Der Spiegel hat am Dienstag unter der Überschrift „Norwegens Ex-Regierungschefin Solberg – »Wir müssen dafür sorgen, dass die Arktis nicht von Russland kontrolliert wird«“ ein Interview mit Norwegens Ex-Premierministerin Erna Solberg veröffentlicht, dessen Inhaltslosigkeit mich ein wenig überrascht hat, denn es war vollkommen banal und darin stand absolut nichts Neues oder gar Interessantes. Einige Stunden […]

Bugalho falhou a eleição para vice-presidente do PPE. Pela primeira vez em 22 anos, Portugal não tem um vice-presidente da bancada. Eurodeputado assume responsabilidade "pessoal".

© DIOGO VENTURA/OBSERVADOR

The European Union unveiled a new Arctic strategy Tuesday aimed at strengthening maritime security, expanding icebreaker capacity and protecting critical infrastructure as melting sea ice opens new shipping routes and...

Da Steve Witkoff, der Sondergesandte des US-Präsidenten, sich heute in Oslo zu erneuten Verhandlungen Selensky und Vertretern aus Großbritannien, Deutschland, Italien und Frankreich, der EU und der NATO treffen will, übersetze ich hier einen Artikel der TASS über den Streit zwischen der EU und der Ukraine einerseits und den USA andererseits, weil er zeigt, in […]

Dass die Drohnen, die seit Jahren den Nordwesten Russlands angreifen, dazu die Lufträume Polens, der baltischen Staaten und auch Finnlands benutzen, ohne dass diese Staaten etwas dagegen tun oder dagegen protestieren würden, ist in Expertenkreisen seit Beginn der Angriffe ein offenes Geheimnis, über das öffentlich jedoch lange nicht gesprochen wurde. Da die EU-Staaten das aber […]

Detenção ocorreu no âmbito de uma denúncia por furto de cabos de telecomunicações no concelho de Tondela, distrito de Viseu. Os militares localizaram e intercetaram os suspeitos em acesso da A25.

European Union governments have agreed a negotiating position on new agricultural market rules intended to take effect under the bloc’s 2028–2034 budget, advancing reforms to support arrangements for farmers while leaving the most contentious financial questions unresolved.

The Council approved its partial negotiating mandate on Monday, 19 October, covering changes to the Common Market Organisation regulation, which governs agricultural markets across the European Union.

The proposals include new arrangements for wine producers, protein crops and oilseeds, revised marketing standards, changes to the EU school food programme and provisions intended to improve preparedness for agricultural market disruptions.

However, the agreement does not settle future funding allocations or the broader structure of agricultural subsidies, which remain under negotiation as EU governments attempt to reconcile farming expenditure with competing demands for defence, industrial investment and regional development.

Agricultural markets under review

The Council’s negotiating position retains much of the European Commission’s original proposal while introducing amendments intended to accommodate national differences in agricultural production.

Under the proposed arrangements, sector-specific interventions would become mandatory in several areas, including beekeeping, fruit and vegetables and, under certain circumstances, wine production.

The Council has also proposed flexibility for countries where particular sectors are absent or relatively undeveloped.

For the wine industry, governments would be able to seek exemptions from certain obligations where national circumstances justify different arrangements.

This would allow the framework to retain common European rules while avoiding requirements that would be inappropriate for member states with little or no domestic wine production.

Sectoral interventions form part of the mechanisms through which the EU supports agricultural markets and producer organisations. They can cover measures intended to improve competitiveness, manage production and strengthen farmers’ commercial position.

New provisions for protein crops

The Council has endorsed the establishment of a separate sector for protein crops and oilseeds, replacing existing provisions covering dried fodder.

The objective is to encourage domestic production and reduce dependence on imported agricultural inputs, particularly crops used in animal feed and food production.

European livestock producers rely on protein-rich feed ingredients, including soyabeans, that are often sourced internationally.

Greater domestic production could reduce exposure to fluctuations in global commodity prices, transport costs and disruptions to international supply chains.

Under the Council’s proposal, member states would be encouraged to recognise producer organisations specialising in protein crops and oilseeds.

Such organisations can help farmers coordinate production, marketing and investment, although the effectiveness of the proposed measures will depend on how they are implemented nationally.

The proposals follow broader EU efforts to improve supply security in sectors extending from agricultural inputs to critical industrial materials.

