EU News and Discussions

weatheriscool
Posts: 12971
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: EU News and Discussions

Post by weatheriscool »

Ukraine: EU chief offers Kyiv fast track to membership
Source: Deutsche Welle

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Kyiv on Friday presented Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with paperwork for his country to join the European Union.

Handing over a document at a joint press conference, she said: "This is where your path towards the European Union begins."

"We stand ready to support you in filling out this questionnaire," von der Leyen said, adding: "It will not be, as usual, a matter of years, but rather a matter of weeks" to complete this step.

The questionnaire, she explained, forms the basis of an opinion that gets passed on to the European Council.

Von der Leyen said she intended to, "present Ukraine's application to the [European] Council this summer."
Read more: https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-eu-chief- ... p-1022-rdf
User avatar
wjfox
Site Admin
Posts: 8732
Joined: Sat May 15, 2021 6:09 pm
Location: London, UK
Contact:

Re: EU News and Discussions

Post by wjfox »

Solar panels will become mandatory on all new EU buildings

May 20, 2022

The European Union wants to accelerate a large-scale rollout of solar energy while also rebuilding Europe’s solar manufacturing industry. The plan is part of the bloc’s strategy to end its reliance on Russian fossil fuels, especially natural gas, by 2030. The EU currently gets about 40% of its gas from Russia at a cost of over $110 million a day.

Half of the EU’s energy would come from renewable sources by 2030, more than double the current amount, according to the European Commission’s plan, named RepowerEU. This would cost hundreds of billions of euros, but much of that money would come from savings on imported fuel. Still, in order to achieve this, swift action is required.

As part of the plan, the EU introduced several measures, ranging from the doubling of the rate of deployment of heat pumps to establishing ‘go-to’ areas for renewables. Among these measures, the European Commission has also |introduced the “solar rooftop initiative” which would make it mandatory to install solar panels on new public and commercial buildings, as well as new residential buildings by 2029.

https://www.zmescience.com/science/news ... -19052022/
User avatar
Time_Traveller
Posts: 2105
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 4:49 pm
Location: Clermont, Indiana, USA, October 7th 2019 B.C.E

Re: EU News and Discussions

Post by Time_Traveller »

Hungary’s EU ambassador steps down two weeks after blocking the extension of sanctions to Patriarch Kirill
June 20, 2022

Hungary’s permanent representative to the EU, Tibor Stelbaczky, has stepped down from his post, according to local media, citing various sources. A spokesman for the Hungarian Embassy in Brussels refused to confirm or deny the report. Stelbaczky is expected to accompany Prime Minister Viktor Orban to next week’s summit in Brussels.

The 50-year-old diplomat, who begin his carrier in 1997, found himself in an awkward position two weeks ago when he had to block the adoption of the sixth round of sanctions against Russia, after EU leaders had agreed on the deal on the previous day.

Hungary refused to sign off on the oil embargo, citing the detrimental impacts on its economy. Eventually, pipeline delivery of oil was exempted from the sanctions and Budapest was given an unlimited period to switch from Russian gas to new alternatives. At the end of the summit on May 31, it seemed that the sixth EU sanction package would be approved, but Hungary unexpectedly torpedoed the deal to the dismay of EU ambassadors.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he would approve the package at the European Council meeting on the condition that Patriarch Kirill, a long-time ally of Vladimir Putin, was delisted from the sanctions list. Hungary's position on EU sanctions against the head of the Russian Orthodox Church has long been known, and nobody took issue with that stand at an EU summit, he said later to state media.
https://www.intellinews.com/hungary-s-e ... ll-247993/
"We all have our time machines, don't we. Those that take us back are memories...And those that carry us forward, are dreams."

-H.G Wells.
User avatar
wjfox
Site Admin
Posts: 8732
Joined: Sat May 15, 2021 6:09 pm
Location: London, UK
Contact:

Re: EU News and Discussions

Post by wjfox »

User avatar
Time_Traveller
Posts: 2105
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 4:49 pm
Location: Clermont, Indiana, USA, October 7th 2019 B.C.E

Re: EU News and Discussions

Post by Time_Traveller »

EU formally accepts Croatia as 20th eurozone member
Jul 12, 2022

European Union finance ministers on Tuesday (12 July) formally approved Croatia becoming the 20th member of the euro common currency at the start of 2023.

