Tag: EU

Refugees in Greece face hunger, homelessness despite status

by John Hadoulis Agence France-Presse ATHENS, Greece (AFP) – Two minutes into a Greek jobs fair interview, Hashim, a 21-year-old Afghan refugee, is offered work as a waiter at a swanky Corfu hotel. It’s his ticket out of the grim migrant camp he has called home for the past year, but there’s a caveat: he has to cut his ponytail. “Health and safety protocol,” his interviewer explains. Hashim, who won asylum in Greece a month-and-a-half […]

Germany taps Greenpeace chief Morgan as first climate envoy

by Michelle FITZPATRICK Agence France-Presse FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) – German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday named former Greenpeace chief Jennifer Morgan as her special climate envoy, as part of a pledge to put the battle against global warming “at the top” of the diplomatic agenda. US-born Morgan, 55, co-leader of Greenpeace International since 2016, will be the first person to hold the newly created role in Europe’s top economy. The eye-catching appointment comes as […]

France summit seeks action on ocean protection

PARIS, France (AFP) – World leaders, scientists and major companies gather in France this week to boost efforts to protect the oceans, which cover 70 percent of the planet but receive far less attention than land ecosystems. The One Ocean Summit in the northwestern port city of Brest on February 9-11 seeks to raise the international community’s ambitions to protect sealife, cut plastic pollution and tackle the impact of climate change. The world’s five connected […]

Czechs, Poland sign deal on coal mine that caused EU rift

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AFP) – The Czech Republic and Poland on Thursday signed a deal on a giant coal mine near the Czech and German borders to end a dispute that has caused a stand-off between Warsaw and Brussels. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki “signed an agreement” in Prague on the Turow lignite mine, the Polish prime minister’s office said on Twitter. “We managed to push away a stone […]

Brussels weathers backlash over calling gas and nuclear sustainable

by Daniel ARONSSOHN Agence France-Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) – The European Commission on Wednesday defied angry dissent from EU governments and protests from green campaigners to give a sustainable finance label to investments in both gas and nuclear power. Austria warned it will go to court to try to halt the measure, while Germany — which backed the inclusion of gas — called extending the labelling to nuclear “unacceptable”. Critics of nuclear energy point to […]

Extreme weather kills 140,000 Europeans in 40 years: report

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) – Extreme weather events such as heatwaves and floods have cost Europe almost 510 billion euros and around 142,000 lives over the past 40 years, according to a new report published Thursday. In its study, the European Environment Agency (EEA) called for continued adaptation measures at both individual and state level. A small number of extreme events, about three percent of the total, were alone responsible for about 60 percent of the […]

Austria to challenge EU nuclear green label in court

VIENNA, Austria (AFP) – Austria will challenge a European Commission decision to give a sustainable finance label to investments in nuclear power, the environment minister said Wednesday. The European Commission defied protests from green campaigners and dissent in its own ranks to give a sustainable finance label to investments in both gas and nuclear power on Wednesday. The EU argues that both have a role to play as cleaner power sources during the transition to […]

EU presses on with green label for gas, nuclear

by Alex PIGMAN Agence France-Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) – The EU will face the fury of opponents to nuclear and gas energy on Wednesday when it proposes new criteria for a “green label” for investment projects intended to help fight climate change. The fight over the European Union’s classification of power sources is the latest dust-up in discussions between the 27 member states on how to achieve a net zero-carbon economy by 2050. Brussels had […]

Nord Stream 2 parent founds German subsidiary

FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) – The operating company behind the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany said Wednesday it has founded a German subsidiary as it seeks to get the pipeline up and running amid rising diplomatic tensions. “The new company is to become the owner and operator of the 54-kilometre section of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline located in the German territorial waters,” the Swiss-based Nord Stream 2 AG said in a statement. […]

EU nations quarrel over whether nuclear, gas are ‘green’

by Julien GIRAULT Agence France-Presse AMIENS, France (AFP) – Hours before the window for lodging objections closes, EU environment and energy ministers meeting in France Friday differed sharply on a European Commission provision that would classify nuclear and natural gas energy as “sustainable”. The controversy pits countries led by France — where nuclear generates a world-leading 70 percent of electricity — against Germany, Austria and others in the 27-nation bloc. Debate over the Commission’s so-called […]

EU nations quarrel over whether nuclear, gas are ‘green’

  by Julien GIRAULT Agence France Presse AMIENS, France (AFP) — Hours before the window for lodging objections closes, EU environment and energy ministers meeting in France Friday differed sharply on a European Commission provision that would classify nuclear and natural gas energy as “sustainable”. The controversy pits countries led by France — where nuclear generates a world-leading 70 percent of electricity — against Germany, Austria and others in the 27-nation bloc. Debate over the […]

Austria gears up to fight EU ‘green’ nuclear energy plan

by Julia ZAPPEI with Denise HRUBY in Zwentendorf, Austria Agence France-Presse VIENNA, Austria (AFP) – As the EU moves to label energy from nuclear power and natural gas as “green” investments, Austria is gearing up to fight this, including with a legal complaint. The European Commission is consulting with member states and European lawmakers until Friday on its plans. A final text could be published by end of the month and would become EU law […]