Future EU Archives

Romania's centrist opposition is seeking to topple the government in a parliamentary no-confidence vote next week, one year ahead of a general election, the National Liberal Party (PNL) said on Tuesday (1 October).

If Polish Commission-nominee Janus Wojciechowski ultimately gets rejected by the European Parliament after his hearing on Tuesday (1 October), it will not be for political reasons, but simply because his performance was so disappointing.

Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders faced new corruption allegations on Tuesday (1 October), days after a prosecutor dropped an inquiry into money-laundering allegations against him by the same man.

Ursula von der Leyen still has a chance to chart a path to a fairer, greener, inclusive and prosperous Europe. But what values will she really uphold, asks a group of more than 20 signatories, including ActionAid, Climate Action Network, European Network against Racism, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace.

The European Parliament will be grilling the proposed members of Ursula von der Leyen’s Commission in a series of hearings between 30 September and 8 October.

The European Parliament will be grilling the proposed members of Ursula von der Leyen’s Commission in a series of hearings between 30 September and 8 October.

The European Parliament will not be hearing Commissioner-designates for Hungary, Laszlo Trocsanyi, and Romania, Rovana Plumb, after the Legal Affairs committee concluded on Monday (30 September) they are not apt for the job due to a conflict of interest. 

The European Parliament will be grilling the proposed members of Ursula von der Leyen’s Commission in a series of hearings between 30 September and 8 October. Maroš Šefčovič of Slovakia takes the floor first. The Slovak diplomat, who oversaw the Energy …

Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne said on Sunday (29 September) that all EU countries looked ready to accept that EU funding should be made conditional on democratic principles, he told Finland's public broadcaster YLE.

Hungary has no plans to leave the European Union, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Sunday (29 September), adding however that eastern and western members of the bloc must find a compromise over the bloc's future.

MEPs are ready to go on a Commissioner hunt, as next week’s hearings loom large. But amid the calls for heads to roll and retribution to be dealt, there are reasons for some of von der Leyen’s chosen few not to fear the Parliament boogeymen. 

Romania’s Commissioner-designate Rovana Plumb was rejected by the European Parliament’s legal committee on Thursday (26 September) by a vast majority of the MEPs, over potential conflicts of interest. With the clock ticking, Bucharest must now propose another candidate.

In one of his first interviews since getting the nod to serve another five years in the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič talked about his new job, industrial policy and the "global mega-trends" the EU should lead heading into the next decade.

European lawmakers on Wednesday (25 September) asked the Romanian and Hungarian EU commissioner nominees to face a grilling over potential conflicts of interest and discrepancies in property statements.

New leftist Cypriot MEP Akel Niyazi Kizilyurek asked the EU Commission whether Turkish could be the EU's 25th language. According to the MEP, this would be one way to prepare for the future reunification of the island of Cyprus. EURACTIV's partner Ouest-France reports.

Tens of thousands marched in Slovakia's capital on Sunday (22 September) calling for a total ban on abortions in the predominantly Catholic central European country.

Democracy is at risk and requires healthy media, several portfolios from the new EU Commission are relevant. After years of fake news and weak self-regulation, this ecosystem could be rebalanced if four key Commissioners cooperate around the media sector, argues Christophe Leclercq.

While considerable thought has been put into the geographical nitty-gritty of Ursula von der Leyen’s portfolio assignments, the real power struggle in the European Parliament hearings might take place along different lines.

European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen's Commissioner pick for the enlargement and neighbourhood policy, the former Hungarian Justice Minister László Trócsányi, is appearing to be a particularly controversial one, though it may be motivated by her wish to cool tensions between Brussels and Budapest,

Spain will hold snap elections on 10 November, after acting PM Pedro Sánchez on Tuesday (17 September) failed to get either the support of the leftist Unidas Podemos party or the abstention of the conservative Partido Popular and liberal-centrist Ciudadanos, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reports.

It is hard not to see Emmanuel Macron's influence in Ursula von der Leyen's speech presenting her team of Commissioner-designates, or in the amount of top EU jobs obtained by France. But the idea of a powerful Europe is also seducing the Germans. EURACTIV France reports.

French far-right opposition leader Marine Le Pen waded into controversy over the appointment of an EU Commissioner for "protecting the European way of life", endorsing a move that has stoked concern about rising populism across the continent.

Ursula von der Leyen will have to work hard to demonstrate that her Commission won’t be the member states’ secretariat. The Conference on the Future of Europe should not be window dressing if she wants to prove we've not gone back to Jose Manuel Barroso’s era.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Thursday (12 September) he was optimistic that the new European Commission would improve ties with the EU's eastern members, long strained by disagreements over migration and multi-culturalism.