The European Council, the grouping of 27 EU governments, adopted three legal acts required to allow Croatia – an EU member since 2013 – to introduce the euro on 1 January.

One of those acts set the conversion rate for entry at one euro to 7.53450 Croatian kuna, with Croatia now having a few months to prepare the practicalities for the currency switch.

To adopt the euro, Croatia had to fulfil criteria of price and exchange rate stability, sound public finances and moderate long-term interest rates, all measured against EU benchmarks.

The European Commission also examined Croatia’s economic convergence with the rest of the eurozone, including balance of payments trends and the integration of its labour and financial markets, and verified that Croatian legislation is compatible with EU laws governing the European Central Bank.

Croatia, in southeastern Europe, has been a independent country since 1991 when it left then-federal Yugoslavia. Neighbouring Slovenia, also an ex-Yugoslav republic and now EU member, adopted the euro in 2007.
https://www.euractiv.com/section/econom ... ne-member/
"We all have our time machines, don't we. Those that take us back are memories...And those that carry us forward, are dreams."

-H.G Wells.
User avatar
wjfox
Site Admin
Posts: 8732
Joined: Sat May 15, 2021 6:09 pm
Location: London, UK
Contact:

Re: EU News and Discussions

Post by wjfox »

User avatar
wjfox
Site Admin
Posts: 8732
Joined: Sat May 15, 2021 6:09 pm
Location: London, UK
Contact:

Re: EU News and Discussions

Post by wjfox »

User avatar
Time_Traveller
Posts: 2105
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 4:49 pm
Location: Clermont, Indiana, USA, October 7th 2019 B.C.E

Re: EU News and Discussions

Post by Time_Traveller »

Hungary is no longer a full democracy but an 'electoral autocracy,' MEPs declare in new report
Updated: 15/09/2022 - 18:14

Hungary is no longer a fully functioning democracy, members of the European Parliament declared on Thursday in a non-binding but highly symbolic report.

Instead, the country should be considered a "hybrid regime of electoral autocracy" in which elections are regularly held but without respecting basic democratic norms.

"There is increasing consensus among experts that Hungary is no longer a democracy," the lawmakers said, citing a series of international indexes that have in recent years downgraded Hungary's status.

In their resolution, MEPs point the finger directly at Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has been in power since 2010, and condemn his government's "deliberate and systematic efforts" to undermine the EU's core values.

Lawmakers raise concerns about a long list of fundamental rights they believe to be under threat, including the electoral system, the independence of judiciary, privacy, freedom of expression, media pluralism, academic freedom, LGBTIQ rights and the protection of minorities and asylum seekers.
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022 ... -new-repor
"We all have our time machines, don't we. Those that take us back are memories...And those that carry us forward, are dreams."

-H.G Wells.
User avatar
wjfox
Site Admin
Posts: 8732
Joined: Sat May 15, 2021 6:09 pm
Location: London, UK
Contact:

Re: EU News and Discussions

Post by wjfox »

Thank goodness we don't have to obey Brussels anymore.

THE BRITISH PEOPLE DEMAND MULTIPLE DIFFERENT CHARGER TYPES!!.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-63132831


User avatar
Time_Traveller
Posts: 2105
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 4:49 pm
Location: Clermont, Indiana, USA, October 7th 2019 B.C.E

Re: EU News and Discussions

Post by Time_Traveller »

Hungary infuriates EU with block on €18B Ukraine aid

NOVEMBER 10, 2022 6:41 PM CET

BERLIN — German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock slammed Hungary on Thursday for blocking €18 billion of EU financial aid to Ukraine, saying that Budapest should not "play poker" in an attempt to put pressure on Brussels in a separate rule-of-law dispute.

Baerbock's protest echoed appeals from several EU diplomats who accused Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's government of blackmail.

The European Commission on Wednesday proposed an €18 billion support package to help Ukraine keep its economy and public services afloat throughout the coming year and to restore critical infrastructure destroyed by Russian missile and kamikaze drone strikes.

At an EU ambassadors' meeting, also on Wednesday, Hungary said it could not support the aid package, according to three officials. This creates a potentially fatal hurdle as the money for Ukraine cannot flow without the backing of all 27 EU countries because of budget rules demanding unanimity.
https://www.politico.eu/article/germany ... d-ukraine/
"We all have our time machines, don't we. Those that take us back are memories...And those that carry us forward, are dreams."

-H.G Wells.
Post Reply