The UK's reluctance to cede more financial supervision powers to Brussels will not deter member states from approving the European Union's new financial authorities, EU diplomats said ahead of a meeting of the bloc's finance ministers tomorrow (2 December).

A special international commercial tribunal ruled on 30 November 2009 that the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is binding on Russia, paving the way for shareholders of the former Yukos company to win the first phase of a compensation claim of

The European Commission is leaning towards spot auctioning for emission allowances for the next trading period due to start in 2013, prompting the electricity industry to warn that prices will go up if allowances are not made available early enough.

The European Commission should use legal changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty to protect the rights of linguistic minorities in the European Union, Latvian MEP Tatjana Zdanoka has urged.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague has today (1 December) started to examine the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence, which is contested by Serbia. The judgment could tip Kosovo's future towards full international recognition or push

It seems that the strategic interests of most EU countries versus Russia are actually similar," write Adam Balcer, Adam Jasser and Paweł Świeboda of the Polish foundation 'Demos EUROPA' in a November paper analysing the task facing new EU High

Today's entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty should help the European Union to become "a real entity on the global stage," Elaine Cruikshanks, CEO of the Brussels arm of public affairs firm Hill & Knowlton, told EurActiv in an

The European Union's Lisbon Treaty comes into force today (1 December), bringing to life the bloc's plans to overhaul its institutions and gain a greater role on the world stage.

Public opinion and politicians alike are questioning the weight and importance of the portfolios attributed to their national commissioners, a roundup by EurActiv's network in Eastern Europe reveals.

In what may be seen as the last EU power-play of its kind, European home affairs ministers yesterday (30 November) overruled the European Parliament's wishes and made an interim agreement with the USA allowing American investigators broad access to EU

Healthcare lobbyists have scored a major victory in convincing European Commission President José Manuel Barroso to give responsibility for pharmaceuticals to the new health commissioner.

Although the EU has appointed its first permanent president of the Council and High Representative for Foreign Affairs, "the question of precisely what powers they will exercise remains largely unknown, as it is not yet clear how they will perform

Although the EU will enter today's (30 November) EU-China summit with a revamped outlook provided by the Lisbon Treaty, no major turning point should be expected from the meeting unless Europe commits itself to lifting its arms embargo against China,

Ireland's Máire Geoghegan Quinn has been handed the newly-created innovation portfolio at the EU executive.

Developing smart grids will require changing the financing model of electricity distribution as current practice is mainly focused on cutting costs, representatives of the industry said last week (26 November).

The appointment of former French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier as the European Union's new internal market commissioner is a victory for France and a loss for Britain, French President Nicolas Sarkozy told Le Monde newspaper.

Although the EU will enter today's (30 November) EU-China summit with a revamped outlook provided by the Lisbon Treaty, no major turning point should be expected from the meeting unless Europe commits itself to lifting its arms embargo against China,

Croatia's chief negotiator on EU membership, Vladimir Drobnjak, told EurActiv he hopes that conditions are met to create a working group in the Council to draw up an accession treaty.

Pledges made so far by governments to cut greenhouse gases are not enough for an effective pact to fight climate change, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said on Sunday (29 November).

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso unveiled the EU executive's new line-up on Friday (27 November), handing Finn Olli Rehn the key economic policy portfolio and giving Frenchman Michel Barnier a controversial role in overseeing regulation of the financial sector.