As world leaders prepare for the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), Secretary-General António Guterres urged them to step up efforts to mitigate the negative effects of global warming. In this context, the EU is committed to ensuring that world leaders agree to phase out fossil fuels and rapidly increase the production of renewable energy.
Green movements are on the rise in the Western Balkans and the broader area. Do they have a chance of success and will they be able to play a role in the region’s environmental future?
While the European Union as well as several member states aim to overhaul their laws on migration, the European Commission has proposed a new skills and talent mobility package in November. It is aiming to combat its workforce’s ageing demographic and is supposed to attract skilled workers from within and outside the bloc. It shall also help curb illegal migration and create legal entry routes into the union.
The new European Commissioner for Climate Action, Wopke Hoekstra, is gearing up for a tough climate summit at the end of this month in Dubai. The attending countries are nowhere near agreement, and on top of that Hoekstra knows the world is burning too. The European Newsroom talked to him ahead of the COP28.
Plans to increase EU spending to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression have stalled because of reluctance at EU level to commit to more funds. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell remains optimistic, saying it is up to member states to mobilise their industries if the EU is to keep its promise to deliver a million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine by next spring.
On Wednesday, the European Commission recommended opening formal membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova. This is a major gesture of support for Kyiv as it battles Russia. It also grants candidate status to Georgia and is to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), once conditions are met. But where do the rest of Western Balkan countries stand?