Spitzenkandidat stillborn?
The so-called Spitzenkandidaten system for electing the next European Commission President seems to be dead and buried, according to the vice chairman of the European…
Politics
Latest reporting and analysis on politics.
More children and more women at work: Meloni’s new fertility policy
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called again for a reversal of country's rapidly declining fertility rate at the opening of the Salone del Mobile fair in Milan…
Qatargate suspect Kaili says she’ll stay in Belgium to clear her name, wants to return to work
Qatargate suspect and former European Parliament vice president Eva Kaili says she will fight to clear her name in Belgium and will not return to her homeland until…
Questions swirl after shooting of senior EU official in Sudan
The condition and whereabouts of a top EU official shot in Sudan were still unclear on April 19 amid continuing fighting in Khartoum.
European Parliament VP expresses ‘doubts’ over Ukraine aid
A senior European Parliament leader says he has “doubts” as to whether the EU’s aid to Ukraine is ending up in the right hands.
Europe remains silent as Islamic extremism grows in Libya – Christians face growing persecution
The EU is failing to quell the surge in Islamic extremism on the other side of its shores in Libya, as Libyan authorities have started a campaign to persecute Christian…
Let’s keep it ‘coherent’ on China, say EU leaders
EU leaders pushed for a coherent strategy to underpin Europe-China relations on April 18 in Strasbourg.
Italy’s President tells EU to revise ‘prehistoric’ migrant treaties
Italian head of state Sergio Mattarella said on April 18 that the EU needs to revise its migrant treaties so that arrivals are handled jointly rather than by single,…
Gazprom says Europe set to struggle to fill gas storage for next winter
It will be very difficult for Europe to refill its gas storage to last year’s levels after the continent ended the winter heating season with relatively low stockpiles,…
More headaches for EC President von der Leyen as Pfizer lawsuit asks if she ‘destroyed official documents’
A Belgian lobbyist is suing European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over SMS exchanges she allegedly had with Pfizer's chief executive, asking whether…
Is the European Commission turning into Kafka’s Castle?
In most of Europe, and for most of its existence, the European Commission has been considered a force for good.
Poland and Hungary defy EU on Ukrainian grain
Unilateral action on trade by European Union member states is unacceptable, a European Commission spokesperson said on Sunday, after Poland and Hungary announced…
Greece’s Prime Minister: border walls need fortifying
Europe's external borders need fortified walls.
European Commission sidesteps Pentagon leaks
The US is getting it in the neck from its European allies over recent intelligence leaks about the war in Ukraine.
Qatargate accused Marc Tarabella goes back to work
Qatargate accused Marc Tarabella will go back to work as soon as he is released from prison under electronic surveillance, Belgian press reports today.
Schengen still not functioning despite end of Covid
Europe's border-control-free zone, Schengen, collapsed during the Covid pandemic as national governments retrenched within more comfortable confines in the belief…
Is Macron just being a Gaullist?
Although France’s influence on the world stage has shrunk, French Presidents have a habit of still taking on larger-than-reality personas
Police raid shines unwelcome light on European Parliament financing
Belgian police, accompanied by German police, “raided” the European People’s Party (EPP) headquarters in Brussels on April 4 though the party itself said agents…
Brussels: nest of spies
A spy, according to the New Oxford American Dictionary, is “a person who secretly collects and reports information on the activities, movements and plans of an…
Kosovo-Serbia tensions flare again despite EU-mediated deal
Car number plates might seem a flimsy pretext for a geopolitical standoff but a renewed rise in tensions in Kosovo have been triggered by a dispute about where cars…
EC President von der Leyen links China trade deal with Ukraine war as tensions escalate
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hinted at rewriting the EU’s market access agreement with China on March 30 in the latest sign of a shift towards…
Can the booze industry kill off EU warning labels for a second time?
The wine and beer industries successfully killed off the first European Commission attempt to slap warning labels on their products – back in 2007 – and the…
Do EU officials really have cushy jobs?
European Union officials, and those of the European Commission in particular, reputedly have cushy jobs.
European Commission swivels in attempt to arm Ukraine without using the EU budget
The European Union is by law prohibited from arming Ukraine, though anyone watching the manoeuvrings of the Brussels institutions would be forgiven for thinking…
Should the EU give lectures on morality to the rest of the world?
There used to be an EU official whose sole job consisted of trying to convince non-EU countries to drop the death penalty.
Do personalities make EU politics?
What weight do personalities have in the design and implementation of European Union policies?
People will revolt against a European superstate, Polish PM warns
People will revolt against any attempt to turn the European Union into a superstate, the Polish Prime Minister warned on March 20.
EU joint purchasing push would concentrate power in hands of EC
Joint purchasing can seem an efficient solution to many problems facing EU Member States and their citizens.
Macron ‘weakened’ by pension reform rebellion
Whatever the outcome of the battle by French President Emmanuel Macron to push through an increase in his country’s pensionable age, he is likely to emerge weaker,…
United but fragile: Europe and Ukraine
Wars do not end in peace negotiations but at the ballot box, argues the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) in the introduction to its latest Ukraine war…