hamas\" and writing in response that \"terrorism pays\".\n\nTheir recognition comes as the EU's position on the war has shifted in recent weeks with a toughening of the stance against Israel due to the worsening situation on the ground.\n\nOn Monday, an Israeli airstrike on a camp of displaced Palestinians in Gaza's city of Rafah killed 45 Palestinians, health officials from the Hamas-led authorities said. EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell strongly condemned the attack.\n\nHe announced after a meeting of the bloc's foreign affairs ministers on Monday that an EU-Israel Association Council would be convened to discuss Israel's compliance with international law and the recent ICJ ruling. Ministers also decided to reactivate\u00a0an EU border mission at Rafah.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>European Council President Charles Michel is \u201cin favour of the recognition of Palestine\u201d and calls for a coordinated approach among EU and third countries to bring about concrete progress on the matter, he told Euronews in an exclusive interview.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-freeform\nwidget--size-fullwidth\nwidget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <iframe src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////embed.acast.com//66435f391ec45a00127feb2f//665511b17d54310013110dc5/" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"100%\" height=\"190px\"><\/iframe>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Michel's comments on Monday to\u00a0EU Senior Correspondent Ma\u00efa De La Baume came on the eve of Spain, Ireland and Norway formally recognising a state of Palestine, seven months after the Gaza war broke out.<\/p>\n<p>Asked whether other countries should recognise the Middle Eastern state, Michel said that the move should be used \u201cas a leverage to make some progress\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\"I am in favour of the two-state solution and of the recognition of a Palestinian state. But this state has to be viable. And it is why I think that the best would be a coordinated approach with EU member states and third countries, to create a leverage,\u201d the European Council president added.<\/p>\n<div\n data-stories-id=\"8451894\"\n data-event=\"widget_related\"\n class=\"widget widget--type-related widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <ul class=\"widget__related_list\"><li class=\"widget__related_listItem\"> <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2024//05//28//with-charles-michel-on-his-post-election-future-palestine-and-far-right-radio-schuman-podc/">With Charles Michel on his post-election future, Palestine and the far-right | Radio Schuman podcast<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Michel considers the move a good step\u00a0but said he understands other states \u201cneed more time\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Michel\u2019s own country is among those. Belgian Foreign Affairs Minister Hadja Lahbib <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////x.com//hadjalahbib//status//1794994390600958442/">wrote on X<\/a> (ex-Twitter) on Monday that \u201cBelgium is working for a recognition with rights and freedoms for Palestinians\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Israel has reacted angrily to the <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2024//05//22//ireland-and-spain-poised-to-recognise-palestinian-state/">three European countries' decision<\/a> to recognise Palestine, with foreign minister Israel Katz describing it as a \"reward (to) Hamas\" and writing in response that \"terrorism pays\".<\/p>\n<p>Their recognition comes as the EU's position on the war has shifted in recent weeks with a toughening of the stance against Israel due to the worsening situation on the ground.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, an Israeli airstrike on a camp of displaced Palestinians in Gaza's city of Rafah killed 45 Palestinians, health officials from the Hamas-led authorities said. EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell strongly condemned the attack.<\/p>\n<p>He announced after a meeting of the bloc's foreign affairs ministers on Monday that an <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//05//27//eu-convenes-israel-to-discuss-respect-of-human-rights-and-icj-ruling-on-rafah/">EU-Israel Association Council would be convened<\/a> to discuss Israel's compliance with international law and the recent ICJ ruling. Ministers also decided to reactivate\u00a0an EU border mission at Rafah.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1716881558,"updatedAt":1717149678,"publishedAt":1716889598,"firstPublishedAt":1716889727,"lastPublishedAt":1716889598,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Harry Nakos\/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved","altText":"European Council President Charles Michel","callToActionText":null,"width":3680,"caption":"European Council President Charles Michel","url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/29\/02\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_d595112d-2482-5254-be7d-df8cce4efeea-8462902.jpg","captionUrl":null,"height":2456}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"vasques","twitter":"@EleonoraVasques","title":"Eleonora Vasques"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[{"urlSafeValue":"trindade-p","twitter":null,"title":"Ines Trindade Pereira"}]},"keywords":[{"urlSafeValue":"palestine","titleRaw":"Palestine","id":13122,"title":"Palestine","slug":"palestine"},{"urlSafeValue":"israel-hamas-war","titleRaw":"Israel Hamas war","id":29226,"title":"Israel Hamas war","slug":"israel-hamas-war"},{"urlSafeValue":"charles-michel","titleRaw":"Charles Michel","id":18000,"title":"Charles 