# EU

This week

4th June 2023 - 7th June 2023

Countdown starts on EU election as MEPs race to finish new laws

A report by

Lauren Boland

One year out from voting, the pressure is on to get through legislation before MEPs’ focus starts to ‘wander’ back to their constituencies.

10.3k

Sun 12:05 AM

Last week

28th May 2023 - 3rd June 2023

# Biodiversity

Rewilding row: Green minister warns of ‘horrible conservative scaremongering’ on EU nature law

Ossian Smyth said he was ‘not happy’ that Fine Gael’s EU party, the EPP had walked out of talks on the issue.

12.5k

Thu 5:16 PM

Reader Q&A: What do you want to know about Irish neutrality?

Our reporters will put your questions to experts in the field, for a comprehensive and thorough look at what neutrality means for Ireland, and how we would be affected by any possible change to the policy.

6.7k

Thu 4:23 PM

# underwater cables

Ireland to consider joining EU or Nato programme to protect undersea cables

Varadkar said that he didn’t believe Ireland was capable of defending cables off its coast without international support.

6.3k

Thu 2:25 PM

# Brexit

EU-UK relations seen as improved in months since Boris Johnson departure

Fine Gael MEP Seán Kelly has described the former British prime minister as a “buffoon who didn’t take anything seriously”.

5.4k

May 31st 2023, 6:12 PM

# North Kosovo

Kosovo tensions high after violent clashes as EU calls for calm across the Balkans

Violence sparked by disputed municipal elections left 30 soldiers from a NATO-led peacekeeping force injured on Monday after clashes with ethnic Serbs protesters.

6.2k

Updated

May 30th 2023, 2:02 PM

# People Power

Lack of transparency harming Ireland’s vital election observer role

Crunching years of data and speaking to experts, Noteworthy scrutinises how our observer system stacks up internationally.

5.7k

May 30th 2023, 6:30 AM

# Wildfires

EU doubles firefighting aircraft fleet ahead of hot and dry summer

The aircraft are stationed in 10 member states while over 400 firefighters will be pre-positioned in Greece, France and Portugal.

7.2k

May 29th 2023, 12:13 PM

# People Power

Ireland an outlier in decision to halt election observer role during Covid

Other Western European countries continued to send observers to monitor elections during the pandemic.

9.5k

May 29th 2023, 6:30 AM

Last month

May 2023

# Twitter

Twitter to quit EU disinformation code, European sources say

The voluntary pact contains over three dozen pledges such as better cooperation with fact-checkers and not promoting actors distributing disinformation.

14.7k

May 25th 2023, 8:29 PM

# apple tax row

EU commission's appeal against €14.3 billion Apple and Ireland tax ruling to be heard today

Successive Irish Governments and Apple have argued that the company does not owe the State the allegedly unpaid tax.

14.7k

May 23rd 2023, 8:34 AM

THE MORNING LEAD

Green MEPs 'very' concerned by opposition to plan for restoring nature and rewetting Irish bogs

A report by

Lauren Boland

Two Green MEPs from Ireland and Germany gave an in-depth interview to The Journal on the proposed Nature Restoration Law.

19.2k

May 20th 2023, 12:05 AM

# MEP

European elections to be held between 6 and 9 June next year

Each country can choose which day to hold their own elections within that time frame.

8.8k

May 17th 2023, 12:24 PM

# Eurovision

Campaigners who raised ire of right-wing press insist they're not 'plotting to hijack Eurovision'

Members from the Liverpool for Europe group plan to hand out 75,000 EU flags at this week’s Eurovision in Liverpool.

7.5k

May 12th 2023, 11:37 AM

Northern Ireland secretary says ‘deadlines are deadly’ amid calls to restore Stormont

Chris Heaton-Harris said his focus is on ensuring the executive is in place for the long-term when it returns.

7.8k

May 10th 2023, 4:38 PM

# Mediterranean deaths

Over 1,000 dead this year, the world's most dangerous migration route is getting more deadly

The total number of people reported dead or missing in the Mediterranean this year now stands at 1,053.

15.5k

May 9th 2023, 10:47 PM

# EU case

State yet to protect natural sites such as Killarney Park and Burren despite Europe court case

Killarney National Park is thought of as one of Ireland’s “jewels in the crown” in terms of flora and fauna.

16.4k

May 8th 2023, 12:05 AM

April

April 2023

# Social Media

Twitter, TikTok and Instagram to face much stricter content rules in EU

19 digital companies with tens of millions of users will have to up their regulation efforts in Europe from August.

6.1k

Apr 25th 2023, 3:33 PM

# Measles

Ireland has one of the lowest rates of measles immunisation in Europe

Measles rates in Europe went down during the pandemic, but it is possible that cases were underreported during that time.

9.1k

Apr 25th 2023, 9:54 AM

# Data privacy

Germany launches data protection inquiry over ChatGPT

The chatbot can only function if it is trained on vast datasets, raising concerns about where OpenAI gets its data and how that information is handled.

13.4k

Apr 24th 2023, 7:38 PM

# factcheck

FactCheck: Does Ireland collect more corporate tax per person than almost any other EU country?

Ireland collects much of its taxes from companies, but how much compared to the rest of the EU?

