Justice & Home Affairs
Refugees at the EU borders – status update from Romania
How prepared is the EU to receive people in need of protection? How can the integration programmes be improved? – two important case files for Brussels and the member states that can decide the future of millions. EURACTIV Romania reports.
‘Kitchen of Conflict’: Through the stomach towards tolerance
Poland and Hungary are the only two EU countries that have not accepted any refugee under the EU relocation and resettlement program. In an interview with EURACTIV Poland, Jarmila Rybicka talks about how her project tries to overcome fears and stereotypes about refugees.
Ambassador: Turkey, EU should cooperate in safely returning Syrian refugees home
At the Varna summit, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told his interlocutors that the EU should cooperate in Syria in terms of helping Syrian refugees to go back to their homes, Turkish ambassador to the EU Faruk Kaymakcı told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.
Czech minister: Government to hold series of public debates on EU future
The Czech government has responded to the challenge laid down by French President Emmanuel Macron and is going to start a series of public discussions on what shape the EU should take in the future, Aleš Chmelař, Czech State Secretary for EU affairs, told Aktuálně.cz.
German official: There will be no discount on the rule of law
The EU is a community of shared values, the minister of state for Europe in the German Foreign Office, Michael Roth (SPD), emphasised in an interview with EURACTIV’s media partner “Der Tagesspiegel“, referring to the anti-Soros campaign in Hungary and...
Lithuania president: Europe is back but migration, security challenges remain
Europe is back - its economy is growing and political stability is improving, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė told EURACTIV.com. But Europe now needs to work to preserve its set of shared values and resolve the major challenges of migration and security, she warned
Flouting rules boosts German anti-EU cause, warns analyst
If Poland and Hungary are not censured for flouting EU rules, German Euroscepticism is set to rise, weakening public commitment to EU integration, warns foreign policy expert Cornelius Adebahr.
Dzurinda: EU must seek solution for migration outside its borders
The solution to the migration crisis is beyond the European Union borders and the EU must be prepared to talk to all relevant players in troubled countries and provide financial and logistical help, the former prime minister of Slovakia told EURACTIV.
Sacked Catalan councillor: We want to pursue a negotiated independence
EXCLUSIVE / Antoni Comín is one of the four councillors of the sacked Catalan government that fled to Brussels with Carles Puigdemont following the unilateral declaration of independence on 27 October.
ECRE head: Asylum management needs compliance, not new laws
Some European countries are trying to enact restrictive policies and create a hostile atmosphere to discourage migrants and asylum seekers, blatantly ignoring EU and international law, Catherine Woollard told EURACTIV Slovakia reports.
MEP: Western liberals maintain narrative about Hungary as a bad boy
Europe is not taking into account what is really taking place in Hungary -- and there is nothing wrong with the rule of law in the country -- because "the West really needs bad boys" to hold up as a negative example, Hungarian MEP Gyorgy Schopflin told EURACTIV Slovakia.
Bulgarian President: I may be a general, but I don’t like warlike rhetoric
In a wide-ranging interview, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, whose country takes over the EU's rotating six-month Presidency in January, discussed European policies, the upcoming Bulgarian Presidency, and his contradictions with Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.
MEP on EU-Turkey deal: Processing of asylum applications is being delayed
More than a year since the EU-Turkey Agreement, a European immigration law is still distant but badly needed. The European distribution mechanism does not work due to the lack of receptiveness of many EU member states, MEP Barbara Lochbihler told EURACTIV Germany.
Swoboda: ‘Borissov? We have had many strange guys leading governments’
The former long-serving leader of the S&D group in the European Parliament Hannes Swoboda provided insight ahead of the visit to Brussels on Wednesday (8 November) of the Bulgarian government in preparation for the upcoming Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Filmmaker: EU’s Mogherini has to juggle tough job and fighting sexism, misogyny
Filmmaker Annalisa Piras has completed a new documentary in which she followed for more than a year the EU’s High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, and her efforts to shape the EU’s foreign policy and devise a response to the migrant crisis.
Andrej Babiš: Who is the new Czech prime minister?
Czech President Miloš Zeman instructed Andrej Babiš to form a new government. With 99% of the votes counted, his party ANO, collected 29.76% of popular support.
Scott Atran: People need purpose and meaning to embrace Europe
The European Union is not inevitable: it requires struggle and sacrifice otherwise it will die and Europeans must regain this sense of purpose, cultural anthropologist Scott Atran said in an interview with EURACTIV.com.
Finnish President: What is a union that cannot provide security for its citizens?
Finland's President Sauli Niinistö does not rule out a common foreign policy, which would make the European Union a global player. In an interview with EURACTIV’s media partner Gazeta Wyborcza, he speaks about security threats on the eastern border and his support for deeper integration in security and defence policy.
Catalonia’s chief communicator: We will be independent and an EU member
EXCLUSIVE / The EU may be reluctant now but it will inevitably accept to mediate in the separation of Catalonia from Spain and the presence of the new Catalan state within the EU, Joan Maria Piqué told EURACTIV in an interview.
European Parliament VP: ‘We must use the window of opportunity’ to deepen EU integration
Current conditions are ideal to push the EU towards becoming a European federal state, according to one of the vice-presidents of the European Parliament, Rainer Wieland. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Bieńkowska: ‘What we want from Volkswagen is a different approach’
The car sector is keeping EU Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska busy. In an exclusive interview with EURACTIV, the Polish official spoke frankly about carmaker responsibility following the Dieselgate scandal, how to deal with Uber and how Brussels-Warsaw relations might not improve.
Andrew Geddes: Shifting attitudes to migration starts with trusted political leaders
Ahead of the launch of the Observatory of Public Attitudes to migration, its director Andrew Geddes tells EURACTIV that a better understanding of attitudes can help craft informed policy debates and shift public attitudes on migration.
Nathalie Loiseau: France has ignored Eastern Europe for too long
France is looking east to launch a reform of the EU and is seeking Central Europe’s support on defence, migration, trade and posted workers briefs. EURACTIV Slovakia reports.