Proceedings were launched by the EU in 2017 over concerns that an overhaul of Poland's judiciary under the previous government represented a "clear risk" to rule of law. The EU said on Monday it will drop proceedings against Poland launched six years ago over concerns that judicial reforms posed a risk to the rule of law in the country.  The new centrist government in Warsaw had launched a series of legislative and non-legislative measures to address concerns about the independence of the justice system. According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the bloc's executive arm no longer believes there is a risk to the rule of law in Poland.  "Today marks the opening of a new chapter for Poland," von der Leyen said in a post on X. Poland hails EU's decision Poland's government welcomed the EU's decision to drop a six-year-old rule of law case that could have cost Warsaw its voice in the bloc's affairs. "This is obviously good news for Poland. It strengthens Poland's position in the European Union and makes us a strong player. There is no longer a dark shadow over us," Funds and Regional Policy Minister Katarzyna Pelczynska Nalecz told private broadcaster TVN. The Polish Ministry of Justice stated that it had taken "a number of legislative and non-legislative actions to address concerns about the independence of the judiciary." What were the EU's concerns based on? Poland's conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which headed the government for eight years, carried out a sweeping overhaul of the judiciary. The EU saw that overhaul as undermining democratic checks and balances and bringing the courts under political influence. In response, the EU began so-called "Article 7" procedures, which can suspend certain rights of a member state if it is persistently considered to breach the bloc's founding values. The European Commission also held back billions of euros in funds earmarked for Poland. However, the situation changed after the PiS lost the parliamentary elections in October to a coalition led by Donald Tusk, a pro-EU liberal, who vowed to mend relations with Brussels. In February, the European Union welcomed a Polish plan to "restore the rule of law" and dismantle the policies of the former nationalist government. The draft decision on Monday said that Poland has "recognized the primacy of EU law" and is committed to implementing European court judgements concerning the rule of law.

Although the EU has dramatically reduced the amount of Russian gas it imports, significant quantities are still flowing into the bloc. More than two years since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, its gas is still flowing into Europe. While the European Union has greatly reduced the amount of gas it imports from Russia, the hydrocarbon is still powering some European homes and businesses and boosting Kremlin revenues as a result. When the war began, European leaders were forced to reckon with a long-established dependence on both Russian gas and oil. Gas was a particular problem, as in 2021, 34% of the EU's gas came from Russia. Countries in Central and Eastern Europe were especially dependent. When the EU mooted a ban, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was quick to voice his opposition. "Europe has deliberately exempted energy supplies from Russia from sanctions. At the moment, Europe's supply of energy for heat generation, mobility, power supply and industry cannot be secured in any other way," he said. Vladimir Putin seized on this.  Throughout 2022, Russia cut gas imports to Europe. European leaders fretted about a winter energy shortage. These fears were never realized, but crucially, they meant the EU never actually sanctioned Russian gas. "It was never a sanction," says Benjamin Hilgenstock from the Kyiv School of Economics. "It was a voluntary decision by countries, and a smart one, to diversify supply and no longer be blackmailable by Russia," he told DW. How LNG imports from Russia replaced pipeline gas According to EU data, the share of Russian pipeline gas member states imported fell from 40% of the total in 2021 to about 8% in 2023. However, when Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is included —  natural gas cooled down to liquid form so it can be transported by ship —  the total share of Russian gas in the EU's total last year was 15%. A key way the EU reduced its reliance on Russian gas was by increasing LNG imports from countries such as the United States and Qatar. However, this has inadvertently led to a surge of heavily discounted Russian LNG entering the bloc. According to the data provider Kpler, Russia is now the EU's second-biggest LNG supplier. LNG