Georgi Gotev
EU appeals to ‘Astana guarantors’ to avoid Idlib catastrophe
Commenting on the decision by Russia and Turkey to create a “demilitarised” zone in a rebel-held Syrian region, the EU called on Tuesday (18 September) on the “Astana guarantors”, Russia, Turkey and Iran, to respect civilians as a matter of priority.
Czech, Slovak premiers bristle at beefing up of Frontex
The European Union should steer funds to individual member countries to help them guard their own borders against illegal migration, rather than emphasise funding for Frontex, the common EU border force, the Czech and Slovak premiers said on Monday (17 September).
Sefcovic officially enters the Spitzenkandidaten battle
Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič announced officially on Monday (17 September) his candidacy to be the leading candidate of his social-democrat political group in the campaign for the 2019 European elections.
Macron’s party neck-and-neck with far-right in 2019 EU election opinion poll
French President Emmanuel Macron's centrist LREM party is neck-and-neck with the far-right Rassemblement National, formerly the National Front, for the May 2019 European Parliament elections, according to poll results published on Thursday (13 September).
Manfred Weber: Bulgaria and Croatia should join Schengen ‘immediately’
Bulgaria and Croatia should join the EU's passport-free Schengen area immediately, EPP group leader Manfred Weber said on Wednesday (12 September), in a friendly gesture to two Eastern European governments from his political family.
Juncker paints ‘big picture’ of EU’s global role
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker stayed away from major legislative proposals in his annual address to Parliament, preferring to focus on the “big picture” of how the EU can assert its power in a hostile international environment.
Salvini sees populist-conservative coalition guiding the new EU Commission
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who also leads the far-right League party, said on Tuesday (11 September) he wants the new European Commission to be led by conservatives and populists.
Orbán divides EPP ahead of crucial European Parliament vote
The European Parliament held a highly incendiary debate about Hungary on Tuesday (11 September), ahead of a vote on whether to trigger Article 7 against the country, exposing serious internal divisions in the European Peoples’ Party, which includes Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's party.
Russia starts biggest manoeuvres ever, seen by NATO as rehearsal for ‘large-scale conflict’
Russia launches the largest military manoeuvers in its history on Wednesday (12 September), with the participation of nearly 300,000 military from all kinds of armed forces plus Chinese soldiers, disregarding NATO's criticism that it is a rehearsal for a "large-scale conflict."
Greece’s Moria migrant camp faces closure over public health fears
Greece's biggest migrant camp faces closure next month unless authorities clean up "uncontrollable amounts of waste", the regional governor said, citing public health risks.
Sweden faces political impasse after far-right election gains
Sweden faces a political impasse after its mainstream centre-left and centre-right blocs virtually tied in an election on Sunday (9 September), while the far-right - which neither wants to deal with - made gains on a hardline anti-immigration platform.
Commission frowns at Serbian president’s praise of Milosevic
The European Commission made veiled criticism on Monday (10 September) against Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, whose comments at the weekend appeared to glorify the late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milošević, seen by many as the chief culprit for the wars in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
The core of Juncker’s State of the Union speech: A federal border police
Establishing a genuine European border police and turning the control of irregular migration into a community competence will be the core of Commission President’s Jean-Claude Juncker State of the Union speech on Wednesday (12 September), according to Spanish daily El País.
Ska Keller: Manfred Weber’s openness to the far right is ‘quite crazy’
In an exclusive interview, Ska Keller, co-chair of the Greens-EFA group, shared what she expects from next week's State of the Union speech and the vote on whether to trigger punitive Article 7 measures against Hungary, as well as weighing in on Manfred Weber's bid to lead the EPP into the EU elections.
EU supports Kazakh programme to educate Afghan women
EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini on Wednesday (5 September) announced a new €2 million programme that will train and educate Afghan women in Kazakhstan.
Hesitant MEPs advised to ‘go for a coffee’ during Hungary vote
Next week's vote in the European Parliament on whether to trigger punitive Article 7 against Hungary will be a moment of truth for the EPP political group, whose behaviour will largely determine its outcome, an influential MEP said on Thursday (6 September).
A ‘grand gas bargain’ with Russia is in the pipeline, experts believe
The European Commission's push to rewrite the EU's Third Gas Directive is doomed, but Brussels has not withdrawn its proposal because it is preparing a "grand bargain” with Russia, experts told a EURACTIV event on Wednesday (5 September).
Macron seeks new ‘progressive’ coalition for 2019 European elections
French President Emmanuel Macron wants to shake up the EU political ecosystem, hoping to forge a new progressive alliance at the end of this year for the 2019 European Parliament elections, a source in his office said on Wednesday (5 September).
Cyprus seeks EU help after spike in migrant arrivals
Cyprus appealed Wednesday (5 September) to the EU to offer it more help with illegal migrants, warning it would be unable to cope if the influx of arrivals continues to its shores.
Hungarian NGOs say Article 7 vote is also about alerting other EU members
The European Parliament will vote next week on a proposal to trigger Article 7 against Hungary. Hungarian civil society leaders threw their weight behind the proposal on Wednesday (5 September), saying it was the last chance to defend democracy in Hungary.
EU Ombudsman raps Juncker over Selmayr’s move to top job
The European Ombudsman has found that the EU executive under President Jean-Claude Juncker failed to follow procedures in appointing his chief aide to run the EU civil service and so undermined public trust.
Facebook blocked in Tripoli and other cities as fighting rage
Facebook has been blocked in the Libyan capital of Tripoli and other cities, residents said on Monday (3 September) as fighting between rival groups raged.
Bulgaria police raids EU Presidency hotel in Sofia
Police uncovered on Friday (31 August) over 10 million leva (€5 million) in cash from hotels owned by a rich businessman in Sofia and in Bulgaria’s second largest city, Plovdiv. A prosecutor reportedly said he had never seen anything of the kind in his whole career.