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Airlines flying from one European destination to another should start paying for all their carbon emission from 2026, a year earlier than planned, according to a draft report by Croatian centre-right MEP Sunčana Glavak seen by Reuters. The Commission earlier proposed to phase out free CO2 permits by 2027. "We must support innovation in the sector and the use of sustainable aviation fuels," she said.

An appeals court in Paris, on Thursday, ordered US social media giant Twitter to fully disclose details ofn its approach to tackle hate speech online, Reuters reported. The ruling comes after six anti-discrimination groups argued that only a fraction of hateful content online was being taken down 48 hours after being flagged. The court also imposed a symbolic, €1,500 fine in damages to each of the six plaintiffs.

The European Data Protection Supervisor, Wojciech Wiewiórowski, on Thursday called on EU legislators to consider stricter rules for online targeted advertising for political purposes. He suggested a full ban on microtargeting, which tends to use behavioural data to target users with specific political messages. "We need to do more if we want to tackle the many risks surrounding the use of targeting and amplification techniques for political purposes," Wiewiórowski said.

MEPs, on Thursday, approved the Digital Service Act, a new EU law on tech rules to tackle illegal content and hold online platforms accountable. The text was adopted in a 530-78 vote, with 80 abstentions. Obligations depend on the size and influence of companies, but micro and small enterprises are exempt from certain requirements. The text bans tracking advertising for minors and prohibits using sensitive data for targeted ads.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken warned Thursday that there would be a "swift, severe, united" response from the US and its allies if Russia sends any military forces into Ukraine, AP reported. Blinken's comments in Berlin appeared to be another effort to clear up any confusion about the US position after US president Joe Biden was criticised for saying a "minor incursion" by Russia would elicit a lesser response.

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán plans to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin on 1 February to discuss the Russian-backed project to expand a Hungarian nuclear power plant, Hungary's foreign minister said Thursday. The meeting comes as Nato, the US, and the EU try to manage the Russian military build-up at the Ukrainian border. The Paks nuclear plant's €12bn expansion is covered by a €10bn loan from a Russian state bank.

MEPs have recalled their demands to include the right to legal and safe abortion into the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, a day after French president Emmanuel Macron pledged to open such a debate in the EU Council.

The case is one of many disputes between the EU and Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, which have started to cost money for Warsaw.

Thirty Dutch mayors have asked the national government to rethink its corona pandemic measures amid protests from museums and cultural centres against continued lockdown.

Obligatory detentions, more security-screening, and faster deportations - these are the French EU presidency's migration priorities, in a right-wing agenda.

A cross-party group of 62 MEPs from five parties has called for a full-scale election observation mission in Hungary for the 3 April general election, in a letter released on Wednesday. Critics of prime minister Viktor Orbán have raised concerns as his government has been weakening independent institutions for years. In 2018, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe elections monitors said the ballot was free but not fair.

It is "very unlikely" that Finland would apply for Nato membership during her term of office, but her country was ready to stand with its European allies and United States by imposing tough sanctions on Russia if it attacked Ukraine, Finland's prime minister Sanna Marin said on Wednesday. "It would have a very substantial impact and the sanctions would be extremely tough," she told Reuters.

German prosecutors have opened a probe over alledged special pandemic payments into Robert Habeck and Annalena Baerbock, the two co-leaders of the Greens, one of the governing parties in the country, the party said on Wednesday. Spiegel Online reported the start of the investigation for a possible breach of trust to the detriment of the party over illegal payments of €1,500 to Greens board members in 2020.

Brussels remains committed to follow US-led on negotiations with Russia, EU officials said according to the Financial Times. French president Emmanuel Macron fell out of line when he called for a separate EU dialogue with Moscow on Wednesday. "We were given zero notice of this crazy idea," one source said. Macron blindsided EU diplomats, pushing EU states to "start their own dialogue" in his speech at the European Parliament.

The EU Commission is starting the process to deduct millions of euros from payments to Poland in order to cover fines imposed on Warsaw for ignoring a court injunction to close down a coal mine, a commission spokesperson said Wednesday. The European Court of Justice ruled last year that Poland should close the open-pit brown coal mine in Turow, near the Czech Republic, and pay fines, but Warsaw refused.

The "Patriotic Millionaires"- a group of more than 100 billionaires and millionaires - on Wednesday issued an appeal to political leaders to make them pay more taxes. "As millionaires, we know that the current tax system is not fair. We have actually seen our wealth rise during the pandemic," the signatories said in an open letter published at the start of the World Economic Forum.

Borders in Europe must not be moved by force, German chancellor Olaf Scholz warned on Wednesday, amid rising tension around Ukraine's border with Russia, after Moscow amassed some 100,000 troops along the border. "After years of rising tensions, staying silent is not a sensible option," he said in a speech delivered by video link to the World Economic Forum.

The chairs of the European Parliament committees for economy and environment, MEPs Irene Tinagli and Pascal Canfin, have called for a public consultation on the proposed inclusion of nuclear and gas to the EU's taxonomy for sustainable investment. "In light of the controversial subject matter, it's important that this procedure allows sufficient time to exchange views before adoption," they wrote to the European Commission on Wednesday.

MEPs will vote on new rules setting out transparency obligations for online players and holding Big Tech giants accountable. But some issues proved to be divisive after EU lawmakers tabled over a hundred amendments on the file.

Emmanuel Macron also took hits from French political opponents, including the Green party presidential challenger MEP Yannick Jadot in the European Parliament ahead of the upcoming presidential elections in France in April.