Latest news with #RobertHodgson
Euronews
30-04-2025
- Climate
- Euronews
Is Europe at risk of another power outage?
ADVERTISEMENT A total of almost 60 million people in Spain and Portugal were plunged into darkness on Monday. The major power cut - one of the most significant in European history - caused widespread chaos. Speculation is still rife about the exact cause of the outage. In the meantime, we asked Euronews' senior energy and environment correspondent Robert Hodgson what exactly went wrong and whether Europe could be hit by another, similar outage. What regions are most at risk? And what can be done to prevent it from happening again? We will also look at a draft proposal signalling a reset of EU-UK relations following Brexit, which will be discussed by ambassadors in Brussels on Wednesday. And finally, which European cities are considered the most dynamic and liveable? Radio Schuman is hosted and produced by Maïa de la Baume, with journalist and production assistant Lauren Walker. Audio editing by Georgios Leivaditis. Music by Alexandre Jas.
Euronews
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Will European agriculture convert to new genomic techniques?
ADVERTISEMENT In the late 20th century, genes from different species were introduced into seeds, creating Genetically Modified Organisms, known as GMOs. The aim of the technology is to develop more resilient plant lines and increase productivity. About two decades ago, the European Union implemented strict rules to cover authorisation, labelling and risk assessment; but now it has proposed deregulation of New Genomic Techniques, which modify the plants' own genes. "The European Commission has decided to create two categories: one for products from these new techniques and one for the old ones, which will continue to be subject to the existing rules. However, some people think that these new types of GMOs carry the same risks as the old ones, with unpredictable impacts on the environment," explains Robert Hodgson, who covers the issue for Euronews. The controversy is likely to flare up again because this month the governments of the 27 member states reached an agreement on the proposal, and ministers will now have to reach a consensus with the European Parliament, which has a different position on thorny issues such as patents and labelling. © Euronews On a short tour of several cities, Euronews collected some European opinions. "I'm not totally against it. It would be important to do thorough research to determine if it has any side effects," said a Berlin resident. "In recent decades there has been a huge development of this technology and we still do not have full control over it," said another from Warsaw (Poland). "They need to be labelled, it's absolutely necessary so that the consumer can have a choice. Personally, I wouldn't buy them," was the opinion of a passer-by in Lyon (France). Biotechnology experts argue that these plant varieties will be more resistant to drought, pests and require less fertilizer. Health issues such as allergies are also being targeted, through low-gluten grains for example. Detractors point to the risks: disruption of pollinating insects, contamination of organic agricultural products, reduced access to seeds for small farmers and unforeseen effects on human health. Will patents lead to small farmers exclusion? © Euronews The European Council was divided on whether to allow patents, weighing arguments that this could restrict the choices available to farmers and create monopolies. It took almost a year for them to decide to allow patents, as long as their specific reporting requirements were met. The European Parliament's position is to completely ban patents, explained one of the shadow rapporteurs for the legislative review. "If a few big international agrichemical groups have a monopoly on seeds, farmers will pay more, they won't be able to choose and, above all, we will no longer be able to openly innovate on varieties," said Christophe Clergeau, a French centre-left MEP. Few member states have actually shown much interest in GM crops, Spain being the exception. In many countries, these techniques have even been banned, with governments exercising their right to opt-out, but this option may no longer exist for all categories. "It was about ten years ago when this issue really became a political hot potato and there was a lot of public opposition in Europe. Governments demanded an opt-out and they granted it," explains Hodgson, adding: "As plants in the new category will be largely equivalent to common natural plants, governments will no longer have the option of banning their cultivation." Parliamentarian Clergeau stresses that "we are at the beginning of this new technology", arguing that the EU must be very careful because "when we intervene in nature, we trigger cascades of changes that can pose dangers to biodiversity". ADVERTISEMENT A new world of possibilities is rapidly opening up for food production, with researchers already exploring how generative artificial intelligence can be applied to the technology. Not without controversy! Watch the video here! Journalist: Isabel Marques da Silva Content production: Pilar Montero López ADVERTISEMENT Video production: Zacharia Vigneron Graphism: Loredana Dumitru Editorial coordination: Ana Lázaro Bosch and Jeremy Fleming-Jones
Euronews
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Will new legally binding targets turn the fight against waste around?