imports from Russia accounted for 16% of the EU's total LNG supply in 2023, a 40% increase compared with the amount Russia sold to the EU in 2021. Import volumes in 2023 were slightly down from 2022, but data from the first quarter of 2024 shows that Russian LNG exports to Europe have risen again by 5% year-on-year. France, Spain and Belgium have been particularly big importers. Those three countries accounted for 87% of the LNG that came into the EU in 2023. Countries want to stop 'trans-shipping' LNG Yet much of this LNG is not needed by the European market and is being handled at European ports before being reexported to third countries worldwide, with some EU states and companies profiting as a result. "A lot of the Russian LNG that goes to Europe is just being 'trans-shipped,'" said Hilgenstock. "So that has nothing to do with Europe's natural gas supply. It's just European companies making money facilitating Russian LNG exports." According to a recent report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), just under a quarter of Europe's LNG imports from Russia (22%) were trans-shipped to global markets in 2023. Petras Katinas, an energy analyst with CREA, told DW that most of this LNG was sold to countries in Asia. As a result, several EU members, such as Sweden, Finland and the Baltic States, are putting pressure on the bloc to enact a total ban on Russian LNG, a move that would require the agreement of all member states. EU discussions are currently focused on banning the reexport of Russian LNG from European ports. According to the news agency Bloomberg, the sanctioning of key Russian LNG projects, such as Arctic LNG 2, the UST Luga LNG terminal and the Murmansk plant, is also being considered. "We should really basically ban Russian LNG," said Hilgenstock. "We don't think it plays any significant role for European gas supply, or it can be relatively easily replaced through LNG from other sources." A 2023 study by the Bruegel think tank backs up this analysis. Yet Acer, the EU's energy regulator, recently warned that any reduction of Russian LNG imports should take place "in gradual steps" to avoid an energy shock. The EU countries still piping in Russian gas Pipeline gas from Russia is also still coming into the EU. Although the Nord Stream pipelines are not operational and the Yamal pipeline no longer brings Russian gas to Europe, Russian gas still flows into Austria's Baumgarten gas hub via pipelines that cross Ukraine. The Austrian state-owned OMV energy company has a contract with Russian gas company Gazprom until 2040. In February, Austria confirmed that 98% of its gas imports in December 2023 were from Russia. The government says it wants to break the contract with Gazprom as early as possible, but EU sanctions on Russian gas are necessary for that to happen legally. Like Austria, Hungary has continued to import pipeline Russian gas in large quantities. Hungary also recently struck a gas deal with Turkey, but experts say this gas, via Turkstream, is also from Russia. Hilgenstock says that some countries have continued to buy Russian gas as they are benefiting from cheap, attractive contracts. "So unless and until there is an embargo on Russian natural gas, then it's really up to these countries to do this," he said. For countries such as Austria and Hungary, a possible end to their pipeline imports from Russia may ultimately be fashioned by Ukraine. Kyiv insists it will not renew existing deals it has with Gazprom to let gas flow via its territory. That agreement expires at the end of 2024. Time for an embargo? Although Russian gas is still imported into Europe, its overall share of Europe's gas imports has fallen dramatically since 2021. The EU says it wants the bloc to be completely free of Russian gas by 2027, a goal that Hilgenstock believes looks increasingly realistic. "I think if this entire, sordid affair has shown us one thing is that we can, in fact, relatively quickly diversify our supply of gas and other energy sources away from Russia," he said. However, he believes the political conditions "aren't particularly conducive" for a total gas embargo at present, particularly a pipeline embargo. He points to Hungary's presidency of the EU in the second half of 2024 as a potential barrier. Budapest has closer ties to Moscow than most EU member states. On LNG, he is more optimistic and says that in addition to EU action, it is up to high-volume LNG importers such as Spain and Belgium to take measures themselves. "This backdoor importing of Russian gas is a huge problem, especially from a messaging point of view," he said. "And we're helping Russia with its LNG supply chains, which we shouldn't."

