After a long holiday break by MEPs, a debate on Ukraine and Gaza took place to a near empty European Parliament chamber and absence of most political group leaders.
Just one small-time businessman is to get his French real estate and Austrian hotel back when the EU rolls over its Russia blacklist, in a defeat for Moscow's EU lobbyists and lawyers.
Legal scholars have dubbed it a "sleeping beauty" — a potent yet practically unused EU Parliament instrument akin to the EU's own Article 7, designed to safeguard the rule of law and the integrity of its institutions.
Today, we kick off an anniversary campaign to convince new supporting members to join EUobserver's mission of providing the information citizens need to safeguard EU democracy.
Russian spies are still active in the EU capital and have a "higher risk appetite" than before the Ukraine war — despite Belgium's efforts to push back against their plots.