À l’instar du Groenland, les îles Féroé bénéficient d’une large autonomie intérieure, tandis que leur politique étrangère et de sécurité est définie à Copenhague
The post Les Îles Féroé se rendent aux urnes alors que le Groenland fait face à des turbulences géopolitiques appeared first on Euractiv FR.
Vox « est en train de se transformer en un parti stalinien », mettent en garde des détracteurs au sein du parti
The post Une querelle publique ébranle le parti espagnol Vox appeared first on Euractiv FR.
Ces conclusions interviennent malgré les appels répétés des responsables européens en faveur d'une consolidation des secteurs des services, actuellement fragmentés au sein de l'UE
The post La Cour des comptes européenne fustige le « manque d’ambition » de Bruxelles en matière d’intégration du marché unique appeared first on Euractiv FR.
Également dans l'édition de jeudi : Merz sur le cadre financier pluriannuel, implosion de Vox, vote anti-corruption
The post L’extrême droite hésite sur l’accord commercial avec Trump appeared first on Euractiv FR.
25 mars 2026 | 19h00
Salon doré, Hôtel de Béhague, Résidence de la Roumanie en France | 22 Avenue Bosquet, 75007 Paris
Entrée gratuite, réservation obligatoire : institut.roumain@gmail.com
L'Institut culturel roumain de Paris soutient, dans le cadre du Mois de la Francophonie, l'événement pluridisciplinaire Les métamorphoses de la liberté, réunissant projections vidéo, lectures de poésie, présentation de livre, danse et performance. Les autrices Simona Popescu et Maria Mailat, ainsi que (…)
Delmastro doit comparaître devant la commission antimafia du Parlement dans les prochains jours
The post Meloni sous pression après la démission d’un conseiller judiciaire pour liens avec des affaires mafieuses appeared first on Euractiv FR.
Le président de la Banque centrale européenne a déclaré qu'une guerre avec l'Iran pourrait entraîner une hausse des prix de l'énergie plus rapide que l'invasion à grande échelle de l'Ukraine par la Russie
The post Le monde est « au bord du gouffre » énergétique, selon Christine Lagarde appeared first on Euractiv FR.
Selon la Commission, la tentative de Bratislava de protéger les Slovaques de la flambée des prix du pétrole est « contraire au droit de l'Union européenne »
The post La Commission s’apprête à agir contre la tarification « discriminatoire » du diesel en Slovaquie appeared first on Euractiv FR.
Written by Clare Ferguson with Áine Feeney
Members gather for their second plenary session in March 2026, to progress decisions on a number of important files. Representatives of the European Council and European Commission are expected to make statements on the conclusion of the leaders’ meeting of 19 March 2026, at which the European Union’s competitiveness and the situation in the Middle East, as well as continued support for Ukraine was discussed. The Council and Commission are also due to make statements on energy security, independence and supply in the current fraught geopolitical context, with a view to ensuring market stability and affordable energy for industry and citizens.
Against a background of trade tariff instability, and to pave the way for negotiations with the Council on implementing the 2025 framework agreement between the EU and the United States (the ‘Turnberry deal’), Parliament is on Thursday set to consider its first-reading position on Committee on International Trade (INTA) reports on the two regulations proposed. The report on the main proposal covers EU industrial tariff liberalisation/agricultural tariff rate quotas, proposing a ‘sunset’ date of 31 March 2028, defensive measures in case of additional demands, and a safeguard clause. The second report, which deals specifically with trade in lobster, proposes a ‘sunset’ date of 31 December 2028, and includes defensive measures in case of US imposition of additional tariffs, breaches of human rights or threats to EU security interests. Both reports propose to evaluate the situation six months following implementation of the EU-US framework agreement.
