The first successful European citizens’ initiative “Right2Water” will become European law. Yesterday (Wednesday, 18 December), the representatives of the European Parliament, the Council of Member States and the European Commission agreed on stricter limits for lead and endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol A allowed in drinking water. The agreement also foresees free access to drinking […]
Classification of Sustainable Investments: Happy End without nuclear greenwashing
Yesterday evening, on 16 December, the European Parliament’s negotiating team accepted a compromise proposal from the Council of Ministers on the classification of sustainable investments (taxonomy). The text is based on the agreement reached by the Member States in the Council on the morning of the same day. The Finnish Presidency had presented this text […]
Taxpayers’ money for Nord/LB: EU Commission must not apply double standards
At the end of last week, the EU Commission approved the billion-euro rescue of Norddeutsche Landesbank (Nord/LB). EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said on Thursday that the bail-out was being carried out under normal market conditions and was therefore not in breach of EU state aid rules. Nord/LB had entered into difficult waters as […]
Breakthrough for sustainable investments: Council and European Parliament agree on classification
The European Parliament and the Council have just agreed on a compromise on the classification of sustainable investments (taxonomy). The regulation defines which economic activities can be called sustainable in the common market and thus be included in a financial product labelled as sustainable. A sustainable financial product is one that makes a positive contribution […]
Government crisis in Malta: European Parliament sends urgent mission to look at the rule of law
Based on a Green initiative, the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament has just agreed to send an urgent mission to look at the rule of law in Malta after the recent revelations around the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. The Parliament will also debate the recent revelations in Malta in the December Plenary. […]
New EU tax study: fight against tax evasion has not yet been won
A new study by the European Commission concludes that the Member States of the European Union lost around 46 billion euros in tax revenue in 2016 as a result of tax evasion by private individuals. The German tax authorities alone lost around 7.22 billion euros in 2016 as a result of tax evasion. The UK […]