The European Union is a coalition  of European countries that have agreed to accept Palestine as a state. Most of the countries of the alliance will accept Palestine before the end of next May. Josep Borrell, head of the European Union's foreign policy department, told this to reporters on Monday (April 29). Al Arabiya news. The special conference of the World Economic Forum, the world's largest economic alliance is underway in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Borrell attended the conference as an EU representative. During an exchange with journalists on the sidelines of the conference, Borrell said that EU members of Spain, Ireland, Malta and Slovenia are the most advanced in this regard. Last March, these three countries said that they are working to recognize Palestine as a state. In response to the news, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that recognizing Palestine as a state would 'declaring a prize for terror.' Incidentally, on October 7 of last year, Israel launched an invasion of Gaza in Palestine as a revenge against Hamas. The troops of the occupying state have been conducting indiscriminate attacks for six and a half months under the name of eliminating Hamas. According to the Ministry of Health of Gaza, at least 34 thousand and 97 Palestine civilians, most of whom are women and children, have lost their lives so far in the ongoing Israeli aggression. Besides, another 76 thousand and 980 were injured.

European Union officials have raided the offices of Chinese security equipment maker Nuctech as part of an investigation into subsidies, demonstrating growing tensions between the bloc and China. The European Commission said it conducted “unannounced inspections” at the premises of security equipment maker in Europe which it suspects might have benefited unduly from state subsidies. However, it did not mention the name of the firm. In a statement released on its website, the EU’s executive body said, “The commission has indications that the inspected company may have received foreign subsidies that could distort the (EU’s) internal market.” On Wednesday, Nuctech told CNN that its offices in Poland and the Netherlands were being inspected. The company makes baggage security scanners for airports and other equipment. Earlier in 2020, the US included Nuctech in the list of entities subject to stricter license requirements “for its involvement in activities that are contrary to the national security interests of the United States.” In a statement, Nuctech said, “Nuctech is cooperating with the European Commission and is committed to defending its reputation of a fully independent and self-supporting economic operator.” The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU, whose members include Chinese state-owned and private firms, expressed its “strong dissatisfaction” about the raids. It further said that raids had been conducted “without prior notice and without solid evidence.” China Chamber of Commerce to the EU said, “The European side manifested its intention to weaponize the Foreign Subsidies Regulation as a tool to suppress lawfully operating Chinese companies in Europe.” Speaking to CNN, a European Commission spokesperson said that officials conduct unannounced inspections based on “substantiated indications” that the company in question might have received “distortive foreign subsidies benefitting its activities in the EU.” The spokesperson further said, “An inspection is an investigative step which never pre-judges the outcome of the commission’s investigation.” The raids carried out by the EU under its new powers against excessive foreign subsidies follow a probe launched by the bloc into China’s state support for its wind turbine firms and Chinese companies bidding for a solar farm contract in Romania. The Foreign Subsidies Regulation came into effect in July 2023. The regulation is aimed to address market distortions caused by subsidies from foreign governments and ensuring that EU companies are competing on a level playing field. The raids were conducted on the same day when the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that G7 developed economies was starting work to tackle imports that have been caused by “structural overproduction” elsewhere, “an overproduction that is achieved to a large extent by subsidies, massive subsidies,” CNN reported. In a speech, Leyen said, “We have to be very vigilant that our producers are not at risk to be forced out of the market.” Although she did not mention China, however, there is growing evidence of tensions between China and its major trading partners, including the EU and the United States, relating to an oversupply of cheap Chinese goods in foreign markets. In recent years, China’s global trade surplus in goods has increased and is now approaching USD 1 trillion, CNN reported. During her visit to China in March, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned of the risk to jobs and businesses in the US and elsewhere posed by overproduction of certain goods in China. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is currently on a visit to China, voiced concerns on Thursday about China’s trade policies and “non-market economic practices.” He expressed concerns about China’s trade policies during his meeting with Shanghai’s Party Secretary Chen Jining, according to a US government spokesperson.    Source: The Print

