European Union

In today’s edition: European leaders back Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza as Hamas remains silent, the EPP stays quiet on whether MEP Dolors Montserrat draws a second salary, and an EU loan proposal and accession gambit expose Brussels’ limits in Ukraine

Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum, Zelenskyy called for a joint air defence system to counter Russian threats, while Poland’s Tusk warned Europe must stop relying on the US and confront the war as its own

The ECB and key capitals are deeply sceptical about an audacious Commission scheme to hijack Russian assets to bankroll Ukraine

“The number one issue for our members is the Chinese economy itself," according to the EU Chamber of Commerce in China

The two leaders warned that Israel would "finish the job" against Hamas if the Palestinian militant group rejects the deal.

Ireland's 'unsustainable' healthcare budget faces tariff ripple effect and rising drug prices

Contrainte par un arrêt de la Cour de justice de l’UE, la Commission cherche à réviser son accord commercial avec le Maroc, sans toutefois rompre avec Rabat. Au cœur du dossier : le statut controversé du Sahara occidental, ancienne colonie espagnole occupée par le Maroc depuis 1975 reconnue par l’ONU comme un territoire non autonome.

The post L’UE tente de sauver son accord commercial avec le Maroc via une clause controversée sur le Sahara occidental appeared first on Euractiv FR.

Senior French foreign ministry officials "did their level best to clip my wings", he said

Even though Moldova’s vote is a bold step towards the bloc, there is still a lot of ground to cover

Animal testing science has developed significantly in 20 years; now it’s time to align industry with new non-animal testing methods

Key disputes centre on approval timelines and environmental risk assessments in the EU’s pharmaceutical reform

Written by Ivana Katsarova.

The world produces enough food to feed everyone, and yet over 700 million people faced hunger in 2023. Worryingly, at least one billion meals are being wasted in households worldwide every day, thus exacerbating the problem by reducing the amount of food available for consumption.  This is the equivalent of 1.3 meals served every day to every single person in the world suffering from hunger. Importantly, when food is discarded, all the embedded energy and resources and their environmental consequences, such as greenhouse gas emissions, that accumulate along the food chain still materialise with no benefit for human nutrition.

In the European Union (EU), nearly 60 million tonnes of food – representing 132 kilogrammes per person – were wasted in 2022, of which over half (54 %) was in households. The environmental impact of this amount of food waste accounts for 254 million tonnes of CO2 and 342 billion cubic meters of water, used in the production process.  

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly designated 29 September as the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste. Committed to reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goal target to halve per capita food waste by 2030, Parliament and Council agreed on binding reduction targets of 10 % in food processing and manufacturing and 30 % per capita in retail, catering, food services and households, by the end of 2030 compared to the annual average generated between 2021 and 2023. 

In the EU, priority is given to preventing waste and encouraging the donation or redistribution of food for human consumption over animal feed and other uses. A 2023 analysis of 332 food waste prevention actions carried out in the 27 EU countries shows that 93 % of actions are targeted at the highest level of the ‘food use hierarchy’, thus witnessing the countries’ ongoing efforts to fight food waste. However, efforts are mainly focused on awareness-raising and education (62%), while market-based measures (4%) and regulatory interventions (1%) remain limited.

Read this infographic on ‘International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste 2025‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

With this move, the European Commission would gain great power in monitoring national governments’ progress in rearming

Any other concessions "would undermine our environmental ambitions without putting a stop to the relocation of production to third countries," French Industry Minister Marc Ferracci warned

Competing with Asian shipbuilding has tested the EU’s maritime industry; now there’s hope a new strategy can give Europe an edge

Dati is among the growing list of high-profile French politicians whose political ambitions risk being barred by judicial condemnations

Palm oil, blamed by the EU for deforestation but vital to Indonesia’s economy, sits at the heart of the WTO dispute

A majority against the law “is not likely”, particularly because “there is no uniform line within the EPP group”, said a spokesperson for the German industry association (BDI)

On Monday, industry ministers discussed reducing administrative friction on tech companies with Enrico Letta to further the EU’s economic integration

Les pays les plus riches de l’UE font barrage aux demandes des petits États membres, qui réclament des garanties d’accès au futur Fonds européen pour la compétitivité — une enveloppe de 234 milliards d’euros prévue dans le budget 2028-2034 du bloc.

The post La France et l’Allemagne sur la défensive concernant l’accès au futur Fonds de compétitivité appeared first on Euractiv FR.