Beatriz Rios Archives

EU leaders will discuss late on Thursday (13 December) how to address the UK's concerns about its withdrawal agreement from the EU, but discussions on contingency plans are gathering pace as the chances of an orderly divorce continue to wane.

The European Central Bank (ECB) won a landmark case on Tuesday (11 December) as the European Court of Justice confirmed that the national bond-buying policy was in accordance with EU law, in response to concerns raised in Germany. 

The EU should strengthen regional investment in innovation through cohesion policy to compete with the US and China, regional leaders said during the European Innovation Summit in Brussels this week. 

In many EU countries, mental health is still a taboo. However, the economic impact of psychological disorders is a loss of 4% of GDP and changes in the labour market only aggravate the situation, according to a report by the OECD.

The European Commission has no plan to start a war with Italy over its budget, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said a day after a working dinner with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Saturday (24 November). But Rome confirmed that the main reforms included in the disputed budget will stay unchanged.

The Brexit deal is good to go. The Spanish government announced on Saturday (24 November) that it would back the deal after striking a last-minute agreement to ensure any agreement for the future relationship with the UK will not automatically apply to Gibraltar.

Member states share Spain's concerns over the future relationship with Gibraltar after Brexit, Vice-President of the European Commission for Jobs, Growth, Investment & Competitiveness Jyrki Katainen told EURACTIV.com in a long interview where he addressed all the pressing challenges the EU is currently facing.

A Brexit deal is "within our grasp", Theresa May said on Thursday (22 November) after negotiators concluded a political declaration on what EU-UK relations should look like post-Brexit.

The European Commission hedged its bets and called for the opening of an excessive deficit procedure against Italy on Wednesday (21 November) as Rome refused once again to revise its draft budget plan.

Italy's slightly modified budget might not get the green light from the European Commission, the president of the Eurogroup, Mario Centeno, told the Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on Tuesday (20 November), raising the likelihood of an excessive deficit …

France and Germany's finance ministers on Monday (19 November) presented their proposal on establishing a eurozone budget by 2021, describing it as a "major political breakthrough".

Spain's Foreign Minister Josep Borrell voiced frustration with the UK's EU withdrawal agreement on Monday (19 November), complaining that the Spanish authorities had not been briefed on the details of Article 184 of the agreement.

After 17 months of negotiations, with less than 140 days before the UK is officially set to exit the EU, Brussels and London reached an agreement late Wednesday (14 November) on the terms of their divorce. However, the work is far from complete. Below is an overview of the next steps leading to the UK's withdrawal.

Italy defied Brussels again on Tuesday (13 November) as Finance Minister Giovanni Tria presented only a slightly modified draft budget, despite the European Commission rejecting the previous spending plan in an unprecedented decision.

British Prime Minister Theresa May narrowly won the support of her cabinet for a draft divorce deal with the EU on Wednesday night (14 November), making yet another unexpected breakthrough in the Brexit negotiations.

The European Parliament laid down funding priorities for the next long-term EU budget on Tuesday (13 November) and urged the Council to agree on a common position so that talks be completed before next May. But differences still remain about the level of member states' contributions.

The Facility for Refugees in Turkey “swiftly” addressed people’s needs, stated a report by the European Court of Auditors published on Tuesday (13 October), but stressed there were some irregularities in tracking the EU funds.

Volt, a transnational movement built by young Europeans, aims to take over the upcoming EU elections with a combination of a hyper-localised organisation under a common European vision. EURACTIV.com spoke to two of its founders. 

In January next year, a new regulation will govern matrimonial property across 18 member states. We analyse how a real case would have been different with the new legislation in place.

Former managing director of the International Monetary Fund and ex-Finance minister of Spain Rodrigo Rato entered into prison on Thursday (25 October) to serve four-and-a-half-years term over ‘black cards’ case.

The European Commission rejected Italy’s 2019 budget in an unprecedented decision on Tuesday (23 October), after the government in Rome failed to give a substantial response to the executive's allegations of a breach of the EU law.

The European Commission prepares to reject Italy's budget on Tuesday (23 October) due to an “unprecedented” breach of EU fiscal rules. But Rome sticks to its guns and presented the breach as a “difficult but necessary decision” taken by the government.

There are more than 16 million international couples in the EU, according to the European Commission. From January 2019, their rights and obligations will be secured by a European regulation for matrimonial property regimes and so-called "registered partnerships".

International couples will find it easier to break up from 2019. After years of negotiation, 18 European Union member states will introduce an EU legislation to rule the property regimes for marriages and registered partners in the Union, thanks to enhanced cooperation.