About: Ursula von der Leyen
Ukraine ‘highly prepared’ for next steps in EU bid, deputy PM says
Ukraine will complete by the end of this week the second part of a questionnaire on the ability of Ukraine to assume the obligations of membership and expects a positive answer in June, the country's Deputy Prime Minister for European integration, Olha Stefanishyna, told EURACTIV but added that Kyiv understands "there is no fast track" for EU membership.
MEP Freund: Von der Leyen, EPP still shielding Bulgaria’s ex-PM Borissov
In an exclusive interview, MEP Daniel Freund tells about his recent visit to Bulgaria, revealing the frustrations of the caretaker government which did not receive support from the EU Commission in its efforts to tackle money-laundering.
MEP: Diversity is ‘severely missing’ in European Parliament
Members of the European Parliament are directly elected by citizens to represent them and accordingly should reflect European society, an MEP from the Parliament’s Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup (ARDI) told EURACTIV.
Ambassador: EU and South Korea born to be best like-minded partners
Climate change is likely to be a key area to strengthen cooperation between the Republic of Korea and the EU in the coming years, the country's ambassador to Brussels, Yoon Soon-gu, told EURACTIV in an interview about multilateralism, climate cooperation and the EU's Indo-Pacific strategy.
EU should assert ‘own interests and principles’ to Beijing, says MEP
In an interview with EURACTIV France, MEP Raphaël Glucksmann (S&D) speaks about the EU and China agreeing on 30 December in principle on a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CIA) after the French presidency assured on Monday that China's human rights "commitments" would be "very scrupulously checked".
Von der Leyen: ‘We now need to build a resilient, green, and digital Europe’
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen believes the “real Europe is standing up” to the coronavirus crisis now. In a written interview with EURACTIV's media partner Efe, she spoke about a broad range of issues, from the challenges facing the Eurogroup earlier this month to the expectations for the summit of European leaders this week.
Expert : Germany could use EU presidency to shape EU-China relations
In an interview with EURACTIV Germany, director of the Asia programme of the European Council of Foreign Relations, Dr Janka Oertel, described how Germany could play a pivotal role in changing the EU's relations with China and might even force the exclusion of Huawei from the planned 5G expansion across the EU.
SMEs are key to climate protection, says Austrian businesswoman
After having represented the interests of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for four years, Ulrike Rabmer-Koller takes stock, in an interview with EURACTIV Germany, of her successes and discusses her ambitions looking forward in the fight against climate change.
Sefcovic forsees ‘an Airbus for batteries, for 5G, AI, green tech’
In one of his first interviews since getting the nod to serve another five years in the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič talked about his new job, industrial policy and the "global mega-trends" the EU should lead heading into the next decade.
Trade unionist: Von der Leyen has to deliver on Social Europe ‘if she wants to gain trust’
The Workers Group of the Economic and Social Committee welcomes European Commission president-elect Ursula Von der Leyen’s announcements on social policy but if she wants to be trusted, she needs to deliver, president Olivier Röpke told EURACTIV.
Chizhov: Washington chose to act unilaterally to abrogate nuclear arms treaty
In a wide-ranging interview, Russia's Ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov, speaks about nuclear arms control, the EU elections and top jobs, the situation in Ukraine, including the MH17, and America's bid to challenge Russian gas.