The economic crisis is strongly impacting on the Minister of Environment. WWF Italy is concerned about what appears in fact a steady downgrading of the role and political importance of the Ministry of Environment, accentuated by the measures aimed at  reducing public spending (approved in 2010) and the drastic reduction in  environmental expenditure included in the Stability Law  2013 (AC No. 5534-bis)....

As the EU strives to keep track of the crisis and Spain still holds firm in its struggle to avoid the suffocating embrace of an IMF-EC bailout programme, new measures cause another round of angry anti-austerity rallies in many parts of Europe. Yet, austerity is not only directed against the troubled states of Greece and Spain. It rather concerns all the EU and now affects policies of critical importance for the entire world, such as the EU Budget...

In a law on the privatisation of the national electricity and water utilities, the Greek Ministry of Finance introduced a series of provisions that further undermine land planning and management. ...

The end of the 2012 fire season leaves important forest ecosystems and agricultural lands destroyed by wildfires in Spain, Greece and Portugal. ...

In their effort to respond sustainably to the economic crisis, states should introduce tougher climate policies, thus creating green jobs and supporting GDP growth. This statement was expressed by Connie Hedegaard, the EU’s Climate Commissioner. ...

Through an omnibus 279-page draft law, which was submitted to Parliament on 5 November 2012 and voted within two days, the Greek Government changed in the middle of the game the rules on renewable power investments....

The “Nordic Explorer” vessel of Petroleum Geo-Services has set off on surveys in order to explore potential oil and gas reserves in the western and southern part of Greece, covering a total surface area of 225,000 s.km., in a zone extending between 100-400km off the coastline. Seismic surveys will be completed in early 2013, while reliable estimations of existence of reserves are expected in 2-3 years (provided no obstacles occur due to the...

The reform of the 1 trillion euro EU budget 2014-2020 is now moving to a crucial phase: the extraordinary EU summit of 22-23 November, where EU leaders are supposed to find an agreement. In this framework the Cypriot Presidency released at the end of October a new version of the ‘Negotiating box’, the key Council document including key elements on the structure of the next MFF and, for the first time, the big figures for each Heading. Given t...

Despite initial assertions that it would not block the plans for enhanced cooperation planned by 11 EU member states in support of a European tax on financial transactions, London seems to have changed course. At the November 7th COREPER meeting, the UK expressed new demands that caught pro-FTT  member...

WWF France brought the 6th edition of its Green Forum to a close on 28 September 2012 by launching a “Paris Appeal”. WWF in Europe has adopted the Paris Appeal and is calling on the member states of the European Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission to revive the ideal of a sustainable Europe as a means of uniting its peoples behind a common goal. The appeal is addressed to the leaders of the EU, on the occasion of the...