School food and product labelling

The negotiating mandate also preserves the EU school scheme, which provides support for the distribution of fruit, vegetables and milk to schoolchildren.

Under the proposed framework, the programme would move from a school-year financing cycle to a calendar-year system, with transitional provisions intended to prevent disruption during implementation.

The Council has maintained the Commission’s objective of encouraging healthier eating habits by limiting products containing high levels of free sugars and fats.

The proposal also opens the possibility of additional marketing standards for several agricultural products, including protein crops, beef, pork, sheepmeat, goatmeat and rice.

These standards could provide consumers with more detailed information about product origins, subject to the final legislation.

Such measures would also have implications for producers and food businesses, which would need to comply with any new requirements concerning classification, marketing and labelling.

The Council additionally supports the harmonisation of rules covering industrial hemp, while retaining safeguards concerning seed certification and the permitted level of tetrahydrocannabinol.

Farming subsidies remain contested

The agricultural market agreement forms part of negotiations over the next Common Agricultural Policy, which will operate within the EU’s new seven-year financial framework.

Under the Commission’s proposed budget structure, several funding streams, including agricultural and cohesion programmes, would be brought together within national and regional partnership plans.

The restructuring has encountered opposition from governments and agricultural interests concerned that farming could lose protected access to EU funding.

As EU Today previously reported, 17 member states have called for agricultural and regional development expenditure to be protected against further reductions.

The Council’s latest position addresses how agricultural markets should operate rather than determining the size of the financial support available to them.

A separate debate concerns the conditions for receiving direct farm payments, including the definition of an active farmer and the degree of discretion granted to national governments.

Those questions remain central to the continuing CAP negotiations, which are due to return to the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 26–27 October.

Negotiations move to Parliament

The Council’s partial mandate now provides a basis for negotiations with the European Parliament on the agricultural market provisions.

The legislation will still require agreement between the institutions, while its financing will depend on the eventual settlement of the 2028–2034 budget.

Governments must also complete negotiations on the wider CAP framework, including direct income support and the distribution of responsibility between Brussels and national administrations.

The market agreement reached on 19 October therefore establishes important elements of the proposed agricultural rules, but leaves unresolved the level of financial support available to European farmers after 2027.

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski made an unusually confident assessment of a hypothetical war between NATO and Russia during the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kiev on September 12. “If Russia attacked us, and we took our gloves off, I think we would defeat Russia quite quickly,” Sikorski said. “We have overwhelming superiority over Russia […]

O pénis representa prazer e poder, a ereção é vista como um marco de virilidade e de masculinidade. Mas a disfunção erétil não é uma doença de velhos ou de "homens francos". Esta semana, no podcast O Prazer é Todo Meu, Mafalda Cruz conversa com o urologista Nuno Tomada sobre ereção, pênis e desejo sexual masculino

O pénis representa prazer e poder, a ereção é vista como um marco de virilidade e de masculinidade. Mas a disfunção erétil não é uma doença de velhos ou de "homens francos". Esta semana, no podcast O Prazer é Todo Meu, Mafalda Cruz conversa com o urologista Nuno Tomada sobre ereção, pênis e desejo sexual masculino

Mafalda Cruz conversa com Luísa Santos, farmacêutica e autora do livro “Meno… Quê?”, sobre uma fase da vida de que se fala cada vez mais, mas que continua a ser pouco compreendida. Ouça aqui o podcast O Prazer é Todo Meu

O Clube de Praticantes Ultimate Portimão sagrou-se, pela segunda vez consecutiva, campeão Europeu de Utimate de Praia, na divisão Mista.

Foi nas areias da Figueira da Foz, no centro do país, que o conjunto portimonense enfrentou a elite europeia, tendo contado por vitórias todos os encontros que disputou.

Vale a pena descrever que, depois de uma meia-final bastante sofrida contra os checos de FUJ, em que os algarvios enfrentaram uma ampla desvantagem de 5-2 no início do encontro, o Clube de Portimão acabou por conseguido dar a volta e vencer por 11-8, a muito antecipada final contra os vice-campeões mundiais, a equipa francesa Freezgo, que ainda assim, tinha todos os condimentos favoráveis para prender os cerca de 1000 espectadores presentes aos seus assentos.

Contudo, nunca dispostos a dar quaisquer veleidades à equipa gaulesa, os elementos de Pedro Vargas, apresentaram uma sufocante intensidade defensiva desde o primeiro momento, conseguindo rapidamente a criar uma vantagem de três pontos.

