Future EU
European Parliament cancels Strasbourg session and goes virtual
The European Parliament will hold next week's plenary session by videoconference as a precaution against coronavirus, European Parliament President Davide Sassoli said Thursday (15 October), despite French insistence on resuming the assembly's monthly Strasbourg sessions.
We need to talk about the future of Europe
Our online world lends itself well to a conversation with citizens about the future of Europe. And yet, European leaders have so far failed to reach agreement, even on who should chair the long promised Conference on the Future of Europe, writes Roger Casale.
The Brief, powered by CEN-CENELEC – The triumph of the jargon
Last night the European Parliament delegation walked out of talks on the EU budget. Although the main dispute is over MEPs’ demands for extra cash for some projects, lawmakers and some EU governments also insist that there must be a strong link between the rule of law and the disbursement of EU funds.
European Parliament walks out of EU budget negotiations
European Parliament budget negotiators walked out on Thursday night (8 October) from negotiations with member states and suspended all further talks until next week, saying they "will come back to the table once there is a real will from the Council’s side to find an agreement".
Unbalanced politics leads to unchecked power
Europeans are doing well not to look down upon the democratic backsliding in the US too much. The mix is different, but all the elements are here as well. Here too, the interplay between governments and courts is all skewed, writes Sophie in 't Veld.
EU governments, parliament edge closer to deal on recovery plan
The European Union edged closer on Wednesday (7 October) to a deal over the bloc's budget and recovery package of €1.8 trillion after national governments offered concessions, but key differences remained.
The Brief, powered by CEN-CENELEC – We’re struggling too
Like so many institutions these days, the European Commission has taken its press conferences entirely online. While understanding the challenges this creates, we cannot help feeling that press relations seem to have generally started going downhill.
The Brief, powered by CEN-CENELEC – Against a Christian Europe
Tomorrow, the European Parliament is set to back Mairead McGuinness as Ireland’s new Commissioner responsible for financial services. However, during her hearing in the Economy Committee last week, MEPs failed to press the Parliament’s vice-president on perhaps the one thing...
Brace for a landmark debate – not only for Bulgaria, but for the EU
On Monday (5 October), the European Parliament will discuss in plenary the Rule of Law in Bulgaria. It may look like an event important mostly for the Bulgarians, but in fact it has a lot of incidence on the EU, writes Radan Kanev
Making European elections truly European
Instead of transnational lists leaving our European election in the hands of national parties, we must reform European parties, place them at the heart of European elections, and rewrite our electoral law to bring MEPs closer to citizens, writes Louis Drounau.
Polish MEP Sylwia Spurek changes colours from Socialists to Greens
Polish MEP Sylwia Spurek announced on Wednesday (30 September) she will transfer from the Socialists to the Greens group in the European Parliament, becoming the first Polish member of the now 69-strong group.
Europe is ‘screwed’ if its parliament sits only in Brussels, says Macron
Europe is "screwed" if the European Parliament ceases sitting in the French city of Strasbourg once a month and convenes only in Brussels, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday (29 September).
Orbán’s attempt at blackmail
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is blackmailing the rest of the European Union, but MEPs and EU leaders must call his bluff to hold up the COVID-19 recovery fund if rule of law criteria are included. This may be the EU's last chance to crack down on his rogue regime. writes Csaba Molnár.
EU representatives and voters without borders
There is an urgent need to fully recognise the democratic rights of all European citizens, write Alberto Alemanno, Giorgio Clarotti, Olivier Costa and Christophe Leclercq.
No progress on EU’s long-term budget negotiations
EU member states and the European Parliament continued to disagree on Friday (18 September) on whether to increase the Union’s long-term budget, complicating attempts to reach a quick agreement on the badly needed recovery fund for the member states.
European Parliament votes for new taxes in EU to repay recovery borrowing
The European Parliament voted on Wednesday (16 September) in favour of assigning new tax revenues to the European Union to repay the bloc's intended joint borrowing of €750 billion for economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Von der Leyen outlines path towards ‘new vitality’ in post-corona world
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged in her first ‘State of the Union’ address that Europe will lead the way towards a “new vitality” following the COVID-19 crisis, including a more “human” and greener economy.
Raising our game through strategic foresight
With the adoption of its first-ever Strategic Foresight Report, the European Commission is making a giant leap forward, by bringing robust long-term challenges and vision into short-term political focus and action, writes Maroš Šefčovič.
A resignation that should have been avoided
Phil Hogan's resignation from the European Commission could have been avoided, but he did not receive the support he should have from the Commission President, argues John Bruton.
The Brief – Why can’t we vote?
By law, EU nationals living abroad are entitled to vote and run in European and local elections in the member state where they are living. So why is that the 14 million European citizens living in an EU country other than their own report so many difficulties in using their voting rights?
Germany’s Scholz sees ‘no way back’ from EU joint debt
German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said Sunday (23 August) that the European Union's recovery package financed by joint borrowing was a long-term measure rather than a short-term coronavirus crisis fix, contradicting Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Can the EU avoid further clashes with the German Constitutional Court?
The row between the European Court of Justice and Germany’s Constitutional Court calls for a solution to be found to solve future clashes. José Luís da Cruz Vilaça proposes setting up an alert mechanism, similar to the one available to national parliaments.
All aboard: EU policy train builds up steam after summer
To help bring you up to speed after the summer holidays, EURACTIV's policy experts have put together a series of streamlined overviews of the most important issues in all policy areas, from agriculture and transport to energy and digital.