Euractiv.com

Palestinian rivals including Hamas and Fatah agreed to form a unity government at talks hosted by China, Beijing said on Tuesday (23 July), a deal meant to deliver a post-war Gaza administration but quickly rejected by Israel as it seeks to crush Hamas.

The EU has an obligation to pro-actively enhance climate change and biodiversity policies at the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) by endorsing its Plan of Action & establishing a dedicated working group this fall. This would bring the EU’s approach at Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) up to par with statements and speeches shared at multilateral organizations like COFI, UNFSA, and other international fora. If the EU does not champion climate change adaptation at ICCAT, they would prove to only be providing lip service and their agreements, mere paper tigers.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF on Tuesday (23 July) urged Bosnia's authorities to raise the measles vaccination rate among children after two adolescents in the Balkan country died in an outbreak of the highly infectious respiratory illness.

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania is an important part of both Lithuanian and Belarusian history. But the mutual past is creating tensions between the two nations, which only benefits Russia.

The EU’s onshore wind and solar energy needs can be met without undermining food production or nature protection efforts, according to a report by the European Environmental Bureau released on Wednesday (24 July). However, this depends on human choices, at an individual and political level.

Hungary will block European Union refunds for member states that gave munitions to Ukraine until Kyiv allows the transit of oil from Russia's Lukoil through a pipeline over its territory, the Hungarian foreign minister said on Tuesday (23 July).

It’s no secret that Europe is facing some of the biggest challenges in its history, from the digital and green transition to climate adaptation and mitigation, along with the need to boost its security and defence resources and enhance its competitiveness.

The gentleman’s agreement among the EU's centrist parties to keep extremes at bay held as the European Parliament elected chairs and vice chairs of its committees, but rows over gender balance exposed tensions between the mainstream parties.

The UK, US, and EU competition authorities specified common fair competition principles on foundation artificial intelligence (AI) models like ChatGPT but did not commit to joint action, according to a joint statement on Tuesday (23 July). 

Carmen Crespo Díaz, a Spanish lawmaker from the European People's Party (EPP), was elected by acclamation chair of the European Parliament's Fisheries Committee on Tuesday (23 July), an appointment welcomed by the industry and environmental NGOs.

Germany’s government and the centre-right opposition have struck a deal to ringfence the Constitutional Court against blockades and hostile takeovers, amid fears that the far-right could try to undermine the rule of law if it continues to gain ground. 

After decades of the same elites ruling through largely undemocratic means, Armenia has in recent years seen a surge in political polarisation that is threatening its ongoing democratic transformation.

The European Commission opened a formal antitrust investigation into food delivery apps Delivery Hero and Glovo, examining whether the two are participating in a cartel, according to a Tuesday (23 July) press release.

While the political balances of the new European Parliament started to be redrafted on Tuesday (23 July) as MEPs picked the leading roles for each policy committee, the influential economic and monetary affairs (Econ) and budget committees remained firmly in the hands of incumbent parties – S&D and ECR respectively.

The European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee (AGRI) elected on Tuesday (23 July) Czech MEP Veronika Vrecionová as its chair but postponed a vote on one of the vice-chairs after a dispute about gender balance. 

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen committed to making agriculture a part of the Green Deal while ensuring that farmers can make a living during negotiations with the Greens/EFA last week, the Greens' coordinator for agriculture, Thomas Waitz, told Euractiv.

French energy industry representatives called on newly elected members of the national parliament in a joint letter on Monday (22 July) to ensure that the country's political instability does not hold back French energy policy.    

Greens MEP Anna Cavazzini (Germany) will be chairing the European Parliament's Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) for another term, according to a press release by the Parliament on Tuesday (23 July).

The three influential European Parliament committees responsible for energy and industry, environment, and transport elected their leaders for the next five years on Tuesday (23 July).

Ukraine said on Monday (22 July) it had reached an agreement in principle with a group of creditors to restructure $20 billion of international bonds, bringing the war-torn country closer to an unprecedented debt rework.