Politics
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.
Commission mulls enlarging scope of ‘hate crimes’ in new anti-racism drive
Commission's equality boss Helena Dalli on Friday (18 September) stressed the importance of "anti-racism" as the core principle of the EU's plan to tackle ethnic discrimination across the continent, which will include new legislation, policy measures, and dialogue.
For the benefit of youth – for the benefit of inclusion
Funding for Erasmus + should not be sacrificed as the EU gears up for its massive spending plan to combat the economic damage caused by Covid-19, writes Florian Sanden.
Poland rejects southern Europe’s push for mandatory relocation of migrants
The upcoming negotiations over the EU's long-awaited new migration proposal are expected to hit another dead end, despite the European Commission's assurances of having held an "intensive consultation process".
Lithuania backs Warsaw in rule of law dispute with Brussels
In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about how US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden warned the UK government about undermining the Irish Good Friday Agreement, the German government issuing an apology to gay members of its military, and so much more.
Free the ‘prisoners’ of Moria now!
Europeans frightened by migration must be shown concretely that their security will not be at risk if reasonable programmes are implemented with the direct help of organised civil society, writes Marco Impagliazzo.
Tweets of the Week: SOTEU, Forest Cities, Good Friday Agreement
In her state of the union, VDL aims to please, Trump thinks Vienna is nothing but trees and Dominic Raab has us all thinking jeez!
The Brief, powered by Eurogas – SOTEU’s hidden gems
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s SOTEU speech hit all the main points expected of her but there were also less obvious yet still interesting ideas, hidden between the lines.
EU probes Russian disinformation efforts on Navalny and Belarus
The EU's foreign affairs branch is monitoring disinformation tactics allegedly used by the Russian state across communications platforms such as Telegram and media including RT and Sputnik on the poisoning of Alexei Navalny and the continuing protests in Belarus.
An EU law for the Romani people becomes possible
The European Parliament will pass today its Resolution “on the implementation of National Roma Integration Strategies: combating negative attitudes towards people with Romani background in Europe”. The rapporteur, Romeo Franz, who is of Roma origin, shares his emotional reaction.
EU pandemic survey shows Italy disdain for Brussels
Opinions on how governments handled the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic varies hugely in Europe, a survey showed Thursday (17 September), with hard-hit Italians especially disillusioned with the EU.
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.
German police officers suspected of right-wing extremist chat groups
In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about how Italy's universities will reopen, how authorities in North-Rhine Westphalian are investigating a group of police officers who allegedly posted right-wing extremists messages in chat groups, and so much more.
New rules in Bulgaria’s parliament building: Journalists cry foul
Protests in Bulgaria asking for the resignation of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev have entered their third month. Against this background the Bulgarian parliament has become a fortress in which journalists are treated as the enemy. EURACTIV Bulgaria reports.
Pompeo confident UK will resolve EU standoff
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo voiced confidence Wednesday (16 September) that Britain would find a "good outcome" in its standoff with the European Union over Brexit terms.
UK PM says he has ‘every hope’ of avoiding no-deal with EU
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday (16 September) said he had full confidence that Britain and the EU will avoid a potentially disastrous cliff-edge “no deal” at the end of this year. But he refused to back down on controversial...
State of the Union 2020: As it happened
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held her first ‘State of the Union’ address in front of the European Parliament, focusing on the recovery from the corona crisis, updated green targets and outlining a path towards a “digital decade” for...
Mandatory relocation still point of contention in new EU migration pact
The European Commission's long-awaited new migration pact will consist of five regulations and a political text, EU sources have told EURACTIV. However, the thorny issue of mandatory relocation, which some EU countries strongly oppose, continues to cause headaches.
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.
Von der Leyen: European values are not for sale
In her first State of the Union speech, delivered on Wednesday (16 September), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen positioned herself as a bulwark against the unravelling of EU values that is already underway in many of the member states.
EU to throw London lifeline with extension to coveted clearing
The European Union is expected to throw the City of London an 18-month lifeline to continue clearing euro derivatives after Britain's unfettered access to the bloc ends in January, industry sources said on Tuesday (15 September).
Bronze statue of Melania Trump unveiled in Slovenia
A life-size rough bronze sculpture of US first lady Melania Trump was unveiled near her hometown of Sevnica in southeastern Slovenia on Tuesday (15 September) to replace a wooden figure which was set on fire in July.
Spain approves bill to erase Franco’s legacy
In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about how much teleworking would cost if workers in Luxembourg started to work from home one day a week, Spain approving a democratic bill to erase the legacy of dictator Francisco Franco, and so much more.