Center za energetsko učinkovitost

Freedom of movement, including the opportunity to cross state borders without unnecessary obstacles, is of great significance in people’s lives. For this reason, visa policy should not be used as a political instrument, writes Peter Van Elsuwege.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė was awarded the Charlemagne Prize yesterday (9 May) in recognition to her contribution to European integration. The ceremony highlighted Lithuania’s pro-EU course as the country prepares to take over the rotating EU presidency on 1 July.

Slovenia pledged on Thursday (9 May) to sell 15 state firms including its second largest bank, biggest telecoms operator and national airline under a crisis package to avert an international bailout.

The European Commission agreed to impose punitive import duties on solar panels from China in a move to guard against what it sees as dumping of cheap goods in Europe, prompting a cautious response from Beijing which called for further dialogue.

Greek youth unemployment shot to a record 64% in February, underscoring the dire state of the recession-hit economy despite signs of improving business sentiment.

The European Commission's recent push against tax havens is likely to be diluted into a wider list of issues related to fighting tax evasion and fraud, according to documents seen by EurActiv.

Europe’s solar thermal industry is bracing itself for another cold economic year, as consolidation in the building and solar energy sectors continues to hit new energy-efficient housing construction.

British Prime Minister David Cameron took on eurosceptics in his own party on Europe Day (9 May), saying he was able to negotiate a better deal with Brussels and it was wrong to say Britain should leave the European Union.

Europeans will find it easier to open and switch bank accounts and see what fees they are being charged under new rules proposed by the European Commission today (8 May).

A day before Europe Day (9 May), held yearly to celebrate the peace and unity in Europe, 3,500 staff of the European institutions held a strike against budgets cuts that may see their salaries cut by 60% over the next 15 years.

Public subsidies constitute a powerful market intervention that indirectly inflate biofuel prices, argues Chris Charles. Industry criticisms of the International Institute of Sustainable Development’s research on the subject fall wide of the mark, he writes.

EXCLUSIVE / EU leaders will grapple with controversial issues including shale gas development and climate change mitigation at an energy summit on 22 May, documents obtained by EurActiv show.

EXCLUSIVE / MEPs later this month will ask the European Commission to overhaul auditing standards for European companies and banks in a move likely to challenge the accounting profession and stir US-European relations.

The European Union should brace for “chaos” after the European elections a year from now if the surprise victories by renegade, anti-EU parties in recent Italian and British elections are any sign of what is to come, European liberal leader Graham Watson said.

EXCLUSIVE / European bans on hydraulic fracturing - or fracking - for shale gas could face lawsuits under a far-reaching investment clause in a draft Canada-EU Trade Agreement treaty, seen by EurActiv.

EXCLUSIVE / Leaders of the EU and their partners in the G8 nations are under mounting pressure to reconsider their support for biofuel targets amid concern that plant oil production competes with food output in poor countries.

Swedish support for the EU is declining and the support for the euro has never been lower, according to a report published Monday (6 May) by the University of Gothenburg.

The European Parliament’s environment committee on Tuesday (7 May) called for the installation of electric speed limiters for vans to prevent their accelerating beyond an agreed 120kph cap. But MEPs rejected reducing the 2020 target for van CO2 emissions to 118g per km.

China’s largest law firm has opened for business in Brussels, reflecting growing interest from Chinese professionals to serve home-based clients eager to invest and often faced with European regulatory disputes.

The European Parliament wants to reinforce the principle of discrimination in the EU’s draft biofuels directive, setting Europe on a collision course with its obligations in the World Trade Organisation (WTO), writes Fredrik Erixon.