The EU has chosen PriceWaterhouseCoopers and a Slovak software company to develop a 9 million euro ($9.4 million) joint purchasing platform for critical minerals and energy, according to a European Commission source and a document seen by Reuters.

The European Union is set to scale back its highly contested ESG reporting requirements, as France prepares to unveil a formal proposal seeking to limit the scope of the regulatory framework.The French government is readying a new set of recommendations intended to rein in the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive,

Russia is posing an existential threat to the European Union's security and to only way to address that is to increase spending on defence, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday, adding that the EU had for too long offered Russia alternatives.

The EU's top diplomat and Poland's prime minister said Wednesday that the bloc must heed US President Donald Trump's demand to spend much more on defence -- faced with the "existential threat" posed by Russia.

The European Union must arm itself to “survive” in an increasingly uncertain global order, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday, calling on the bloc’s member states to boost spending on defense.

Slovakia’s pro-Russian prime minister has raised the prospect of his country leaving the European Union and Nato, arguing that world events could consign them to the “history books”.

"It is necessary to have a constructive attitude of dialogue, but also naturally in defence of what is the interest of Europe and its member states," he said, adding that protectionism would only harm consumers in the countries or blocs that were raising tarriffs.

Energy company Drax lobbied Canadian officials for their intervention as the UK group sought changes to EU rules that could prevent the bloc from burning wood biomass sourced from forests in British Columbia.

Italy's gas stocks were running at 68% on Wednesday morning, the CEO of gas-network company SNAM Stefano Venier said. "We are slightly above the European average and this gives us an advantage over other European countries",

Ukraine's economy doesn't match that of the EU.” Relations between Hungary and Ukraine continue to deteriorate. In a statement, Viktor Orban blasted “hostile and aggressive” comments made by Ukrainian authorities over Kiev's decision to cut off Russian gas transit to Central Europe.

Italian opposition lawmakers and human rights groups are voicing outrage after Italy released a Libyan warlord wanted by the International Criminal Court.