About: Margaritis Schinas
EU’s new migration pact to request ‘mandatory solidarity’ from member states
The European Commission proposed to member states on Wednesday to share responsibility for asylum seekers under a "mandatory solidarity" mechanism. With the new migration pact, it hopes to avert a replay of the 2015 migration crisis by giving the countries a choice between taking in migrants or helping to send them back home.
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".
Greek government accuses migrants of ‘burning’ Moria camp
Greece on Monday (14 September) accused migrants of deliberately burning their overcrowded camp last week on Lesbos island, where hundreds reluctantly moved to a new temporary site with "no showers or mattresses".
Commission presents security strategy to tackle Europe’s evolving threat landscape
Better cybersecurity standards for critical infrastructure, doubling down on tackling terrorism and organized crime, and preparing the bloc for emerging threats in “real and digital” environments, dominated the European Commission’s new EU Security Union strategy, presented on Friday (24 July)....
Commission in bid to ensure ‘70% of EU adults’ have digital skills
The European Commission has laid out ambitious new goals for upskilling and reskilling its citizens by 2025, including the objective of ensuring that 70% of the EU adult population has basic digital skills.
Tweets of the Week: Commissioner Judges, Boris’ Baby, Summer Holidays
European Commissioners find Masterchef fame, won’t someone come up with Boris’ baby name, and if we can’t go on holidays, that would be a shame.
Member states must comply with asylum laws despite COVID-19, says EU
Regardless of the COVID-19 crisis, the registration and processing of asylum applications must continue and member states must comply with asylum law, the European Commission warned in a recommendation published on Thursday (16 April).
EU castigates Aalst carnival parade for ‘anti-Semitism’
The European Commission on Monday (24 February) slammed a Belgian street parade for featuring anti-Semitic floats that it said were "incompatible" with EU values.
Schinas puts on good performance but MEPs want ‘European Way of Life’ title ditched
Margaritis Schinas put in a very good performance in his European Parliament hearing on Thursday (3 October), but liberal and socialist MEPs called for his title of Commission Vice President for ‘Protecting our European Way of Life’ to be scrapped because of its "toxic" far-right connotations.
Orban hopeful on ties with von der Leyen’s Commission
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.
Von der Leyen’s Commission: More presidentialist, more parliamentarian
The College put forward by Ursula von der Leyen builds on lessons learned from the sometimes negative experience of the Juncker Commission, writes Robert Stüwe.
Greece’s Schinas in charge of ending fragmentation of critical EU policies
Greece’s nominee as its next European Commissioner, Margaritis Schinas, will get one of the vice-presidencies in the new EU executive and will be responsible for 'Protecting our European Way of Life, President-elect Ursula von der Leyen said on 10 September.
Greek government picks Margaritis Schinas for EU Commissioner
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has picked the current European Commission chief spokesperson as Greece's next EU Commissioner, Greek media reported. EURACTIV predicted this nomination on 16 July.
No-deal Brexit makes hard border in Ireland ‘inevitable’, says Commission
A ‘no deal’ Brexit would ‘inevitably’ lead to the return of a hard border in Ireland, the European Commission’s chief spokesman said on Tuesday (22 January).
Catalan referendum: The EU’s silence
As Catalonia's independence referendum crisis deepens, EU officials are staying doggedly tight-lipped even as diplomats privately voice serious concern at a situation some regard as a challenge to fundamental European values.
Juncker to unveil post-Brexit plan
On Wednesday (1 March), European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker will unveil his plan for the EU's future after Britain's departure, his spokesman said.
The Brief: Fifty shades of Justin Trudeau
Did you smell that sickly sweet aroma in the air in Brussels today? It was the waves of smug rolling in all the way from the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Campaigners: Commission ethics group needs teeth after Barroso/Kroes scandals
A small, internal group that reviews ethics breaches at the European Commission should be turned into a legal inquiry board and given its own staff to better police potential scandals like former President Jose Manuel Barroso's lobbying job with Goldman Sachs, transparency campaigners contend.
Juncker camp unimpressed by euro collapse forecast
The European Commission chief spokesperson used old quotes by his boss Jean-Claude Juncker to respond to a US politician close to President Donald Trump, who made dire predictions about the future of the EU and its common currency.
Commission ‘interested’ in Trump’s talk of crumbling EU
The European Commission today (16 January) said it had “read with interest” comments made by President-Elect Donald Trump that predicted the crumbling of the European Union.
Commission grilled over Oettinger apology for ‘slitty eyes’ speech
The European Commission today (3 November) faced a grilling from journalists after Germany’s Commissioner Günther Oettinger apologised for mocking women and gay marriage, and calling the Chinese "slitty eyes".
TTIP deal alive and well, insists Commission
The European Commission today (29 August) insisted that it stood ready to finalise TTIP by the end of the year, after a leading German minister said the EU-US trade deal was dead in the water.
Turkish coup ‘increases’ migration flows to Greece
Migration flows from Turkey to Greece have intensified since the failed coup attempt in Ankara, according to official Greek data.