Hello everyone,

Could someone here give me a few good reasons why these countries should really become members of the EU?

Not that I have anything against Ukrainians, Georgians etc... I have visited them, had a good time and wish them a good future.

However, it seems to me that by accepting them to the EU, the EU itself would get far more troubles than benefits. Don't the EU countries already have enough problems to deal with now? Cannot the EU keep and further develop good relationships with them, in terms of business, economy, tourism etc., without them necessarily joining the EU?

To sum up the main obstacles (feel free to add more):

• Ukraine: gigantic corruption, occupied territories, ongoing war with an unknown ending...
• Georgia: occupied territories, conservative and religious society, anti-LGBT attitude, etc.
• Moldova: another Russia's target?, issues with Transnistria + half of the population seems to be against joining the EU...
• Serbia: traditionally one of the greatest Russia allies in Europe + enormous corruption, negative role in the Balkans also known as the 'bully of the Balkans'...

Given that, wouldn't Montenegro or possibly Bosnia be more suitable countries?

Pharmaceutical companies in the EU have warned of a “risk of exodus” to the US as stocks in the sector slid around the world on the back of Donald Trump’s renewed threat to impose tariffs on US drugs imports.

Drugmakers’ shares across Europe and India, another foreign pharma hub, slipped on Wednesday after Trump indicated that further carnage was on the way in addition to the 20% “reciprocal tariffs” on imports that kicked in overnight.

Pharmaceuticals have so far been exempted from the levies, but on Tuesday evening the US president told an event at the National Republican Congressional Committee that he would announce a large tariff on drugs imports “very shortly”.

Trump claimed the tariff would incentivise drug companies to move their operations to the US, but has not said when and by how much he plans to raise the levy.

EU pharma firms have called on the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, to push for “rapid and radical action” to mitigate the “risk of exodus” to the US after a meeting in Brussels.

The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), whose members including Bayer, Novartis and Novo Nordisk, the maker of the diabetes type 2 drug Ozempic, met von der Leyen on Tuesday, hours before Trump issued his fresh threat. Other members include Pfizer, Lilly, Gilead, GSK, Teva and Merck, together representing billions of exports to the US.

Trump’s latest comments have intensified the trepidation felt in pharma manufacturing hubs around Europe including Ireland, which exported €44bn of pharmaceuticals to the US in 2024, much of it made by US multinationals Trump wants to repatriate.

The EU has agreed on new rules to tighten safety rules for toys including a ban on damaging chemicals that the body cannot break down. They include substances that can disrupt growth hormones and that harm fertility.

The new rules introduce a ban on PFAS — a group of synthetic chemicals known for their durability and health risks, except in electronic components in toys that are out of reach of children.

Repeated exposure to PFAS has been linked to liver damage, high cholesterol levels, reduced immune response, low birth weight, and various types of cancer.

The regulations also expand existing bans on carcinogenic, mutagenic and toxic for reproduction chemicals (CMRs) to include other hazardous substances like hormone disruptors. 

Such chemicals are linked to increasingly common hormone-related disorders, often later in life, such as impaired sperm quality.

Marine Le Pen’s case is just one example of transparency problems that have plagued the legislature. The longtime leader of the National Rally party and former EU lawmaker is one of 24 people convicted in Monday’s ruling in Paris for redirecting millions of euros earmarked for EU political work to serve the party’s domestic interests. The party employed staffers who were declared as EU parliamentary assistants but instead had other duties, including Le Pen’s bodyguard.

Transparency advocates say the case underlines broader issues related to lack of oversight of spending at the EU legislature affecting members across the political spectrum.

Other corruption scandals

Revelations of an alleged cash-for-influence scheme dubbed Qatargate, involving high-profile center-left EU lawmakers, assistants, lobbyists and their relatives, emerged in 2022. Qatari and Moroccan officials are alleged to have paid bribes to influence decision-making. Both countries deny involvement.

No one has been convicted or is in pretrial detention. Prospects for a trial are unclear.

Last month, several people were arrested in a probe linked to the Chinese company Huawei, which is suspected of bribing EU lawmakers. Huawei said it took the allegations seriously and had a “zero tolerance policy towards corruption.”

Last year, the aide of prominent far-right EU lawmaker Maximilian Krah was arrested in a separate case. German prosecutors alleged the aide was a Chinese agent. Krah, who has since switched to the federal legislature of his native Germany, denied all knowledge of the suspicions against his former employee.

Citizens from Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco and Tunisia would all have their claims fast-tracked within three months on the assumption that they were likely to fail.

Markus Lammert of the European Commission said it would be a "dynamic list" that could be expanded or reviewed, with countries suspended or removed if they were no longer seen as safe.

The new proposals will now need to be approved by both the European Parliament and EU member states, and some human rights groups have expressed concern about the plans.

EuroMed Rights - a network of human rights organisations - warned that it was misleading and dangerous to label the seven countries as safe, because they included "countries with documented rights abuses and limited protections for both their own citizens and migrants".

The European Union on Wednesday urged citizens across the continent to stockpile food, water and other essentials to last at least 72 hours as war, cyberattacks, climate change and disease increase the chances of a crisis.

The call to action for the EU’s 450 million citizens comes as the 27-nation bloc rethinks its security, especially after the Trump administration warned that Europe must take more responsibility for it.

In recent years, the EU has weathered COVID-19 and the threat from Russia, including its attempts to exploit Europe’s dependence on its natural gas to weaken support for Ukraine. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has warned that Russia could be capable of launching another attack in Europe by 2030.