Every year, millions of tonnes of food and textile waste are generated in the EU. The mantra of reduce, reuse and recycle to promote the circular economy does not seem to be enough to drive change. ADVERTISEMENT Around 60 million tonnes of food waste are generated in the EU every year, causing economic losses of €132 billion. Annually, the bloc also generates almost 13 million tonnes of textile waste, of which 5.2 million tonnes are clothing and footwear, equivalent to 12 kg per person. The European Council and the European Parliament have just reached a provisional agreement on the Waste Framework Directive, setting new reduction targets to be met by 2030: - 30% in retail, supermarkets, restaurants, catering and households - 10% in the manufacture and the processing of foods But the farming sector, where about 11% of food waste occurs, was exempted. "One of the problems is that farming has become a very hot political potato in recent months. So, legislators are sort of hesitant to impose further requirements on the farming sector," said Robert Hodgson, who followed the issue for Euronews. © Euronews "The European Parliament originally wanted to have a review by the end of this year, with a possible target for farming to be put in place. But after the EU elections, the European Parliament shifted to the right and in the end of negotiations it was decided to do a review in 2027," he added. Some member states are performing better at reducing food waste, with the best mechanisms for donating food that is still safe to eat in place in Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal. But a lot of food that is still good for consumption ends up in the trash bin, especially in high-end environments like casinos, hotels and cruises. "This demands a change of how people are working with food, how do we use all the ingredients. When I talk to chefs in restaurants, they are actually very keen to work on this because also nobody likes to throw out good food," said green Danish lawmaker Rasmus Nordqvist, shadow rapporteur on this directive. Combat against fast and cheap fashion? © Euronews There are no specific targets for the textile sector, which will instead be covered by the Extended Producer Responsibility regime. The companies will have to pay a certain fee to cover expenses related to re-collection, sorting and recycling of clothes once they become waste. "Each country will have leeway to increase those fees in the case of fast fashion, based on ideas about how long clothes are in the market is and how long they're intended to be worn. They can increase the fees for companies that produce 'throwaway' clothes," according to Robert Hodgson. The EU also participates in the export of illegal textile waste exports to less developed countries. Austria, Denmark, Finland, France and Sweden support a proposal for textiles to be classed alongside plastics and electronics in an international treaty aimed at preventing transfer of hazardous waste to less developed countries. Rasmus Nordqvist worked in the textile industry for two decades before becoming a politician and expects the directive to curb that practice as "we are actually demanding producers to take responsibility all the way through the value chain". "We're not going to change the whole industry just with this directive, but it's an important step because we need to first of all look at how are we consuming textiles, but also what do we do with them. And we need circularity within fashion industry. But that's the next step," he said. Foods and textiles are two European industries which most need to adapt to the Green Deal, to make the industry more environmentally friendly. But it's not just about production methods which reduce use of natural resources and polluting gas emissions. Avoiding consumer waste and developing new approaches to waste culture is a big part of the challenge. ADVERTISEMENT Watch the video here! Journalist: Isabel Marques da Silva Content production: Pilar Montero López Video production: Zacharia Vigneron ADVERTISEMENT Graphism: Loredana Dumitru Editorial coordination: Ana Lázaro Bosch and Jeremy Fleming-Jones
Euronews
25-02-2025
- Health
- Euronews
Noise pollution directive: a far cry from effective
A study by the European Court of Auditors, released in January, underlined the lack of EU-wide noise reduction targets and also pointed to lax monitoring of noise pollution in many countries. More than 30% of the European population is exposed to noise levels harmful to humans. The young are the most sensitive, with more than 60,000 children in Europe suffering from cognitive and learning problems as a result. The Environmental Noise Directive has been in place for over 20 years but has never been revised, leading to government inaction in many countries where there are no legally binding targets. "Member states are required to produce plans to monitor the level of noise in the busy parts of the road network and in cities. But beyond reporting to the Commission, they don't actually have to do anything and a few governments have been reluctant even to produce these noise maps on time," said Robert Hodgson, who reports on the environment for Euronews. Prolonged exposure to harmful noise can cause cardiovascular, metabolic and mental health diseases, and citizens euronews spoke to in Brussels and Athens expressed many concerns. "When I wake up in the morning, there's the sound of horns honking on my street. These are things that can affect my mood throughout the day and my life in the long run," said a young resident of Brussels. "Surely they could take some measures, they could reduce the decibels produced by the exhausts and use better technology," added an Athenian. EU-wide noise reduction targets missing According to the World Health Organisation, noise levels are considered excessive when they exceed 53 dB; a lower bar than the 55 dB threshold set by the European Union. Road traffic is the main source of noise pollution (80%), followed by rail traffic (15%) and air transport (1%). Austria, Cyprus, Czechia, France and Luxembourg are the EU member states with the highest percentage of urban residents exposed to excessive noise. The European Commission has set a new target to reduce the number of people chronically affected by noise pollution by 30% by the end of this decade. The EU executive also said that it might look into reviewing the directive and setting a binding target if it deems this necessary, but decisions will not be taken before 2029. "We need a better monitoring system and clearer provisions on what amounts to noise pollution and what are the specific obligations of member states," insisted Peter Agius, a centre-right member of the European Parliament form Malta that has been active in this field within the Public Health and Committee. "Some definitions are sometimes vague and are interpreted in different ways in different member states," he added. It's a sign of poor implementation that more than half of the 27 Member States have not provided data on noise pollution, as required by the EU directive. Experts warn that without more ambitious action, the number of people suffering serious harm from transport noise could even increase. Watch the video here!