With EU elections approaching, lawmakers are busy listing their successes. DW breaks down where the European Parliament made its mark — and where it didn't. The halls and corridors of the European Parliament were a hive of activity this week. Hundreds of elected lawmakers bustled between votes, racing to wrap up a record number of laws before bloc-wide elections in June. Outside the chamber of the European Union's only directly elected body, journalists jostled for space and final interviews before politicians enter campaign mode in earnest. It's easy to forget just how many political twists and turns those lawmakers have navigated since the last elections in 2019, with Europe bouncing from one crisis to the next — first Brexit, then the COVID-19 pandemic, then Russia's war in Ukraine. So amid the disorder, what did parliamentarians get done — and where did they fail to shift the dial? DW breaks down some landmark laws and parlaiment's limits. Green deal: Making good on climate promises In 2019, the European Commission — the bloc's executive arm — unveiled a plan to slash greenhouse emissions by 55% compared 1990 levels by 2030 and to become emission-neutral by 2050. That followed pressure from young climate protesters taking to the street and a so-called electoral "Green wave" when record numbers of Green lawmakers won seats in the European Parliament. Since then, the European Parliament has been involved in negotiating the myriad laws designed to make good on that pledge — including plans to ban combustion engine cars next decade and a tax on certain carbon-intensive imports in a bid to make polluters pay. "The European Parliament has shown itself to be a well-seasoned legislator when it comes to environmental policy," Peggy Corland, head of the Brussels bureau of the Robert Schuman Foundation think tank, told DW. These days, however, polling suggests the tides are turning on the green wave. Protests across the EU this year prompted Brussels to loosen some green farming rules in a bid to ease burdens on farmers, and in February, key nature restoration rules scraped through a final vote after the biggest center-right grouping withdrew support over concerns around food security. Both moves were slammed by climate campaigners as a watering down of the earlier climate promises. 

Israel's top diplomat thanked "friends for their support and assistance" and said Iran needed to be stopped before it was too late. Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Thursday welcomed news that EU leaders would widen sanctions against Iran. "This is an important step to pull the teeth out of the snake," Katz wrote on X, formerly Twitter. He thanked "all our friends for their support and help." Katz wrote: "Iran must be stopped now be stopped now before it's too late."  In the early hours of Thursday morning, European Council President Charles Michel announced that the EU would widen the scope of sanctions on Iran, specifically targeting its drone and missile producers. EU leaders have been meeting at a two-day summit in Brussels to discuss Middle East tensions, following Iran's weekend attack on Israel involving hundreds of drones and missiles, among other issues. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has tasked his staff with drawing up new measures. It is not a simple step, however, as the EU has already targeted those responsible for making drones that Iran has sold to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine.  Borrell said that proxy forces backed by Iran in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria could also be targeted with sanctions.  

The European Union has bledged billion of dollars to embrace the idea of a "blue economy" to protect the world's oceans from damage caused by human activity. The European Union has pledged €3.5 billion ($3.71 billion) to protect the world's oceans and promote sustainability through a series of initiatives this year, the EU's top environment official said on Tuesday. Virginijus Sinkevicius, the European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, said the "ocean is part of who were are, and it is our responsibility" while announcing the initiatives at the "Our Ocean" conference in Athens. The annual conference, attended by about 120 countries, include supporting 14 investments and one reform in sustainable fisheries in Cyprus, Greece, Poland, Portugal worth about €1.9 billion. Another €980 million under the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility will be used in in Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Italy and Spain's to support four investments and two reforms to fight marine pollution. The aim of the conference is to promote and support the idea of the "blue economy" which the World Bank defines as “sustainable use of ocean resources to benefit economies, livelihoods and ocean ecosystem health.” Greece strongly embraces idea given its location Greece, which includes thousands of islands and which has the longest Mediterranean coastline of any littoral state, also plans to present its national strategy on marine biodiversity protection at the conference. The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service said last month that ocean temperatures hit a record high in February, in a dataset that goes back to 1979. Overfishing and plastic pollution are also major threats to oceans. Plastics entering the world's oceans could nearly triple by 2040 if no further action is taken, research has shown. 

