Browsing: Europe

Europe is a continent and is different to the European Union.

Switzerland’s non-membership of the EU means it is viewed as more neutral than countries like Austria, Ireland or Sweden.

Political groups in the European Parliament are on manoeuvres ahead of a key vote on the EU’s proposed Nature Restoration Law on July 12. The draft legislation is seen as key to restoring millions of hectares of degraded land across Europe, but it has already been rejected by three parliamentary committees. Our guest, Utrecht University scientist Andre Faaij, argues that the stalling of the law is a “tragedy”, as what it “wants to achieve is very important for future food production”, as well as for reforestation. Faaij addresses the many potential benefits of restoring damaged habitats, including responsible production of biofuels that could be crucial to Europe’s energy transition and its quest for energy independence.

In 2022, Spain was the country in Europe worst hit by forest fires. More than 300,000 hectares went up in smoke in almost 50 separate fires. Due to drought and global warming, the Spanish government has decided to start this year’s prevention plan a month and a half early. Across the nation, regional governments, which each have their own firefighting unit, are preparing for the risk of blazes. Our correspondents report from the southern region of Valencia.