Euronews
10-02-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Simplification or deregulation, Newsletter
By Published on This week's key events presented by Euronews' senior energy and environment reporter Robert Hodgson . Key diary dates Monday 10 February - Tuesday 11 February: AI Intelligence action summit, Paris. Tuesday 11 February: EU Parliament plenary to debate 'preparedness for a new trade era'. Wednesday 12 February: EU Parliament plenary to debate Competitiveness Compass. In spotlight Deregulation, lightening the burden on European companies or, as the European Commission prefers to call it, 'simplification'. This week will see a divided European Parliament discuss the second von der Leyen commission's controversial pro-business agenda, with left-wing and environmentalist groups highly suspicious of what they perceive as an opportunistic move by the conservative EPP, spurred on by business interest groups and counting on support from further to the right, to reopen a swathe of regulations adopted as part of the Green Deal Agenda of VDL1. Wednesday afternoon will see the Strasbourg plenary discuss the Competitiveness Compass unveiled by von der Leyen at the end of January, a broad-brush plan to cut red tape that Socialists & Democrats group president S&D Group President, Iratxe García, has already slammed for its lack of 'any guarantees that there won't be any backtrack on environmental and social standards such as worker's rights, climate neutrality, sustainability, a just transition' or any other aspects of the green agenda. Last week saw a controversial back-room meeting to discuss the upcoming 'omnibus' proposal to address what the Commission now considers the excessive reporting obligations faced by companies, notably the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). First thing on Wednesday, the Commission is due to present its 2025 work programme to MEPs. This is significant because, as a leak this week confirmed, the schedule will set out further steps in what the Commission has called 'an unprecedented simplification effort' to reduce reporting obligations on business – a loose term that could mean anything from environmental impacts and to mistreatment of workers along their overseas supply chains. Three omnibus proposals are expected before the summer. The Greens, who say the Commission 'risks back sliding on climate and human rights achievements' in the first package, slated for publication on 26 February. Otherwise, they expect the announcement of 'very few, but likely very damaging, legislative proposals' on the schedule, and say the currently atmosphere of legal uncertainty is damaging to European firms who need to be steered onto a clean transition. The EPP remains resolute, however. 'We urgently need to cut unnecessary red tape suffocating our industries,' said vice-president Dolors Montserrat. Legal charity ClientEarth has fired a pre-emptive shot with a letter to von der Leyen and other Commission top brass. It warns of possible legal issues related to the 'reckless haste' and 'alarming lack of transparency' in the regulatory reform process, in breach of EU rules on public participation and the need for an impact assessment. But one way or another, the deregulation juggernaut is looking increasingly unstoppable, and the question appears to be how much, rather than if. So, not even counting the endless stream of news from Washington, the Strasbourg plenary comes at time of febrile politicking, with the EPP also spearheading an attack on the funding of NGOs through the LIFE environmental programme, and looking to extend its self-styled war on the misuse of EU funds to other areas. Although the largest group in the parliament, the EPP has no majority and may well find itself relying on support from the Eurosceptic ECR and Viktor Orbán's right-wing Patriots. Immediately before the discussion of the Commission's compass plan is a debate, initiated by S&D lawmaker René Repasi, on 'collaboration between conservatives and far right as a threat for competitiveness in the EU'. Policy newsmakers Geting tech tough Europe's regulatory action against US tech companies is pushing the continent 'to the sidelines', Meta's new global policy chief, Joel Kaplan, said in a live-streamed interview at an event hosted by the company in Brussels last week. Kaplan argued that while a global AI revolution is unfolding, it's important to drive competitiveness and economic growth to open innovation and transatlantic cooperation, and for Europe to look for stronger collaboration with the US and its companies. Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, was a likely target of his message. Policy Poll
