Published: 17 April 2019

Sweden's teenage activist Greta Thunberg on Tuesday urged Europeans to vote in next month's elections on behalf of young people like her who cannot yet cast ballots but demand decisive action against climate change.

During a visit to the European Parliament in the French city of Strasbourg, Thunberg, 16, told a press conference that time is running out to stop the ravages of global warming.

"I'm not going to vote in the European election because I can't," she said, because she is too young to vote in Sweden.

"Therefore it's especially important for those who actually can vote to give us that in order to speak on behalf of people like me who are going to be affected very much by this crisis," Thunberg said in fluent but halting English.

Following a meeting with European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, Thunberg urged voters to use the opportunity to "influence the decisions" on climate taken by elected and appointed officials.

"We still have an open window that is not going be open for long in which we can act," she said. "So we need to take that opportunity to do something and they (politicians) should do something."

During a visit to Brussels in February, Thunberg urged the EU to double its ambition for greenhouse gas cuts, upping its target from 40 percent to 80 percent by 2030.

Under the 2015 Paris deal to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, the 28-nation EU has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030, compared to 1990.

EU officials are now talking of increasing the figure to 45 percent.

The UN's Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) has said warming is on track toward an unliveable 3C or 4C rise, and avoiding global chaos will require a major transformation.

Thunberg, who is due to speak to a parliamentary committee in the afternoon, has inspired tens of thousands of children worldwide to boycott classes to draw attention to climate change.

A demonstration calling attention to climate change is due to take place later Tuesday in Strasbourg before the parliament.AFP

Published: 16 April 2019

The British government said on Monday it had taken the necessary steps required by law to participate in European Parliament elections in May, but that this did not mean it was inevitable Britain would take part. Britain is due to leave the EU on Friday, but Prime Minister Theresa May has asked the EU for a further delay to Britain’s exit date while she seeks to reach a compromise with the opposition Labour Party in order to get her Brexit deal passed. “As a responsible government today we have taken the necessary steps required by law should we have to participate,” a government spokesman said in a statement. “It does not make these elections inevitable, as leaving the EU before the date of election automatically removes our obligation to take part.”Reuters

Published: 16 April 2019

European Union countries on Monday overruled France and gave the green light for Brussels to open trade talks with Washington as soon as possible and defuse trans-Atlantic tensions.

Read more: EU green lights trade talks with Washington to defuse tension

Published: 16 April 2019

Safety features such as intelligent speed assistance and advanced emergency-braking system will have to be installed in new vehicles as from May 2022.“This law is paving the way to save thousands of lives in the coming years. Our focus was always on the safety of road users, especially vulnerable ones. The additional obligatory equipment for cars, trucks and buses will help to save people’s lives”, said Róża Thun (EPP, PL), who steered this legislation through Parliament. The provisional deal with EU ministers was reached on 26 March.Vehicles better equipped to prevent accidentsThe advanced systems that will have to be fitted in all new vehicles are: intelligent speed assistance; alcohol interlock installation facilitation; driver drowsiness and attention warning; advanced driver distraction warning; emergency stop signal; reversing detection; and event data recorder (“black box”).The intelligent speed assistance (ISA) system could reduce fatalities on EU roads by 20%, according to estimates. “ISA will provide a driver with feedback, based on maps and road sign observation, always when the speed limit is exceeded. We do not introduce a speed limiter, but an intelligent system that will make drivers fully aware when they are speeding. This will not only make all of us safer, but also help drivers to avoid speeding tickets”, Ms Thun said.For passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, it will also be mandatory to have an emergency braking system (already compulsory for lorries and buses), as well as an emergency lane-keeping system.Most of these technologies and systems are due to become mandatory as from May 2022 for new models and as from May 2024 for existing models.Trucks and buses safer for cyclists and pedestriansTrucks and buses will have to be designed and built to make vulnerable road users, such as cyclists and pedestrians, more visible to the driver (so-called “direct vision”). Those vehicles will have to be equipped with advanced features to reduce “to the greatest possible extent the blind spots in front and to the side of the driver”, says the text.Direct vision technology should be applied to new models as from November 2025 and for existing models from November 2028.Improved crash tests and windscreensThe new rules also improve passive safety requirements, including crash tests (front and side), as well as windscreens to mitigate the severity of injuries for pedestrians and cyclists. Type-approval of tyres will also be improved to test worn tyres.Next stepsThe regulation, approved by Parliament with 578 votes to 30, and 25 abstentions, will now be submitted for approval to the EU Council of Ministers.In 2018, around 25 100 people died on EU roads and 135 000 were seriously injured, according to preliminary figures published by the Commission.