16.9k

Apr 19th 2023, 5:40 PM

# Aidan O'Hara

Irish diplomat was attacked in Sudan during robbery by 'armed men wearing military fatigues'

A European Commission spokesperson was unable to confirm if Monday’s incident was a targeted attack.

8.7k

Apr 19th 2023, 4:40 PM

# fit for 55

EU approves €86 billion plan to help people impacted by climate transition

The EU Parliament passed a series of votes on climate legislation today that have been long in the works.

4.9k

Apr 18th 2023, 12:54 PM

# Europe

15 EU countries to take legal action over Hungary's anti-LGBTQ+ laws

Ireland is one of the countries, and the European Parliament has also joined the suit.

18.5k

135

Apr 7th 2023, 3:23 PM

March

March 2023

# LGBT Rights

EU condemns Italian violation of same-sex parents' rights

The far-right government has ordered the city of Milan to stop registering children of same-sex couples.

18.0k

Mar 30th 2023, 4:38 PM

# ireland and the eu

Ireland to launch bid to be home of EU's new Anti-Money Laundering Authority HQ

Minister for Finance Michael McGrath said he believes Ireland would be a “great location” for the new authority’s HQ.

8.1k

Mar 28th 2023, 4:32 PM

# wir leben autos

EU moves closer to banning new fossil-fuel cars after striking deal with Germany

Germany, one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world, had previously vetoed the ban.

12.8k

Mar 27th 2023, 2:58 PM

# clocks changing

Whatever happened to the EU plan to abolish daylight savings time?

With the clocks about to change this weekend, EU plans to abolish daylight savings time have fizzled out

41.2k

Mar 25th 2023, 12:05 AM

# Agri Business

Govt transfers €150m in Brexit funding to post-Covid fund, to be spent in part on retrofitting

The Taoiseach said the Government “would have liked” to spend the money on businesses and the agricultural sector, but that it faced obstacles in doing so.

18.9k

Mar 24th 2023, 12:10 AM

# Northern Ireland

Taoiseach is 'disappointed' with DUP's decision not to return to Stormont

Varadkar is in Brussels today for a meeting of EU leaders where the Windsor Framework will be discussed.

15.2k

Updated

Mar 23rd 2023, 1:16 PM

THE MORNING LEAD

Undersea cables like those off Irish coast could have beefed up security under new EU naval plan

A report by

Niall O'Connor

The strategy document, titled “An enhanced EU Maritime Security Strategy for evolving maritime threats, was released last week.

The strategy document, titled "An enhanced EU Maritime Security Strategy for evolving maritime threats, was released last week.

Sources have said that the strategy could benefit Ireland in funding and other support.

The Government has repeatedly stated that Ireland is not joining any military alliances.

17.5k

Mar 16th 2023, 12:05 AM

# climate action

MEPs vote for Europe to decarbonise buildings and help nature to trap carbon

EU politicians backed new policies for buildings to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions.

9.3k

Mar 14th 2023, 12:30 PM

# transatlantic ties

Biden and von der Leyen united in support for Ukraine, but tensions swirl over trade dispute

Meeting today at the White House, the two leaders also discussed a trade dispute that is raising tensions.

9.9k

Mar 10th 2023, 9:55 PM

# Georgia

Thousands protest in Georgia against 'foreign agents' bill after police clamp down

Last night, police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the protesters.

16.2k

Updated

Mar 8th 2023, 8:20 PM

# car insurance

Ireland could have the highest level of uninsured vehicles in the EU

The number of insured vehicles increased by 13,626 in a year to 188,000, which is 1 in every 12 private vehicles on Irish roads.

10.2k

Mar 8th 2023, 10:09 AM

# Roberta Metsola

EU parliament president urges Ukraine membership talks during visit to the country

‘I am hopeful that accession negotiations can begin already this year,’ Roberta Metsola said in the Ukrainian city of Lviv.

7.5k

Mar 4th 2023, 1:13 PM

# Climate Change

UN talks on agreement to protect the high seas continue into the early morning

The high seas comprise more than 60% of the world’s oceans and nearly half the planet’s surface.

8.5k

Updated

Mar 4th 2023, 10:56 AM

# driving for change

Physical driving licence could become 'history' as EU proposes digital option

This digital licence is expected to allow drivers to replace, renew or exchange a licence easier.

33.4k

Mar 1st 2023, 3:47 PM

February

February 2023

# Final Countdown

D-Day for Protocol talks as von der Leyen visits Sunak to tackle 'complex challenges'

The two leaders will hold a joint press conference if a revised deal is signed-off.

The visit of von der Leyen to London is seen as a measure of how close the sides are to agreeing a deal.

Sunak is planning to brief his Cabinet before potentially announcing the details of deal.

Former minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has said he does not believe Sunak has done enough to convince the DUP to re-enter into power-sharing.

8.1k

Updated

Feb 27th 2023, 8:23 AM

# Endgame

NI Protocol: Von der Leyen to visit Sunak tomorrow to discuss 'complex challenges'

A new system for custom checks may be adopted as negotiations on the Northern Ireland Protocol appear to be near a resolution.

27.1k

Updated

Feb 26th 2023, 5:30 PM