Elections
Salvini’s quest for snap Italian election faces hurdles
Lega chief Matteo Salvini's call for snap Italian elections after he turned on his own coalition partner faced mounting resistance on Sunday (11 August), with both his former 5-Star ally and the centre-left opposition seeking to put the brakes on.
Italy’s Salvini says government is finished, calls for elections
Tension is mounting in Italy between its populist leaders over the financing of a multi-billion-euro high-speed train line, raising speculation the coalition government could collapse.
Austria’s Kurz does not oppose coalition with far-right
Austria's former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and leader of the conservative party is not excluding the idea of re-establishing a coalition with the country's far right, he said in an interview with the Austrian public broadcaster ORF. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Britain’s Johnson suffers first leadership blow in by-election
Britain's Boris Johnson lost his first test as prime minister on Friday (2 August) after his candidate was edged out by a pro-EU rival in a by-election that slims his parliamentary majority to one.
Dozens of migrants still stuck on coastguard vessel in Italy port
An Italian coastguard vessel stranded in the Mediterranean with more than 130 migrants aboard has been allowed to dock in the Sicilian port of Augusta but Rome on Sunday (28 July) refused to let them disembark until a deal is struck with the EU.
Conte tells the Italian Senate he stands by League over Russia funding scandal
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Wednesday (24 July) he had continued trust in the League party within his coalition government despite allegations it had sought illicit funds from Russia.
Romania’s PM Viorica Dancila to run for president
Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă will run for president in November, the Social Democratic Party's (PSD) leadership decided Tuesday (23 July), in a bid to stop incumbent Klaus Iohannis winning a second term.
Von der Leyen vote may trigger snap elections in Italy
Italy's two ruling parties clashed on Wednesday (18 July) over the election of German Ursula von der Leyen as the next president of the European Commission in a vote that could endanger Rome's hopes of securing a top job in the new EU executive.
Finnish presidency commits to linking rule of law with EU funding
Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne told the European Parliament on Wednesday (17 July) that his country’s presidency of the Council of the EU would continue negotiations on how to link more closely the disbursement of EU funds with respect for the rule of law in member states.
Merkel’s favoured successor to become defence minister
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's favoured successor and the head of her CDU party will become the country's next defence minister, an official statement said Tuesday (16 July), after Ursula von der Leyen was elected European Commission president.
Juncker will need to accept replacement Commissioners from Romania, Estonia
Faced with opposition from the member states, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was unable to block the replacement of the Romanian and Estonian commissioners, who were elected as MEPs and already took their MEP seats.
Mitsotakis, Greece’s pro-business ‘steamroller’
Greece's incoming prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is a hard-nosed reformer from a conservative political dynasty with controversial civil service job cuts on his resume.
Malta to relocate 65 migrants after rescue ships defy Italy ban
Malta's prime minister said Sunday (7 July) his country would relocate to other EU nations 65 migrants from the Alan Kurdi rescue ship, after two other boats defied efforts to stop them landing in neighbouring Italy.
Four things we learned from the Greek election
Greece’s conservative New Democracy party on Sunday (7 July) returned to power after over four years in opposition, ousting leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Here are four things we have learned from the 2019 Greek general election: Return of two-party...
Conservatives sweep Greek vote, oust leftist Syriza
The conservative New Democracy party triumphed in the Greek national elections on Sunday (7 July), ousting leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras from government.
Bulgaria slashes state subsidy, allows unlimited donations for political parties
Bulgaria's parliament removed all limits for individual and corporate donations for political parties Thursday (4 July), a move which many fear could worsen the country's already endemic corruption.
Putin, visiting Italy, says wants Rome to help mend Moscow-EU ties
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday (4 July) he hoped Italy would battle to restore fully fledged relations between the European Union and Russia and help persuade the bloc's new leadership that sanctions on Moscow were counter-productive.
AS IT HAPPENED: The summit that decided on EU top jobs
EU leaders meet in Brussels 20-21 June to try and decide who should get the top institution jobs. Stay tuned here for the main developments from the summit.
Italian judge says German migrant rescue captain free to go
An Italian judge said Tuesday (2 July) that Sea-Watch 3 captain Carola Rackete was free to go, three days after her arrest for docking with 40 migrants aboard her rescue ship in defiance of an Italian ban.
Austrian Parliament doing everything to appease voters
The free play of forces in Austria’s parliament is now leading to a string of different alliances between Austrian parties, who are attempting to come up with the perfect programme to appease voters. An analysis by Herbert Vytiska for EURACTIV Germany.
Juncker tries to block the replacement of Cretu, Ansip
Romania has requested the replacement of its Commissioner Corina Crețu, who was elected as MEP and has taken her seat. To avoid such a replacement, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has put forward a legislative proposal, EURACTIV has learned.
Slovakia’s new parties cry foul as lawmakers tighten financing rules
Slovakia's parliament on Thursday (27 June) rushed through draft legislation tightening campaign financing rules, a move seen by new parties as the ruling coalition's strike against rivals before next year's general elections.
Concerns as Merkel suffers new trembling spell on eve of G20
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's office sought to calm nerves after she suffered a second bout of uncontrolled trembling in just over a week, saying the veteran leader was en route to Osaka on Thursday (27 June) as planned for the G20 summit.