EU socialists say Romania’s Victor Ponta is ‘fully unreliable’

Romania’s former Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who has left the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) and formed his own ProRomania party, cannot be trusted as he changes his mind every week, a high-ranking EU socialist told EURACTIV.com.  

Transport Brief – Battery behemoth, train tweaks and scooter surge

This is your weekly EURACTIV Transport Brief, the one port of call for all the news from the world of mobility and much more!

European vote in the UK: Silence is a mistake

Labour and the Tories will be equally to blame for not having challenged Nigel Farage, who is likely to be the big winner of the European elections in the UK, writes Stavros Papagianneas.

Macron wants a European convention to reform Europe

France's head of state never runs out of ideas for Europe. Emmanuel Macron now wants to mix ideas proposed by citizens and leaders to get Europe back on its feet. EURACTIV France reports.

How can EU members make good on new single-use plastics law?

The European Parliament and the Council gave their official green light to the Single-use Plastics Directive on Tuesday morning (21 May). Larissa Copello de Souza explains how the implementation period is a golden opportunity to raise the bar even further.

High fives, selfies and a snap election as Zelenskiy takes power in Ukraine

Television comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy took the oath of office as Ukraine’s new president on Monday (20 May), promising that as hard as he had worked in the past to make Ukrainians laugh, he would now work to keep them from crying.

Big firms pump up voters for EU polls

From Volkswagen to Spotify to Iberdrola, Europe’s biggest firms are urging people to vote in key European Parliament elections this weekend amid concerns that an anti-EU outcome could disrupt their business and hurt their bottom line. 

Video scandal won’t affect FPÖ’s showing in EU elections – Austrian law expert

In an interview with EURACTIV, European law expert Stefan Brocza explains why the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) could still achieve good results in Sunday's European elections, despite the unfolding scandal linking the party with a supposed Russian oligarch.

Manfred Weber: ‘Environmental issues are one of my areas of expertise’

The lead candidate for the centre-right in this week’s European elections says “Europe must move towards net-zero emissions by 2050,” voicing his belief in innovation and new technologies to drive the decarbonisation agenda if he becomes the next president of the European Commission.

Austrian far-right ministers to resign en masse amid ‘Ibiza-gate’ fallout

All remaining ministers from Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) are to resign, a party spokesman said Monday (20 May), after one of them, Interior Minister Herbert Kickl, was fired in the fallout from a corruption scandal that has brought down the government.

Mass killing of male chickens expected to prompt groundbreaking decision in Germany

This week, the German Federal Administrative Court will decide whether to continue allowing the mass killing of millions of newborn male chickens. If judges ban this practice, eggs could become scarce, according to the Poultry industry. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Commission in search of ‘robust response’ to gene editing challenge

The EU executive has already prepared the ground for a new initiative on gene editing to overhaul the current GMO legislation, EU agriculture commissioner Phil Hogan has said.

#EU2019 – Mainstream Czech parties go to polls with common EU vision: a stronger nation

The two largest parties in the Czech Republic, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s ANO (ALDE) and Civic Democratic Party (ODS, ECR), have found common ground in their vision for the EU future: a stronger nation. EURACTIV Czech Republic reports.

The EU future of new plant breeding techniques

New plant breeding techniques (NPBTs) emerged as an innovative agricultural solution in the last decade, allowing the development of new plant varieties by modifying the DNA of the seeds and plant cells.

Milkshakes become weapon of choice in UK European campaign

The lowly milkshake has turned into an unlikely weapon of choice for Britons determined to make a splashy statement against the rise of the Brexit-backing populist right.

Kazakhstan: New political realities

Kazakhstan’s first president Nursultan Nazarbayev surprisingly resigned on 19 March and announced that the Speaker of the Senate, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, will serve as interim leader before the next presidential election, which will take place on 9 June.

The EU Game of Thrones explained

This week's European parliamentary elections will launch a scramble for the continent's top leadership jobs, but won't decide the winners. Here is a guide to the horsetrading. 

Youth spell out five demands to tackle climate breakdown

Climate change is threatening the future of younger generations, but decision makers are still not taking it seriously. To get them started, youth organisations have joined forces with partners across Europe to come up with a set of five demands for how to solve the crisis.

The Brief, powered by ifaw – True Colours

Right-wing populists are campaigning for "cleaning up" and "restoring order" once they are in power. Yet the now infamous ‘Ibiza-Video’ is shaking the Austrian political sphere to the core because it shows the exact opposite - their true colours.

Strengthening EU rule of law protection: start with freedom of expression

This Tuesday, during the General Affairs Council, ministers of foreign affairs will get a presentation by the Commission about a new Communication on the rule of law. Rather than just listen, ministers should show they are committed to backing up talk with immediate action, write Gráinne de Búrca and John Morijn.

At Nur-Sultan forum, leaders advise focus on education

Kazakhstan is investing in human capital and plans to become one of the world’s 30 most advanced nations by 2050. At a recent conference in the capital Nur-Sultan, leaders and economists offered advice, valid also for other countries as well: to focus on education.

Boeing hit with more lawsuits over fatal crash

Boeing was hit with two wrongful death lawsuits on Thursday (16 May), which claim that the US aerospace giant did not do enough to prevent the fatal crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight in March. Boeing is currently trying to get its grounded aircraft back into service.