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IN BRUSSELS","channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Belgium agrees to send \u20ac977 million in military aid to Ukraine","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Belgium agrees to send \u20ac977 million in military aid to Ukraine","titleListing2":"Belgium to send \u20ac977 million in military aid to Ukraine","leadin":"Ukraine and Belgium inked a bilateral security pact, with Belgium committing \u20ac977 million in military aid and 30 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.","summary":"Ukraine and Belgium inked a bilateral security pact, with Belgium committing \u20ac977 million in military aid and 30 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.","keySentence":"","url":"zelenskyy-to-visit-brussels-to-ink-security-deals-with-western-allies","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2024\/05\/28\/zelenskyy-to-visit-brussels-to-ink-security-deals-with-western-allies","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Belgian Prime Minister\u00a0Alexander De Croo signed a bilateral security and long-term support deal on Tuesday, including an agreement to send Kyiv \u20ac977 million in Belgian military aid this year. \n\n\u00a0\"This will ensure Belgium's commitment to providing our country with support over the course of the agreement's ten-year term,\"\u00a0Zelenskyy said in a post on X on Tuesday. \n\n\"For the first time, such an agreement specifies the exact number of F-16 fighter jets\u00a0\u2014 30\u00a0\u2014 that will be delivered to Ukraine until 2028, with the first arriving already this year,\" he added. \n\nAccording to Zelenskyy, the agreement guarantees Belgium's timely security assistance, modern armoured vehicles, equipment to meet Ukraine's air force and air defence needs, naval security, mine clearance, participation in the artillery ammunition coalition, and military training. \n\nThe deal also includes plans for defence industry cooperation, backing Ukraine\u2019s Peace Formula, and reinforcing sanctions against Russia, among other provisions. \n\nBelgian Prime Minister De Croo said Zelenskyy required \"the right tools to protect his citizens.\" \n\n\"We are very determined when it comes to our support,\" he wrote in a post on X, \"so we need to do more, better and faster.\"\u00a0 \n\nZelenskyy was in the Belgian capital to shore up Western support for the war-battered Ukraine. He is also scheduled to visit a military airbase in the Belgian capital, where he will meet instructors helping to train Ukrainian pilots to fly US-made jets.\u00a0 \n\nBelgium has pledged to supply fighter aircraft to Kyiv as part of a broader initiative by European allies and hopes to begin deliveries this year. \n\nZelenskyy's Belgium visit comes a day after he travelled to Spain and successfully secured a Spanish\u00a0pledge of additional air defence missiles. This will help fend off roughly 3,000 rockets and drones Russia fires at the country every month.\u00a0 \n\nDespite the win, the Ukrainian leader said he still needs US-made Patriot air defences to counter Kremlin attacks on the heavily-hit power grid and civilian areas . \n\n\u201cIf we had these modern Patriot systems, (Russian) airplanes wouldn\u2019t be able to fly close enough to drop the bombs on the civilian population and the military,\u201d Zelenskyy said at a news conference in the Spanish capital. \n\n","htmlText":"<p>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Belgian Prime Minister\u00a0Alexander De Croo signed a bilateral security and long-term support deal on Tuesday, including an agreement to send Kyiv \u20ac977 million in Belgian military aid this year.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0\"This will ensure Belgium's commitment to providing our country with support over the course of the agreement's ten-year term,\"\u00a0Zelenskyy said in a post on X on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>\"For the first time, such an agreement specifies the exact number of F-16 fighter jets\u00a0\u2014 30\u00a0\u2014 that will be delivered to Ukraine until 2028, with the first arriving already this year,\" he added.<\/p>\n<p>According to Zelenskyy, the agreement guarantees Belgium's timely security assistance, modern armoured vehicles, equipment to meet Ukraine's air force and air defence needs, naval security, mine clearance, participation in the artillery ammunition coalition, and military training.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-tweet widget--size-fullwidth widget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio\u2014auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <div class=\"widget__tweet\" data-tweet-id=\"1795358045733564527\"><\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The deal also includes plans for defence industry cooperation, backing Ukraine\u2019s Peace Formula, and reinforcing sanctions against Russia, among other provisions.<\/p>\n<p>Belgian Prime Minister De Croo said Zelenskyy required \"the right tools to protect his citizens.\"<\/p>\n<p>\"We are very determined when it comes to our support,\" he wrote in a post on X, \"so we need to do more, better and faster.\"\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Zelenskyy was in the Belgian capital to shore up Western support for the war-battered Ukraine. He is also scheduled to visit a military airbase in the Belgian capital, where he will meet instructors helping to train Ukrainian pilots to fly US-made jets.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Belgium has pledged to supply fighter aircraft to Kyiv as part of a broader initiative by European allies and hopes to begin deliveries this year.