E com um ataque bastante fluído e consistente, os portimonenses nunca se mostraram incomodados pela qualidade exbida pelo jovem conjunto francês. E foi com um lançamento longo de Inês Bringel a encontrar Afonso Coelho, livre na endzone, que selaram aquele que é o segundo título europeu para os elementos da formação de Portimão.

Importa referir ainda que o clube algarvio já havia conquistado o seu primeiro título europeu em 2025, em Gdańsk, na Polónia.
Este novo triunfo reforça a hegemonia da equipa, que em maio também celebrou o sexto título nacional consecutivo da modalidade Ultimate.

O Conselho da UE deu luz verde esta segunda-feira 19 de outubro a uma recomendação aos governos nacionais para que tomem medidas urgentes que protejam as famílias de despejos e desenhem políticas para as apoiar com as rendas.

O texto que resultou do encontro dos ministros do Trabalho da UE esta segunda-feira urge os Estados-membros a adotarem medidas que combatam a exclusão habitacional e a situação de sem-abrigo que afeta parte da população europeia, isto numa altura em que cresce a insatisfação social e os protestos nas ruas contra a subida do custo de vida.

Numa abordagem “centrada nas pessoas”, o Conselho pretende assim ver mais “soluções de longo prazo que previnam a situação de sem-abrigo e assegurem o acesso a habitação adequada”.

A recomendação – que não é vinculativa – pede que sejam equacionados sistemas de alerta precoce e “intervenções dirigidas a apoiar domicílios em risco, incluindo aconselhamento de dívida, proteção contra despejos forçados, assistência de emergência ao arrendamento e mediação”, lê-se no documento publicado esta segunda-feira.

Além disso, o documento defende mais investimento em habitação pública, de forma a aumentar a oferta de habitação, mas também para influenciar os preços via “modelos de habitação sem fins lucrativos”, além de um balcão único que aborde estas questões junto da população.

A recomendação reconhece ainda a tendência que tem vindo a agravar o problema da habitação. “Entre 2013 e 2024, os preços nominais das casas subiram mais de 60% na UE, crescendo mais rápido do que os rendimentos das famílias, com um número de Estados-membros a experienciarem aumentos médios de mais de 220%”.

Portugal é um dos casos mais agudos de dificuldades no acesso à habitação e disparo nos preços, tanto na compra, como no arrendamento, e que tem levado a protestos espalhados por todo o país na última semana. De acordo com os dados do Eurostat, o país foi mesmo o segundo onde o preço das casas para venda mais disparou na última década, tendo subido, em média, 180%. À frente da economia nacional neste ranking, apenas a Hungria, com 290%.

Os “novos” Paços do Concelho, neoclássicos, abertos um século depois do incêndio que destruiu os originais em 1796; a arte e riquezas do seu interior

Encerrando o percurso pelas obras de Liliana Velho no Teatro Viriato, plantas de braceijo e grés negro simbolizam o renascimento e a coesão, num convite para acompanhar a evolução da exposição.

O opositor tanzaniano Tundu Lissu e as gémeas iranianas Taraneh e Romina Rahimi são os outros dois finalistas. O vencedor será anunciado esta quinta-feira, em Estrasburgo

Comissão de Assuntos Externos aprovou relatório com 50 votos a favor. Eurodeputados exigem resposta diplomática, política e jurídica às sanções de Washington ao tribunal de Haia.

© OLIVIER MATTHYS/EPA

Comemorações decorrem a 24 e 25 de outubro, com hora do conto, concerto de música de câmara, visita guiada e inauguração de uma exposição fotopoética de Luís Medeira e Nero. A Casa-Museu João de Deus assinala o seu 29.º aniversário com um programa especial de atividades nos dias 24 e 25 de outubro, convidando o […]

O advogado e activista anti-corrupção, Tundu Lissu, da Tanzânia, e as irmãs gémeas iranianas de 21 anos, Taraneh e Romina Rahimi, são os outros escolhidos. O vencedor será anunciado esta quinta-feira.

The Council of the European Union has formally adopted revised workplace safety legislation introducing stricter limits on workers’ exposure to potentially dangerous chemicals, including substances used in battery manufacturing, metal production and the chemical industry.

