Georgi Gotev
Diplomats: Tusk to also become Euro Summit President
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who is widely expected to be chosen by EU leaders at their summit tomorrow (30 August) to succeed Herman Van Rompuy as Council President, will also become Euro Summit President, diplomats said.
EU summit only to decide Van Rompuy and Ashton successors
EXCLUSIVE / The extraordinary EU summit on 30 August, which was expected to put together “the full puzzle” of the EU top jobs for the next five years, will only decide on the successors of Council President Herman Van Rompuy, and EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, sources told EURACTIV today (26 August).
Downed Malaysian plane: ‘War has gone beyond Ukraine’
War has gone beyond the territory of Ukraine, the country’s President Petro Poroshenko has stated following the shocking news that the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was brought down yesterday (17 July) over the territory of Eastern Ukraine close to the Russian border.
Juncker seen rejecting Cameron’s EU Commission reform plan
The leading candidate for the European Commission presidency, Jean-Claude Juncker, has rejected a request by UK Prime Minister David Cameron that the next British commissioner be given charge of a “cluster” of key portfolios, EURACTIV has learned.
Cameron warming up to Juncker
EXCLUSIVE/ The British position that the EPP leading candidate Jean-Claude Juncker for Commission President is not fit for the job is undermined by reports that London would accept the former Prime Minister of Luxembourg to lead the EU executive, if the British commissioner is given charge of a “cluster” of key portfolios, EURACTIV has learned.
Hollande emerges as peacemaker at G7 dinner
French President François Hollande emerged as the peacemaker, following the working dinner of the world's leading industrialised nations Group of Seven (G7) held in Brussels yesterday (4 June). The French President will host further diplomatic contacts, involving the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, today and tomorrow.
Diplomats polemicise over Ukraine’s EU membership perspective
Speaking at a conference organised by the European Policy centre (EPC) yesterday (2 June), Kostyantin Yelisieiev, the Ambassador of Ukraine to the EU, made an appeal for his country to be given a clear membership perspective to the European Union.
Ukraine says ‘armed Russians’ cross its border
Ukraine’s foreign ministry has strongly protested attempts to cross the country’s border by armed insurgents from Russia, in what is seen as attempts to disrupt the presidential elections on 25 May, and destabilize the situation in the eastern region of the country.
Cyprus may elect first Turkish MEP
The Republic of Cyprus is likely to elect its first MEP from the Turkey-occupied northern part of the Island, a move that signals progress in the island's reunification talks, diplomats told EURACTIV.
Diplomats: No matter who wins EU elections, the favourite is Lagarde
IMF chief Christine Lagarde is being increasingly name checked, in the context of preparations for the 27 May EU summit, two days after the results of the European elections are known, diplomats told EURACTIV.
Putin to attend D-Day anniversary
On 6 June, Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit France to attend the 70th anniversary of D-Day, the Allies' landing at Normandy, a turning point in World War II, where US President Barack Obama and other Western leaders are also expected.
None of the leading candidates will be Commission President: analyst
None of the three leading candidates will become President of the Commission, José Ignacio Torreblanca, senior research fellow of the European Council on Foreign Relations has told EURACTIV. Instead, EU leaders will choose a “Barroso-type” compromise candidate, he said.
EU liberals distance themselves from Bulgarian MEP candidate
Guy Verhofstadt, the leader of the liberal ALDE group in the European Parliament, has failed to convince a Bulgarian sister party not to put a controversial candidate in the lists for the European elections, EURACTIV has learned.
Verhofstadt vows to follow Delors’ path as Commission President
Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE leader, and party candidate for the European Commission Presidency, presented his program Friday (25 April), which he said was inspired by vintage politician Jacques Delors, widely seen as the most visionary EU leader.
Bulgaria, Commission, lost in translation over South Stream
Bulgarian Energy Minister Dragomir Stoynev met with the EU's Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger Thursday (24 April) to discuss the future of the Gazprom-sponsored South Stream gas pipeline. But the two sides offered a widely diverging interpretation of the exchange.
Ukrainian minister: ‘Gas can stop flowing at any moment’
EXCLUSIVE / The gas price hike from $268.50 per 1,000 cubic meters to $485.50 imposed by Moscow on Kyiv could cut gas supplies from Russia to the EU through Ukrainian territory, Yuriy Prodan, Ukraine's minister of energy and coal industry told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.
EPP: Next Commission President must be a coalition builder
The next president of the European Commission shall be from the political family able to form the necessary qualified majority in the European Parliament, the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) stated yesterday (7 April).
Brussels has become a Moloch, says Letta
Former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta said yesterday (3 April) that it was important to show to European citizens that the EU is not Brussels, adding that the former system of holding summits in the capitals holding the rotating presidency of the Union was better than the current system of having all summits take place in Brussels.
EU leaders losing ‘propaganda war’, says diplomat
In the wake of the Ukraine crisis, European leaders meeting today (20 March) in Brussels will likely limit themselves to adding a few names on the sanctions blacklist and possibly cancelling the June EU-Russia summit, diplomats said, with one slamming the West for losing the 'propaganda war' over Crimea.
EU shunned from US-Russia meeting on Ukraine
A high-ranking European Union diplomat regretted that no EU officials were invited to a London meeting today (14 March) between US State Secretary John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, described as a last-chance opportunity before Russia annexes the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
Brussels lays out plans to counter ‘systemic threats’ to EU rule of law
In light of recent lurches toward authoritarianism in Hungary and Romania, the European Commission adopted today (11 March) a mechanism for addressing “systemic threats” to the rule of law in any of the EU's 28 Member States.
EU blamed for mishandling Ukraine trade pact agreement
EXCLUSIVE / The EU finds itself in the embarrassing situation of having mishandled a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Ukraine’s landmark Association Agreement, and the new Kyiv government is furious, EURACTIV has found.
EU gives ultimatum to Russia over its ‘aggression’ against Ukraine
At their extraordinary summit held today (6 March), called in response to the escalation of the crisis in Ukraine, EU leaders demanded that Russia immediately withdraw its forces from Crimea, grant access to monitors, and begin negotiations. If it does not comply, Moscow has been threatened with travel bans and an assets freeze, which could also hit Russian President Vladimir Putin.