<\/p>\n<p>Zelenskyy's Belgium visit comes a day after he travelled to <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//05//27//zelenskyy-gets-more-air-defence-missiles-from-spain-in-fight-against-russia/">Spain and successfully secured a Spanish\u00a0pledge of additional air defence missiles. This will help fend off roughly 3,000 rockets and drones Russia fires at the country every month.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.66796875\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////static.euronews.com//articles//stories//08//46//26//60//808x539_cmsv2_33650641-4ba6-5e49-8a0f-c4b610bb9c80-8462660.jpg/" alt=\"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (centre) talks with Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia at the Royal Palace in Madrid on Monday, May 27, 2024.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/26\/60\/384x257_cmsv2_33650641-4ba6-5e49-8a0f-c4b610bb9c80-8462660.jpg 384w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/26\/60\/640x428_cmsv2_33650641-4ba6-5e49-8a0f-c4b610bb9c80-8462660.jpg 640w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/26\/60\/750x501_cmsv2_33650641-4ba6-5e49-8a0f-c4b610bb9c80-8462660.jpg 750w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/26\/60\/828x553_cmsv2_33650641-4ba6-5e49-8a0f-c4b610bb9c80-8462660.jpg 828w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/26\/60\/1080x721_cmsv2_33650641-4ba6-5e49-8a0f-c4b610bb9c80-8462660.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/26\/60\/1200x802_cmsv2_33650641-4ba6-5e49-8a0f-c4b610bb9c80-8462660.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/26\/60\/1920x1283_cmsv2_33650641-4ba6-5e49-8a0f-c4b610bb9c80-8462660.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (centre) talks with Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia at the Royal Palace in Madrid on Monday, May 27, 2024.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">AP<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Despite the win, the Ukrainian leader said he still needs US-made Patriot air defences to counter Kremlin attacks on the heavily-hit <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2024//05//22//ukraine-plunged-into-darkness-as-russia-attacks-power-grid/">power grid<\/strong><\/a> and <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2024//05//16//battles-rage-in-ukraine-as-russian-forces-advance-in-kharkiv-region/">civilian areas<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we had these modern Patriot systems, (Russian) airplanes wouldn\u2019t be able to fly close enough to drop the bombs on the civilian population and the military,\u201d Zelenskyy said at a news conference in the Spanish capital.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1716873535,"updatedAt":1716910565,"publishedAt":1716876442,"firstPublishedAt":1716876445,"lastPublishedAt":1716876442,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Kenzo Tribouillard\/Pool Photo via AP","altText":"Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shakes hands with Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo during their meeting in Brussels, 28 May 2024","callToActionText":null,"width":1600,"caption":"Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shakes hands with Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo during their meeting in Brussels, 28 May 2024","url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/26\/60\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_8ecba301-09bd-5c93-aa7b-ce360ad33468-8462660.jpg","captionUrl":null,"height":900},{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo\/Virginia Mayo","altText":"Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses a media conference prior to a meeting of NATO defence ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, 11 October 2023","callToActionText":null,"width":1600,"caption":"Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses a media conference prior to a meeting of NATO defence ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, 11 October 2023","url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/26\/60\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_5efb4b19-64d8-5e0a-8c21-095f90353b46-8462660.jpg","captionUrl":null,"height":900},{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP","altText":"FILE - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) walks with Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo in Brussels on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023.","callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"caption":"FILE - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) walks with Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo in Brussels on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023.","url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/26\/60\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_a10ce5e4-435c-5c8e-bb7a-6b8c3084c6d3-8462660.jpg","captionUrl":null,"height":582},{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP","altText":"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a news conference at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, Monday, May 27, 2024.","callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"caption":"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a news conference at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, Monday, May 27, 2024.","url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/08\/46\/26\/60\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_fa0f5502-1d3e-5e5c-9a64-363d8a291ab2-8462660.jpg","captionUrl":null,"height":704},{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP","altText":"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (centre) talks with Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia at the Royal Palace in Madrid on Monday, May 27, 2024. 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