VIENNA
EU Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi’s proposal to press ahead with accession talks with Albania but exclude North Macedonia for now has sparked criticism in Austria, with Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg calling the move “absurd.” Read more.
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EU PRESIDENCY
Portuguese PM: ’unfair’ to blame Germany for vaccine patent stance. Portugal’s prime minister has said he considered arguments that blame Germany for the EU’s scepticism over the waiving of patents on COVID-19 vaccines “unfair”, stressing that most member states follow the same line. More.
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German Greens: The ‘X’ factor in EU’s debate on new genomic techniques
The Porto summit this weekend could be a “watershed moment” for EU-India relations to push for stronger health cooperation in the context of the pandemic, enhanced cooperation on trade and investment, and a partnership on connectivity, the country’s envoy to Brussels, Santosh Jha, told EURACTIV in an interview ahead of the EU-India leaders meeting on Saturday (8 May).
Santosh Jha is the ambassador of India to Belgium, Luxembourg and the EU.
He provided written answers to questions by EURACTIV’s Alexandra Brzozowski and Georgi Gotev ahead of of the EU-India Leaders meeting on Saturday (8 May).
India will celebrate 75 years of its independence in 2022. What is the vision for the future of India?
Greetings and welcome to EURACTIV’s Green Brief. Below you’ll find the latest roundup of news covering energy & environment from across Europe. You can subscribe to the weekly newsletter here.
Since she took office in December 2019, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been talking big about climate change, saying global warming is “an existential crisis” and dubbing the European Green Deal as “Europe’s man on the moon moment”.
That EU leaders are finally addressing climate change is a welcome development. But it also creates expectations. What if Europe fails to deliver? What if the transition to a green economy creates social and economic disparities within the EU?
Climate change is likely to be a key area to strengthen cooperation between the Republic of Korea and the EU in the coming years, the country’s ambassador to Brussels, Yoon Soon-gu, told EURACTIV in an interview about multilateralism, climate cooperation and the EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy.
Yoon Soon-gu is the ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Belgium, Luxembourg, the EU and NATO.
He provided written answers to questions by EURACTIV’s Alexandra Brzozowski.
The EU-South Korea relationship is underpinned by agreements on political relations and sectoral cooperation, free trade, and crisis management cooperation. What initiative do you expect from the EU side? Where do you see the potential for an expansion?
BRUSSELS
Belgium suffered a major cyberattack on Tuesday, Belgian media reported, affecting many of its key institutions.
Belnet’s internet network, which connects public institutions, higher education and university establishments, research centers and public administrations, has been the target of a large-scale denial-of-service (DDoS) attack since 12pm on Tuesday, spokeswoman Davina Luyten said. It’s origin is still unknown. Read more.
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EU PRESIDENCY
EU-India summit postponed until leaders can attend in person. The EU-India bilateral summit which had been planned to take place during Portugal’s presidency of the Council of the EU has been postponed until the leaders involved can attend in person, Portugal’s minister of foreign affairs confirmed on Tuesday. Read more.