As Bulgaria finally submits recovery plan to EU, campaigners point to ‘inadequate’ coal exit date
A coal exit date of 2038 or 2040 is ‘inadequate’ say environmentalists.Hit by a political crisis that has left the country without a government for more than six months, Bulgaria last week finally submitted its National Resilience and Recovery Plan (NRRP) to the European Commission, a prerequisite for receiving financial support from the European Union’s…
Macedonian PM resigns following heavy defeat in local elections
The resignation of a reformist prime minister leaves North Macedonia facing an uncertain future.The prime minister of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, resigned on October 31 following heavy losses for his Social Democratic party in local elections.Zaev told a press conference at his party’s headquarters on Skopje that he felt obliged to take responsibility for the…
Frontex chief ambivalent on pulling out of Greece
The head of the EU’s border agency Hans Leijtens is making a case for Frontex to remain in Greece.His comments on Thursday (6 July) came after Jonas Grimheden, the agency’s fundamental rights officer, reportedly recommended operations be suspended. Published by: euobserver.com
Depriving migrants of food is policy in an EU member state — Greece
Beginning on May 18, the EU-funded Lesvos “Closed Controlled Access Centre” (CCAC), which houses over 2,000 asylum seekers, stopped providing food and water to adults residing in the camp that have either received international protection status or a final rejection of their asylum application.This policy resulted in approximately 300 people being denied these basic necessities…
Bosnia and Herzegovina is not at war, but that’s as good as it gets
Apocalyptic headlines have this week warned of the imminent descent of Bosnia and Herzegovina into a new war. That outcome remains unlikely, but there’s little else to be positive about.The European Union’s token military presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina can stay, at least for another year.On November 3 the United Nations Security Council unanimously renewed…
Greek shipwreck ‘cover-up’ fears prompt call for outside probe
Doubts have been cast on whether Greece will carry out a proper criminal investigation into the 14 June sinking of the Adriana trawler that has likely killed over 500 people.”In this particular case, facts must be cleared out by all means,” said Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar, a Spanish socialist MEP who chairs the European Parliament’s…
Can the retreat of democracy be reversed?
For Joe Biden’s Summit for Democracy to succeed, the US must work closely with NATO and the EU to take concrete measures to stop the erosion of democracies from within.The Summit for Democracy that US President Joe Biden is spearheading in December, at which scores of countries will be in in attendance, is certainly timely…
Why the German Mittelstand is the way forward for CEE’s businesses
Amid challenges related to an ageing population, automation, and Europe’s relative decline, CEE’s businesses have to reinvent themselves. The German Mittelstand, a patchwork of highly-specialised, often family-run businesses globally competitive enough to turn a small niche into a thriving business, could save the day.When the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union unravelled, expectations throughout…
The missing metric in EU labour policy: job quality
Working conditions across the EU have deteriorated sharply in recent decades, notably in countries such as France, Greece and Spain, according to a new study by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI).The analysis covers 2005 to 2021, taking into account the impact of the 2008 crisis and the Covid pandemic, and measures aspects such as…
Smugglers cash in on EU migrant obstacles
In the wake of mass drownings off the Greek coast, EU leaders at a summit in Brussels are seeking to further clamp down on smuggling while shoring up deals with countries such as Tunisia to prevent people from fleeing.”The tragedy in the Mediterranean showed again the ruthless way smugglers and traffickers are operating,” European Commission…