Harking back to an earlier, financial, crisis, Members remain determined to protect taxpayers from the consequences of failed banking institutions. A debate is therefore scheduled for Wednesday afternoon on deposit protection and early intervention measures, with a vote scheduled on agreed texts on a package of proposals that seek to further harmonise the current EU bank crisis management and deposit insurance framework. The agreements would facilitate access to industry support for failing banks, with resort to national deposit guarantee schemes set as a last resort. They also clarify the criteria for choosing whether to liquidate or rescue a bank and retain the current two-tier system for deposit protection.
The development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) is changing many aspects of daily life, and at considerable speed. The EU’s flagship Artificial Intelligence Act introduced measures to encourage development whilst also protecting citizens. However, setting up the governance structure to apply the act takes time. To ensure safe AI development can continue in the interim, Members are due to vote on Thursday to set Parliament’s position for negotiations on proposed measures to simplify application of the AI Act. A report from Parliament’s Committees on Internal Market and Consumer Protection and on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs agrees with the Council proposal that fixed deadlines should be set for delaying the rules governing high-risk AI systems. The report also introduces a targeted ban on AI generation of non-consensual sexual and intimate content.
Following lengthy negotiations, Members are expected to consider a provisional agreement on the proposed directive to combat corruption on Wednesday. Aimed at developing a more robust legal and policy framework, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs’ report on the proposal called for an extended definition of a ‘public official’ subject to criminal proceedings in the case of ‘abuse of function’, and to introduce new categories of offence. It also sought enhanced rights for the public to participate in corruption-related proceedings and called for EU countries to adopt anti-corruption strategies. Parliament’s recommendations shaped the compromise text in this latter respect, but with limited extensions to definitions.
In the EU, citizens largely enjoy access to clean water. The EU’s urban wastewater legislation was updated in 2024, to bring it into line with the EU’s climate neutrality targets. The new Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) introduced stricter requirements for urban wastewater treatment, water re-use and sanitation. An oral question to the Commission is tabled for Thursday morning on the implementation of this file. The question is likely to raise debate on how to uphold the ‘polluter pays’ principle without risking production of vital medicines, as the pharmaceutical industry is a major user of water resources. During negotiations on the file, Parliament insisted on measures to avoid unintended consequences for vital products like medicines and to promote the re-use of wastewater and plant modernisation.
The EU’s global gateway strategy seeks to promote clean and secure energy connections by working with international partners worldwide. On Thursday morning, Members are due to consider a report from the Committees on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and on Development (DEVE), assessing the first four years of the strategy’s implementation. While noting the funding has been successfully spent on promoting sustainable and inclusive growth in non-EU countries, the report nevertheless proposes improvements. These include moving to a more demand-driven strategy, based on partners’ needs and greater private sector involvement. The committees recommend revising the governance structure for greater democratic legitimacy, and advocate simpler and more predictable financing, as well as avoiding global gateway projects exacerbating debt in third countries.
Against the backdrop of several national bans on conversion practices in EU countries, on Wednesday, Parliament is set to discuss a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), with over one million signatures in support, calling for an EU-wide ban on conversion practices targeting LGBTIQ+ individuals. Conversion practices (also known as conversion ‘therapies’) are widely condemned as constituting torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, resulting in severe physical and psychological harm. The European Parliament firmly opposes conversion practices and has long denounced all forms of LGBTIQ+ discrimination.
European Parliament Plenary Session March II 2026 – agenda
By Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Kuhaneetha Bai Kalaicelvan
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Mar 24 2026 (IPS)
In mid-1971, US President Nixon ended the dollar’s gold peg at $35 per ounce, triggering de-dollarisation. The 2025 gold and silver rush followed private speculators trying to profit from central banks hedging against perceived new risks.
Jomo Kwame Sundaram
De-dollarisationMany believe OPEC was allowed to raise oil prices from 1972, on condition petroleum purchases would be settled in dollars. ‘Petrodollars’ were thus believed to be the ‘black gold’ underlying the dollar system’s survival after 1971.
Although still the dominant world reserve currency, the dollar’s role has gradually declined over the decades. Trump 2.0’s rhetoric and actions appear to have accelerated de-dollarisation.