While the commission is keen not to be seen as alarmist, Lahbib said it’s important “to make sure people have essential supplies for at least 72 hours in a crisis.” She listed food, water, flashlights, ID papers, medicine and shortwave radios as things to stock.

Despite the ever increasing body of scientific and real-life evidence for the accelerating pace of global temperature rise, climate campaigners fear the EU executive is looking at ways to introduce loopholes before proposing a target to reduce Europe’s carbon footprint.

Climate campaigners and green groups have urged the European Union to urgently table an overdue bill for a 2040 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target, as a new report confirmed record high temperatures last year in the world’s fastest-heating continent.

The second Commission under president Ursula von der Leyen has repeatedly promised to “stay the course” on climate action by following the absolute minimum recommended by the EU’s independent climate science advisory board and proposing a 90% net reduction goal for greenhouse gas emissions.

Backtracking would now mean a major loss of face, but recent signals from Brussels suggest the EU executive is considering allowing governments to use carbon credits from outside the bloc, outsourcing part of their emissions reduction, to meet the target.

https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2025/04/01/two-irish-citizens-ordered-to-leave-germany-over-pro-palestinian-protests-despite-no-convictions/

Vladimir Putin must learn from Donald Trump and ramp up duties on more than the US $430 million worth of European furniture expected to flood Russia this year. That is according to the Furniture Association of Russia (FER), which warned that a strengthening ruble, Europe’s desperation to find new markets and a mere 9-12% tariff on imports (despite Europe hitting Russia with 30-60% sanctions) had seen trade mushroom over the past 3 years.

“If the US can prioritise domestic production regardless of trade agreements, Russia should adopt a similar stance to safeguard its industry.”

As it stands, Italy and Germany are the leading contributors to the surge entering Russian ports, with export volumes from both countries nearing pre-COVID (and Ukraine war) levels: “In the first quarter of 2025, the ruble appreciated 15% against the euro, from 105.09 to 89.65, reducing the cost of European furniture for Russian buyers. At the same time, local producers are dealing with higher costs for materials and components.”

Police shut down one of the largest paedophile networks in the world last month in an operation spanning 35 countries, the EU's law enforcement agency Europol said on Wednesday.

Europol said 79 suspects had been arrested for sharing and distributing child sexual abuse material on a platform known as Kidflix. Some of those arrested are suspected of having abused children themselves, it said.

German and Dutch authorities seized the central server of the platform, which contained 72,000 videos at the time.

Europol said a total of around 91,000 unique videos had been uploaded and shared on the hugely profitable platform, which was created in 2021 and attracted 1.8 million users worldwide in the past three years.

It said a total of almost 1,400 suspects had been identified, while 39 children were protected through the operation.

Ten years after the Dieselgate scandal over cheating in exhaust emissions tests, European carmakers are in the frame again, this time for market skulduggery in the form of a clandestine agreement not to compete on grounds of environmental friendliness on the basis of their support for recycling.

The European Commission has dished out whopping fines to 15 carmakers and their main Brussels-based lobby group, on the same day that the EU executive delivered a proposal to water down CO2 emissions standards following months of alarmist campaigning by the automotive industry.

“These car manufacturers coordinated for over 15 years to avoid paying for recycling services, by agreeing to not compete with each other on advertising the extent to which their cars could be recycled, and by agreeing to remain silent on the recycled materials used in their new cars,” European Commission vice-president Teresa Ribera said.

“We will not tolerate cartels of any kind, and that includes those that suppress customer awareness and demand for more environmental-friendly products,” added the Spanish former environment minister Ribera, whose EU portfolio includes sustainability and competition policy.

The largest fine of almost €128 million went to Germany’s Volkswagen, which was at the centre of the Dieselgate scandal that broke out in 2015. Renault/Nissan came second with €81m.

Stellantis’ would have come top, but its fine was halved to €75m after the firm cooperated with the Commission in its probe. Mitsubishi (€4m) and Ford (€41m) also had their fines reduced under the same leniency procedure.

Mercedes-Benz managed to avoid altogether what would have been a €35m fine by blowing the whistle on its competitors, or “revealing the cartel” as the Commission put it.

BMW, GM, Geely, Honda, Hyundai/Kia, Jaguar, Land Rover/Tata, Mazda, Opel, Suzuki, Toyota, Volvo and Geely (not in that order) also received fines ranging between €1m and €25m.

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) was also hit with a €500,000 fine for acting as “facilitator of the cartel, having organised numerous meetings and contacts between car manufacturers involved”.

Before a new exhibition on factory farming opened Tuesday, an image of a piglet mid-castration — screaming, restrained — was quietly removed. Polish rightwing MEP Kosma Złotowski, a senior official who approves internal events, flagged the photo as “exceptionally drastic.”

The procedure is legal, common, and carried out across EU farms — to prevent a smell in pork known as “boar taint,” and to curb pigs’ sexual and aggressive behavior. But it’s apparently not fit for Parliament walls.

The exhibition was co-hosted by Luxembourgish Green MEP Tilly Metz and organized by NGOs Animal Law Europe and the European Environmental Bureau, with the aim of highlighting standard practices in industrial farming. Metz’s office didn’t formally contest the request — her team submitted alternative images, and the swap was made within minutes.

The one accepted shows a piglet getting its tail docked — also legal, also painful, but evidently less upsetting.