About: Von der Leyen Commission

EU trade commissioner Hogan mulling candidacy for WTO chief

European trade commissioner Phil Hogan is considering putting his name forward as a candidate to be the next director-general of the World Trade Organization, his spokesman said on Sunday (31 May).

COVID19 crisis reveals a need for change in EU/Africa relations

As the effects of coronavirus hit the African continent, the pandemic must mean an overhaul in EU-Africa relations, argue Marta Martinelli and Bram Dijkstra.

Debts can be returned unlike human lives, Tsipras says

Human lives do not come back unlike public debts which can be returned, former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras wrote in an op-ed for Le Monde.

The Commission’s Eastern Partnership strategy is disappointing

Distance should not be a criterion: Georgia is better prepared for EU membership than the frontrunners of the Western Balkans, writes Andrius Kubilius.

Eastern Partnership’s champions expect more from the ‘geopolitical Commission’

As associated countries of Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova ask for a more ambitious Eastern Partnership (EaP) policy, the debate continues about the next steps and available financial support for what is lauded as one of the EU's most successful foreign policies.

MEPs to greenlight UK trade talks, von der Leyen baffled by ‘Australia’ comparison

EU lawmakers are expected to greenlight on Wednesday (12 February) EU plans to open talks on a post-Brexit partnership with the UK but warned that it will come with strings attached.

A new tax deal for the EU

Cross-border tax evasion is a problem for the EU and there is no reason to exclude EU member states from the tax haven assessment. Therefore, the EU needs a New Tax Deal. Jan Sarnowski and Piotr Arak set out the principles that could guide it

Brexit redraws European Parliament battle lines

This Friday's (31 January) Brexit and the departure of Britain's MEPs will shake up the balance of power in the European Parliament and could complicate Brussels' reform agenda.

Future of Europe: What happens if a majority of citizens asks for ‘less Europe’?

“That’s a very interesting question. If there will be a majority of them, we will follow”, Commission Vice President Dubravka Šuica said on Wednesday (22 January), on what would happen if a majority of citizens would ask for “less Europe”.

LEAK: EU must step up Single Market enforcement, states tell Commission

The European Union must step up the application and enforcement of Single Market law or risk losing ‘credibility and effectiveness’, according to a leaked paper to the EU executive signed by 14 member states.

The case for a border carbon tax as an own resource to the EU budget

To deliver on the flagship European Green Deal, there is a need to introduce a new source of revenues for the EU budget under the form of carbon tax, writes Ivailo Kalfin.

Europe has an Islamophobia problem. Who’s going to stop it?

It is time to acknowledge that Europe has an Islamophobia problem - perpetuated by a poorly regulated media and sustained by agenda-driven think-tanks - and to act on it, writes Magid Magid.

Von der Leyen fails to convince that her Commission is ‘geopolitical’

New European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was put on the spot during her visit to Zagreb on Friday (10 January). Asked how she would prove that her Commission is ‘geopolitical’, given the EU's weak response to growing challenges in the region, von der Leyen failed to provide convincing answers.

Fairer EU research funding needed to halt brain drain: Croatia minister

Cash from the EU's research funds must be spread beyond the "old men's club" of prestigious institutions in richer member states to curb the brain drain exacerbating inequalities across the bloc, a Croatian minister said on Thursday (9 January).

Massive rise in EV charging points needed to reach EU climate goals, analysis finds

Europe needs fifteen times more electric vehicle public charging points by 2030 to support the EU’s goal of becoming “climate neutral” by mid-century, according to new research published today (8 January).

AS IT HAPPENED: EU leaders discuss budget, climate change

EU27 leaders meet in Brussels on 12-13 December to discuss the bloc's next seven-year budget and ways to financially sweeten its 'green component', in order to meet the new European Commission's top priority of making the EU climate-neutral by 2050.

EU Commission unveils ‘European Green Deal’: The key points

The European Commission unveiled its hallmark European Green Deal on Wednesday (11 October), outlining a long list of policy initiatives aimed at putting Europe on track to reach net-zero emissions, and a pollution-free environment, by 2050.

Don’t be fooled: Gender equality hasn’t been reached

There may be more women at the top of EU politics but equality has not been reached, and men have as great a role as women in reaching solutions, write Dagmar Schumacher and Rick Zedník.

Tweets of the Week: Commission Handover, NATO jokes, Malta Rule of Law

VDL Commission takes up its seat, Trump under fire as NATO leaders meet, and Rule of Law in Malta feeling the heat.

Financing the energy transition: Incentives to bring all regions on board

To meet the objectives of the Energy Union and support the transition to a clean energy system, funding will be needed to finance structural changes to ensure security of supply, due to lack of capacity and funding restraints.

Africa relations are ‘not equal’, leaders warn EU

As the field of competitors for investing in Africa becomes more crowded, the EU will have to quickly improve its offer. The challenge for Ursula von der Leyen's new European Commission will be to turn the so-called ‘partnership of equals’ promised by her predecessor into something concrete.

What should the EU do about South Caucasus? Here are some proposals

It appears the South Caucasus is not a foreign policy priority of the new European Commission. But it should be, write Dennis Sammut and Amanda Paul.

Von der Leyen to start with climate summit, Africa trip

The new head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will attend a climate summit in Madrid and travel to Africa in her first week in the job, highlighting two of the key priorities for the EU executive over the next five years.

EU leaders mark a decade of Lisbon Treaty amid calls for reform

European Union leaders on Sunday (1 December) celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Lisbon Treaty, the union's legal cornerstone, amid calls to reform a bloc weakened over the past decade by economic and migration crises, rising euroscepticism and Brexit.