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EU leaders have dealt a blow to the controversial Spitzenkandidat system of electing a European Commission president, setting themselves up for a fight with the European Parliament. The rift between Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council chief Donald Tusk deepened as the two officials clashed over the process.

The race to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as head of the first post-Brexit European Commission begins later this month – and in typical EU style it is starting with a row about how the race should be run.

The future of the EU will be one of the key issues for the coalition talks in Berlin, admitted Manfred Weber, the leader the centre-right European Peoples' Party group and member of the Christian Social Union (CSU) – the Bavarian sister party to the Christian-Democrats (CDU).

Berlin is pushing the European Commission to halt talks with Turkey over updating the customs union, claiming that a continuation would send the “wrong signal” to Ankara.

European Peoples’ Party group leader Manfred Weber told EURACTIV’s partner Der Tagesspiegel that hard-hitting action must be taken against the Turkish government, while reiterating his call for EU membership talks to be scrapped.

Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Tuesday (20 June) that he fully trusts Greek Premier Alexis Tsipras, after Manfred Weber said Tsipras "belongs to the past".

Manfred Weber, the leader of the EPP group in the European Parliament, today (3 May) said that the only remaining problem for Greece is that its prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, is a communist.

The second round of France’s presidential election will be a run-off between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. Across the EU, politicians have called on French voters to rally against the extreme-right candidate. EURACTIV France reports.

Access to the single market, border controls, the rights of European citizens in the United Kingdom and its exit bill all made it into the European Parliament's Brexit roadmap, ahead of what may prove to be tough negotiations. EURACTIV France reports.

MEPs are annoyed that a European Commission proposal to hand out €2.5 million to fund young students' travel around Europe will only receive a fraction of the budget they wanted.

The three major “pro-European” groups in the European Parliament, the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D), and the ALDE liberals, have taken the position that the EU should reject Ted R. Malloch as US ambassador to the EU.

The decision of former European Parliament President Martin Schulz to return to national politics came as a “relief” for the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) who now have their hands free to forge alliances with political parties on the left, S&D sources told EURACTIV in Strasbourg.

The votes of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), as well as the ultimate stance of the far-right Europe of Nations and Freedom group (ENF) will determine today’s election (17 January) of the next European Parliament president, EURACTIV has learned. EURACTIV.com reports from Strasbourg.

Less than half of migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected are deported, according to new statistics from EU border agency Frontex.

The European Parliament grand coalition between the right-wing European People’s Party (EPP) and the Socialist and Democrats (S&D group) is over and cannot be re-established, said its chief, Gianni Pittella, today (13 December) during a news conference in Strasbourg.

The French liberal MEP will have to convince her group to nominate her, rather than ALDE group leader Guy Verhofstad. Since 1979, 87% of the European Parliament's presidents have been men. EURACTIV France reports.

A vast majority of the political groups in the European Parliament yesterday (22 November) said the Commission should temporarily freeze the accession talks with Turkey because of its post-coup purges - while the Commission warned that cutting ties would be a lose-lose solution.

UK Brexit minister David Davis has taken part in his first official meetings on the continent, to disappointing reviews, while the UK has decided to investigate whether UKIP’s funding of its Brexit campaign breached any laws.

The leaders of the main European institutions issued reactions to the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States. In a letter, European Council President Donald Tusk invited Trump for an early summit to chart EU-US relations for the next four years.

During a debate held today (26 October) in the European Parliament, MEPs criticised the European Council for its inability to decide on issues such as CETA and EU-Russia relations, with calls for Council President Donald Tusk to “end paralysis in the Council”.

The chances of any signals coming from Europe’s Mars lander are a million to one, they said.

The European Union slapped sanctions on Russia for annexing Crimea. Why isn’t it doing the same to Moscow for breaking international law in Syria?

The European Commission is considering handing out free InterRail tickets to all young Europeans when they turn 18, following up on a proposal made by Members of the European Parliament to counter the wave of euroscepticism spreading across the continent.

The European Parliament has indefinitely postponed a vote on an initiative that was meant to bring clarity to MEPs' side activities and rein in lobbyists. But no one wants to shoulder the blame. EURACTIV Germany reports.