The decision, announced on Monday, 19th October, completes the Council’s approval of the sixth revision of the EU’s Carcinogens, Mutagens and Reprotoxic Substances Directive. The legislation introduces or updates exposure limits for cobalt compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, 1,4-dioxane and isoprene, while extending specific protections to work involving hazardous welding fumes.

According to the Council’s announcement, the measures could prevent approximately 1,700 cases of lung cancer and 19,000 other work-related illnesses across the European Union over 40 years.

New exposure limits for industrial substances

The legislation addresses chemicals encountered in industries that remain important to European manufacturing and industrial employment.

Cobalt and its inorganic compounds are used in several industrial applications, including certain battery technologies, metal processing and specialist manufacturing.

Exposure to cobalt-containing dust and fumes can occur during production processes, particularly where workers handle powders or undertake activities that generate airborne particles.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, commonly known as PAHs, can arise during industrial processes involving combustion or the processing of carbon-containing materials. Workers in parts of the steel, aluminium and carbon industries may encounter these compounds.

The new legislation also covers 1,4-dioxane, a chemical used in industrial production processes, including applications connected with chemical and textile manufacturing.

Isoprene was added to the revised framework during negotiations between the Council and European Parliament. The substance is used in the manufacture of synthetic rubber and other industrial products.

Exposure limits establish the maximum permissible concentration of specified hazardous substances in workplace air, subject to the measurement methods and averaging periods laid down in the legislation.

Employers must also apply wider preventive measures, which can include replacing hazardous substances where technically possible, improving ventilation, containing industrial processes and monitoring workplace exposure.

Welding fumes brought within revised framework

One of the significant changes concerns welding fumes, which can contain hazardous substances depending on the materials and processes involved.

Welding is used extensively in construction, automotive production, shipbuilding, infrastructure maintenance and the manufacture of industrial equipment.

Workers may be exposed to mixtures of particles and gases produced when metals are heated, melted or joined.

The revised directive adds relevant welding fumes to the list of substances, mixtures and industrial processes subject to specific requirements under EU occupational safety legislation.

This is particularly relevant where the fumes contain substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or harmful to reproduction.

The legislation does not prohibit welding. Instead, it establishes a clearer legal framework for assessing and reducing occupational exposure.

European institutions have also recognised the need for additional practical guidance to assist employers in applying the new provisions across industries using different welding technologies and materials.

The agreement reached by Parliament and Council in June included provisions addressing protective equipment and the conditions under which it should be used.

Industry granted transition periods

The legislation was negotiated against concerns that some manufacturers would require substantial investment to comply with the revised exposure limits.

Industrial employers may need to install extraction systems, improve ventilation, adapt production equipment or introduce additional monitoring arrangements.

For certain substances, the final compromise therefore includes transitional periods intended to give affected sectors time to make the necessary changes.

The agreed period for the application of new limits on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons extends to seven years, with provisions covering carbon and graphite manufacturers.

This was one of the modifications introduced during negotiations to balance occupational health requirements with the technical constraints facing individual industries.

The agreement also provides for regular breaks for workers required to wear personal protective equipment and clarifies how those measures interact with existing EU legislation.

Protective equipment remains part of the safety framework, although the directive also recognises the importance of preventing exposure through engineering controls and improved working practices.

Health and economic implications

The European Commission estimates that more than 2.5 million workers could be exposed to the substances or processes covered by the revision.

Occupational illnesses can produce substantial costs for workers, employers and public health systems, including treatment expenses, sickness absence, reduced productivity and long-term disability.

The Commission previously estimated that the updated legislation could generate up to €1.16 billion in healthcare savings over the coming decades.

These figures are projections derived from assessments of expected exposure reductions rather than outcomes already achieved.

Their accuracy will depend on how effectively Member States implement the legislation and how consistently employers comply with the new requirements.

The measures also form part of the EU’s broader programme to reduce workplace exposure to substances associated with cancer and other serious illnesses.

Two years for national implementation

The directive will enter into force following publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. Member States will then have two years to transpose its provisions into national law.

National authorities will remain responsible for inspections and enforcement, while employers will need to assess which new requirements apply to their operations.

For businesses operating across several EU countries, the revised framework is intended to provide more consistent standards, although national enforcement arrangements may differ.

The practical effects will be most apparent in industrial workplaces where airborne chemical exposure remains a routine occupational risk. Compliance will require manufacturers to examine their production processes before the new requirements become enforceable.