After eight years of tough negotiations with the European Union's 27 member states, the European Parliament has approved a fundamental reform of asylum policy in the bloc. The new migration pact comprises several intertwined laws and is primarily intended to reduce the number of new arrivals, speed up asylum procedures and establish centers for doing this at the European Union's external borders. According to the EU's statistics agency Eurostat, the number of asylum applications has risen steadily in recent years, reaching 1.14 million in 2023. Around 4 million refugees from Ukraine have been accommodated in the bloc since 2022. How will asylum procedures be implemented at the external borders? In the future, asylum-seekers and refugees will be clearly identified within seven days of arrival in the EU by land, sea or air. Their details will be stored in the European asylum fingerprint database Eurodac, which will be expanded with further biometric data. Migrants from countries with recognition rates below 20%, such as India, Pakistan or Morocco, could be detained at the border for up to 12 weeks. Holding centers are to be set up in Greece, Italy, Malta, Spain, Croatia and Cyprus, and shall be where authorities will decide whether to send applicants back to their country of origin without further inquiry. This is expected to affect only a small number of arrivals. Across the EU, these centers should be able to accommodate up to 30,000 people at any time. Migrants from countries with higher recognition rates will be able to pass through the regular asylum procedure. Currently, this process can take years and is set to be shortened. Those people whose applications have been rejected will be deported directly at the EU's external borders. Burden on first points of entry to be decreased The so-called New Pact on Migration and Asylum also states that countries where migrants first arrive will be able to relocate a certain number of asylum-seekers to other EU member states. For this, a system of "mandatory solidarity" will be put in place. If states such as Hungary refuse to accept people, they will have to pay compensation or send equipment and personnel to countries of first reception. The amount of €20,000 ($21,400) per person not admitted has been put forward, but this is nonbinding and member states will negotiate details on a case-by-case basis. If one country thinks it is bearing too much of the burden, it will be able to request more solidarity. In crisis cases, all 27 member states will decide together. Standardize conditions across bloc Currently, many asylum-seekers in Greece and Italy, for example, try to continue their journey to reach countries like Germany, Austria, France, the Netherlands and Belgium. This is the case whether someone is granted asylum or not. According to the current system, the countries where applicants first arrived are supposed to take back people who have not been granted asylum. This does not usually happen. The new pact will attempt to revise the system by providing more uniform services and conditions across the EU, so that certain member states are not considered more attractive than others.  Deportations to become easier The new pact will also allow for the speedier deportation of people to countries of origin or transit, if these have been declared safe. The EU is attempting to seal more agreements with third-party states, such as Tunisia, Mauritania and Egypt, to persuade them to take in more people whose requests for asylum have been rejected. Tunisia, for instance, has agreed to take back its own nationals in return for economic aid, but its government does not want to take in people from sub-Saharan Africa who initially passed through Tunisia on their way to the EU. A 2016 agreement between the EU and Turkey had led to fewer Syrians arriving in Greece over a period of four years. But now, the Turkish government does not want to take back Syrians whose applications have been rejected, so the deal no longer applies.  Database will provide EU-wide information According to the new pact, personnel on the external borders of the EU will in future record all people entering the bloc. Biometric information will be stored in a database that will be accessible across the EU. This will help determine whether somebody who is applying for asylum in one EU member state has already been rejected in another. It will also make it easier to deport people back to the first point of entry or to their country of origin. There have been several attempts to implement such a database since 2015. The current Eurodac database, which only stores fingerprints, has various technical deficiencies. New pact remains controversial Supporters of the new pact have argued that stricter asylum rules and procedures will speed up deportations and act as a deterrent. They've said that fewer people will risk making the journey to Europe because their chances of being able to stay will be restricted. Critics have said the pact undermines the fundamental right to asylum in the EU, and fear people in need of protection will be rejected. They've said people trying to get to the EU by crossing the Mediterranean, for example, will continue to die. What now? At the end of April, the Council of the European Union, which represents the 27 member states, will have to give its approval to the new migration pact, but this is considered just a formality. When the pact does come into force, with its various laws and regulations, it remains to be seen whether member states will fulfill their new obligations. Will Italy set up functioning centers on its borders? Will the bloc's northern and eastern member states show solidarity and take in more migrants, or at least provide funds for them? It's expected that it will take two years for the pact to be implemented, but it will be many more years before it's clear whether the number of asylum-seekers in Europe has fallen as a result or not.

