Politics
Negotiating a new EU-UK partnership in challenging times
It is now nearly two months since the United Kingdom left the European Union. It left with the legal certainty and clarity provided by the Withdrawal Agreement and the accompanying Political Declaration, writes MEP David McAllister.
Boris Johnson tests positive for COVID-19 with ‘mild symptoms’
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for coronavirus, becoming the first European leader confirmed to have contracted the virus.
British government blames lost emails for coronavirus EU procurement chaos
In today's edition of the Capitals, read about how the curfew imposed on the Austrian ski resort, which received criticism earlier for not having acted fast enough following warnings from Iceland. Bulgaria is set to help media outlets in the midst of the crisis.
Golden visas and passports still widespread in Europe, study finds
Citizenship and residence-for-pay schemes continue to be widespread across the EU, according to a new report, which calls on the European Commission to propose EU-wide rules to phase out golden passports while taking action against governments that operate schemes in breach of EU law.
Tweets of the Week: Teleworking MEPs, Quarantine, EU Actions
MEPs cast their first remote vote; singing policemen sound the right note; and EU politics more or less stays afloat.
Coronavirus to father EU’s ‘first dicatatorship’?
A "dictatorship" at the heart of the EU? A draft law to grant anti-coronavirus emergency measures set for adoption by Budapest has alarmed observers who fear it will hand Prime Minister Viktor Orbán unlimited power.OpinionPromoted content
Developing the value of transatlantic defense industry cooperation
On 4 March 2020, Chris Lombardi, Vice President European Business Development at Raytheon, sat down at the German Marshall Fund’s conference in Brussels to discuss Raytheon’s contributions and commitment to ‘Developing the Value of Transatlantic Defence Industry Cooperation.’
UK ‘putting Brexit over breathing’ as Johnson opts out of EU COVID scheme
The UK government has been accused of ‘putting Brexit over breathing’ after it confirmed it had opted out of an EU joint procurement scheme for urgently needed medical equipment to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
The Brief – Ode to Schengen
On this day in 1995, the Schengen Agreement, a cornerstone of the EU’s freedom of movement, entered into force. Who would have thought that only a quarter-century later, it would become one of the main casualties of Europe’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic?
Commission chief, MEPs slam lack of EU solidarity in COVID19 crisis
European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen heavily criticised the lack of solidarity between member states facing the COVID19 outbreak during a debate in the European Parliament about the EU’s response to the crisis on Thursday (26 March).
Capitals Special Edition – How effective is China’s ‘mask diplomacy’ in Europe?
In this Special Edition of the Capitals, the EURACTIV Network looks into how China's 'mask diplomacy' has been perceived by the different EU member states facing the COVID-19 crisis.
Migration and the coronavirus pandemic: Crash tests for Schengen
The refugee crisis in 2015 and the current coronavirus pandemic will put the Schengen area to the hardest test since its creation 25 years ago, says Christian Moos, Secretary General of the non-partisan Europa-Union Germany, in an interview with EURACTIV Germany.
Five complaints against French government over coronavirus handling
In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about how Spain now has the second-most deaths related to the COVID-19 crisis, the cancelling of ski-parties, and so much more.
Commission charts end to execution and torture in human rights plans
The European Commission is calling on member states to work together on the world stage to put an end to capital punishment and torture.
The Brief – Every state for themselves?
Just as the World Health Organisation warned that the United States will become the next COVID-19 epicentre, US President Donald Trump wants a deadline for lockdowns to end. In two weeks, Americans could be back to work, according to his tweets
EU Council asks ‘exit strategy’ from coronavirus crisis
In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about Romania's lockdown proposal, a spat between medical professionals and the Belgian government's handling of the COVID-19, and so much more.
COVID-19 means confining ourselves, not abandoning refugees
The image of three-year-old Alan Kurdi dead on the shore in 2015 sticks in our memory as a collective failure. Five years later, it looks like we haven’t done much to improve the situation of thousands of migrants who are either still trying to escape war or wait on asylum-seeker centres already on European soil, writes Iratxe García Pérez.
‘Corona time’ in Europe’s main migrant camp in virus lockdown
In Europe's biggest asylum seeker camp of Moria, on the Greek island of Lesbos, authorities are trying to keep residents apart from a population with at least three coronavirus cases.
Coronavirus derogations from human rights send wrong signal, say MEPs
Five European countries have announced plans to derogate from the European Convention on Human Rights, (ECHR), invoking the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Critics, however, fear that this sends the wrong political signal.
The Brief – By Toutatis!
The co-creator of the Asterix comic books sadly passed away today (24 March) at the venerable age of 92. Albert Uderzo’s Gaulish warriors can teach Europe some useful lessons that we all can learn from - so long as the sky does not fall on our heads tomorrow.
Spain distributes rapid coronavirus testing kits to ‘hotspots’
In today's edition from the Capitals, find out more about Austria prolonging its public life restriction measures and about how Slovakia's government dismissed the chief rejection of the State Reserve chief for overpricing public procurement of healthcare materials related to COVID-19, and so much more.
Croatia handles earthquake damage amid COVID-19 outbreak
The Croatian government is struggling to mitigate the damage caused by a 5.5 Richter-scale earthquake on Sunday (22 March) and simultaneously, protect citizens from the coronavirus outbreak. EURACTIV Croatia reports.
How coronavirus brought realism back
The coronavirus has already done more to unravel a borderless Europe than all the far-right politicians combined. The pandemic only reaffirmed Politics 101: only strong and effective states are able to cope with crises, writes Hamza Karčić.