In their last plenary session in Strasbourg before the EU elections, MEPs approved a provisional agreement reached in February to tighten rules on air pollution. According to the European Environment Agency, poor air quality is a major health risk.
The EU has agreed on a reform of emissions trading, the key climate protection instrument. A week after the corruption scandal in the European Parliament, Qatar has issued a statement warning of possible negative repercussions for relations with the EU. At the UN’s Biodiversity Conference, Brussels joined forces to significantly increase funding to counteract biodiversity loss.