European Union regulators have opened investigations into the tech giants in the first application of the new Digital Markets Act. The tech lobby has criticized the move, saying it was "rushed." US tech giants Apple, Google and Meta were targeted by European Union regulators on Monday, as the bloc opened its first investigations into "non-compliance" with its new Digital Markets Act (DMA). The sweeping DMA legislation was passed into law earlier this month. The law aims to prevent big tech companies from cornering digital markets while creating a fairer digital space by curbing how the biggest companies act online, including ensuring they give users more choices. "We are not convinced that the solutions by [Google parent company] Alphabet, Apple and Meta respect their obligations for a fairer and more open digital space for European citizens and businesses," said the EU's internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton. If found guilty of failing to comply with the new law, the EU Commission, the bloc's executive arm, can impose fines of up to 10% of a company's total global turnover, rising to 20% for repeat offenders. The DMA is an accompaniment to the EU's Digital Services Act groundbreaking legislation to put in force measures to moderate illegal content and prevent, for example, the promotion of hate speech on their online platforms. What have been the reactions?  The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), a leading international tech lobby group, criticized the move, which it said sent a "worrying signal." "As we all know, data takes time to collect. What we see now, however, sends a worrying signal that the EU might rush into investigations without knowing what they're investigating," said the head of CCIA Europe, Daniel Friedlaender, as reported by AFP news agency.  Google said that it has already made "significant changes" to the way its services operate in Europe to comply with the DMA – including recent changes to its Google Maps service. "We will continue to defend our approach in the coming months," Google's director of competition, Oliver Bethell, said. Apple said it is confident that its move to allow iPhone users to switch web browsers more easily complies with the DMA, and that it will "continue to constructively engage with the European Commission as they conduct their investigations."  

The Western Balkan country is among six nations who are at different stages of the EU accession. Since Russia's war in Ukraine, EU officials are trying to lure them away from Russian influence. The European Commission will recommend on Tuesday to the  European UnionCouncil to start accession negotiations with  Bosnia and Herzegovina, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced. "Today we will decide to recommend to the Council to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina," she said in a speech to the European Parliament. The Western Balkan country is among six nations who are at different stages of the EU accession. Since  Russia's war on Ukraine, EU officials have sought to lure them away from Russian influence. Bosnia has met the EU terms The announcement means the EU executive is satisfied with Bosnia and the country has met the criteria to begin formal talks on joining the EU. "Bosnia is now fully aligned with our foreign and security policy, which is crucial in these times of geopolitical turmoil," the commissiob president said. Von der Leyen said the commission will publish a progress report detailing how Bosnia has met those terms.  However, the decision to begin talks needs unanimous approval from the leaders of the 27 EU member states, represented in the European Council. Bosnia applied to join the EU in 2016 and the council recognized it as a formal candidate for membership in 2022. In November last year, the commission said accession talks should begin once the country has fulfilled certain criteria. The MV Abdullah was carrying coal from Mozambique to the UAE when it was captured A Bangladeshi-flagged ship headed from the African country of Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates has been captured by pirates in the Indian Ocean. The vessel, named the MV Abdullah, had 23 Bangladeshi sailors on board and all of them have been taken hostage, according to the ship’s owners. The ship is owned by the KSRM Group’s SR Shipping and runs freight. The ship’s captain is Abdur Rashid. A message was sent from the ship around 1:30pm on Tuesday Bangladesh time, said SR Shipping CEO Mohammad Meherul Karim. “The pirates have taken control of the ship. Our sailors are being held hostage. We are trying to get more details.” In December 2010, Somali pirates had hijacked the Bangladeshi vessel MV Jahan Moni in the Arabian Sea. They took 25 sailors and the wife of the nickel-bearing ship’s chief engineer hostage. After repeated attempts, they were freed from the pirates after 100 days and brought back home.