Trump’s 2 April 2025 ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs announcement triggered even greater uncertainty and volatility in foreign exchange and other markets worldwide.
Greater policy unpredictability has caused governments and investors to explore new options. Authorities worldwide are considering and developing alternatives to the dollar system.
Besides higher inflation, Trump’s threats and actions, particularly his tariffs, sanctions and wars, have pushed investors to sell dollar assets and seek alternatives.
Various factors have significantly accelerated de-dollarisation. In the first half of 2025, the dollar fell by over 10%, its sharpest fall since the 1973 oil crisis.
K Kuhaneetha Bai
Many countries in the Global South have been purchasing gold rather than dollar-denominated assets for reserve accumulation.Geopolitical economy commentator Ben Norton highlighted an April 2025 note by the Deutsche Bank foreign exchange research head, noting:
“We are witnessing a simultaneous collapse in the price of all US assets [including stocks, foreign exchange, and bonds] … we are entering uncharted territory in the global financial system…
“The market is rapidly de-dollarising. In a typical crisis environment, the market would be hoarding dollar liquidity…The market has lost faith in US assets. They are actively selling down their US assets.
“US administration policy is encouraging a trend toward de-dollarisation to safeguard international investors from a weaponisation of dollar liquidity.”
Western confiscations
The weaponisation of central banks by the US, Europe, and their allies has caused other central banks to seek ‘safety’ by switching from dollar assets to gold.
Increased weaponisation of the dollar and Western confiscation of others’ assets under various pretexts have accelerated this trend.
Billions of dollars’ worth of Venezuelan central bank gold, held at the Bank of England, was confiscated by the UK government during the 2019 Washington-instigated Caracas coup attempt.
After the coup failed, the Bank of England refused to return the gold to Venezuela. Trust in Western governments and central banks thus continued to erode.
Similarly, the US Fed and European Central Bank confiscated over $300 billion worth of Russian dollar-, euro- and sterling-denominated assets after it invaded Ukraine.
European authorities have since pledged to transfer these Russian assets to Ukraine rather than return them to their owners.
Western confiscations of the central bank reserves of Iran, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Russia and others have alarmed authorities and publics worldwide.
Central banks’ reserve managers have increasingly viewed gold as safe despite greater volatility. Besides serving as a hedge, the precious metal also offered lucrative speculative gains.
Mitigating risk
Many monetary authorities have reversed their earlier accumulation of dollar-denominated US Treasury bills and bonds in their official reserves.
While US government debt has continued growing, inflationary pressures have mounted, albeit episodically. Gold and silver holdings are believed to help hedge against inflation and fiat currency debasement.
Gold holdings in central bank reserves increased significantly after the 2008-09 global, actually Western, financial crisis, followed by the Western turn to ‘quantitative easing’.
For the first time in three decades, central banks’ total gold holdings in their international reserves exceeded their US Treasury bond holdings in 2025.
About 36,200 tons, or a fifth of all gold holdings, is now held by central banks, rising rapidly over two years from 15% at the end of 2023!
Meanwhile, rising gold prices drew more speculative investments for profit. But such price spikes are not sustainable indefinitely.
Once gold was seen as overpriced, investors turned to other precious metals, notably silver, and other financial assets.
BRICS’ golden hedge?
After Lord Jim O’Neill identified Brazil, Russia, India and China as significant new financial powers outside the Western sphere of influence, BRICS was formed in 2009 by adding South Africa.
BRICS now has ten members and ten partners. Together, they account for 44% of world income, measured by purchasing power parity, and 56% of its people.
Russia, China, and India have been among the largest recent buyers of gold. Other major purchasers include Uzbekistan and Thailand, both BRICS partners.
Trump 2.0 has generated significant apprehension internationally. Without BRICS’ help, his weaponisation of economic policies and agreements has accelerated de-dollarisation.
Although Trump accuses the BRICS of conspiring to accelerate de-dollarisation, their precious metal purchases make sense as a hedge for their reserves.
IPS UN Bureau
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