News
Slovenia president in run-off against comedian for second term
Slovenia's President Borut Pahor won by far the most votes in a presidential election on Sunday (22 October) but failed to secure an outright victory and will face a runoff on 12 November against a former comedian turned mayor.
UK’s divorce bill figure will come in final Brexit deal – trade minister
Britain can only come up with a figure for a financial settlement with the European Union when Brexit has been agreed, trade minister Liam Fox said yesterday (22 October), warning leaders not to believe London is bluffing over a no deal.
Catalan separatists weigh options ahead of crucial week
Catalonia's separatists weighed their options on Sunday (22 October) ahead of a week that will see Spain take the drastic step of sacking the region's government as well as calling fresh elections to try and stop the country breaking up.
Austria’s Kurz hopes to form government by Christmas
Austria's likely next chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, wants talks over a new government to last no more than two months, he said in a newspaper interview published on Sunday (22 October).
Farmers: No quick fix for food security if Brexit talks fail
British farmers are “running out of patience” with both sides in the Brexit negotiations, after Friday’s (20 October) EU summit did little to allay fears of a mutually damaging no-deal scenario.
‘Despondent’ May losing sleep on in-fighting, said Juncker
Theresa May looked "despondent", with deep rings under her eyes, EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker told aides after dining with the British prime minister last week, a German newspaper said yesterday (22 October).
Catalonia, a viable independent state?
Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz tells EURACTIV.com that the region would be accepted in the EU and therefore become a viable independent economy if it applied, but the former chair of the UK's Financial Services Authority Adair Turner disagrees.
Italian regions vote in favour of autonomy in shadow of Catalonia crisis
Two wealthy regions of northern Italy voted overwhelmingly yesterday (22 October) for greater autonomy in referendums that could fan regional tensions in Europe at a time when Spain is striving to prevent Catalonia from breaking away.
Czech tycoon Babiš to be named prime minister but may struggle to find partners
Czech President Milos Zeman said yesterday (22 October) he would name Andrej Babiš prime minister, but the tycoon leader of the anti-establishment ANO party may struggle to find coalition partners despite his emphatic election win.
Italy still opposes glyphosate but mulls five-year extension
The Italian government insists that the re-authorisation of glyphosate, the world's most commonly used weedkiller, be rejected. However, sources told EURACTIV.com that Rome is exploring the scenario of a five-year extension for an adjustment period.
Macron: ‘We are not halfway through yet’ on Brexit divorce bill
Speaking at the closure of a European summit on Friday (20 October), French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the “unity” of EU leaders on Brexit, saying there were “no concessions to be made" to Britain at this stage.
Commission pushes for concluding Mercosur deal by end of year
Despite France’s concerns about an EU-Mercosur deal, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker insisted on Friday (20 October) on reaching an agreement by the end of this year because it is “the most important” trade deal for Europe.
Italy seeks EU’s help on migration
Italy's Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni sought member states' support for stemming migrant flows at this week's EU summit and called for an EU mission to police Niger's border with Libya.
France and Poland hope for posted workers breakthrough
After this week's European Council summit in Brussels, EU leaders are already preparing for their next meeting, which will take place in Sweden next month and focus on social issues. It's a divisive area and member states still have one major hurdle in their way before they reconvene.
The Brief: More EU money for Turkey’s civil society
The toughest discussions EU leaders had during the two-day summit that just ended was on Turkey, multiple sources said.
Source: Malicious act suspected in Europe building poisoning
Investigations have been conducted in the Europa building in Brussels to make sure that no poisonous material was maliciously placed inside the ventilation system, a source told EURACTIV on Friday (20 October), after two incidents were reported there in the past week.
Commission sends blitz inspection to BMW to look into cartel concerns
The European Commission sent its officials to the premises of BMW this week for an unannounced inspection, amid concerns of a possible violation of EU antitrust rules by "several German car manufacturers".
#EUCO wrapup: EU summit agrees on ‘Leaders agenda’ despite Brexit
EU leaders wound up two-days of high-level talks in Brussels on Friday (20 October). Digital single market, migration, defence, but also Catalonia and Turkey, were discussed on Thursday. On Brexit, the leaders welcomed 'some progress' in the talks, but said it was not enough to move to phase two, postponing that assessment for December.
Development banks join forces to tackle climate change
Director general of French development agency (AFD) was appointed to lead the International Development Finance Club (IDFC), uniting credit institutions worth $3,000 billion. Their objective: to throw their weight behind sustainable development. EURACTIV France reports.
Facial recognition gains grounds in Europe, among big-brother fears
Facial recognition is gaining ground in Europe. But this technology, used to achieve common security objectives on the ground, raises questions about human rights. EURACTIV France reports.
Trans-Europe Express: Brussels supports Rajoy as everyone wants sanity between Madrid and Barcelona
The escalating tension between Spain’s central government and its counterpart (Govern) in Catalonia has followed the expected script.
Truckers from western Europe break posted workers rules, Czech border checks show
Employers from the western EU Member States don’t stick to the rules when it comes to posted workers, a series of checks conducted by the Czech Republic has shown.
Climate change may take a heavy toll on Greek GDP, land
The total reported economic losses caused by weather- and climate-related extremes in the 33 EEA member countries between 1980 and 2016 amounted to more than €450bn, according to a recent study released by the European Environment Agency. EURACTIV Greece reports.
Warsaw keeps an eye on neighbouring Czech elections
Czechs will elect their new parliament on Friday and Saturday (20-21 October), with former deputy Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, an anti-migrant Eurosceptic and one of the wealthiest men in the country, set to win the most votes, according to the latest opinion polls.