Interview
Bulgarian PM: No asylum reform without stronger border
Greece and Italy have a duty to better control migration into Europe, said Boyko Borisov, whose country holds the EU presidency.
Commission 'playing tricks' with EU budget figures
The EU parliament's budget rapporteur complained the Commission is using numbers with a "desire to confuse". According to parliament estimates, the cohesion fund could suffer as much as a 45 percent cut.
Eight countries to miss EU data protection deadline
The EU starts enforcing its general data protection regulation on 25 May - but Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania and Slovenia won't be ready. The delay will cause legal uncertainty.
News in Brief
- Trump warns Nato allies' low budgets will be 'dealt with'
- Only Estonia, Greece and UK hit Nato spending target
- EU to start process to counter US Iran sanctions
- Macedonia PM sees 'possible solutions' in Greek name row
- EU takes six countries to court over air pollution
- New Catalan leader sworn in without reference to Spain
- Merkel and Putin revive dialogue in troubled times
- European companies putting Iran business on hold
Agenda
Zuckerberg and Trump top the EU's agenda This WEEK
The Facebook CEO will brief MEPs on data protection - but only behind closed doors. Meanwhile EU leaders are scratching their heads on how to deal with US president Trump's erratic decisions on trade and the Iran deal.
Italian populists to defy EU debt rules
Italy's would-be populist new rulers plan to pile on debt, posing questions for eurozone stability and monetary union.
Focus
How France escaped EU legal action over chemical ban
A previously-unseen internal paper by the European Commission warned that a French ban of the bisphenol A chemical was "fully disproportionate". However, there was no consensus on starting an infringement procedure against France.
Opinion
Integration of Syrian refugees in Europe needs scrutiny
Most refugee-related services are outsourced to the private sector and NGOs, which are not adequately monitored and evaluated. When governments and EU institutions provide funding for refugee projects, they should scrutinise the NGOs and private players they work with.
'Connectivity' trumps enlargement at Balkans summit
At the first summit in 15 years with Western Balkan leaders, EU chiefs made it clear that enlargement is not at hand - but offered economic incentives to keep the region close to the bloc.
Facebook CEO causes EU stink ahead of trip
Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg's EU charm tour has gone awry before it began over plans to hide from public scrutiny.
Sofia summit: EU leaders search for a Trump strategy
"With friends like that, who needs enemies?" European Council Donald Tusk asked on Wednesday, as EU leaders were trying to come up with a reply to the US president's questioning of the transatlantic relationship.
Opinion
Europe's last wild rivers under threat at Balkans summit
The EU is prioritising motorways and gas pipelines across the potential accession Western Balkan countries, plus hydropower energy projects which threaten one of the world's freshwater biodiversity hotspots.
Paris, Brussels, Madrid challenge new car emission limits
Three European capitals are seeking to annul laxer nitrogen oxides limits for cars - which were introduced as compensation to the car industry's difficulties in passing the new on-road emissions test.
Gay rights under threat in divided Europe
From same-sex marriage in Malta to horrors in Azerbaijan - survey shows huge disparities on gay rights in Europe, amid "stagnating" progress and populist threats.
Analysis
EU has no 'magic bullet' against US Iran sanctions
EU leaders in Sofia will discuss how they can protect the bloc's economic interests against US threats to sanction companies doing business in Iran. But their options are limited.
Interview
Car industry 'only listens to targets', warns lead MEP
'You can't reduce your CO2 emissions if you don't have targets in place,' says MEP Miriam Dalli. She will tell the European Parliament on Wednesday cars should be 50 percent cleaner by 2030, whilst the Commission proposed 30 percent.
Analysis
EU 'perspective' opposed by Russia in Balkans
EU leaders are preparing to restate their vows on Western Balkans enlargement in Sofia amid heightened competition from Russia.
EU bracing itself for Italy's new eurosceptic government
"We are not panicking" said an EU official - but a government with the Five-Star Movement and the League is being compared with both Brexit and the election of Syriza in Greece.
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Latest News
- Zuckerberg and Trump top the EU's agenda This WEEK
- Integration of Syrian refugees in Europe needs scrutiny
- Bulgarian PM: No asylum reform without stronger border
- Eight countries to miss EU data protection deadline
- Italian populists to defy EU debt rules
- Commission 'playing tricks' with EU budget figures
- How France escaped EU legal action over chemical ban
- 'Connectivity' trumps enlargement at Balkans summit
Juncker all but stopped meeting lobbyists
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has only met four lobbyists this year.
Visual Data
Mediterranean towns ready for EU-sponsored free wifi
The European Union's fund for free wireless internet connection hotspots is most popular in Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, Malta, Slovenia and Romania. Check if your municipality pre-registered.
Opinion
Mums and dads of Roma children deprived parent rights
Two MEPs are asking the European Commission to start an infringement procedure against Hungary over its separation of Roma children from their families.
Feature
Resetting the gender balance through football
Many sports, like football, have been so heavily male-dominated at every level that women and girls have battled against poor odds to be treated as equals in the game. FIFA aims to change that.
New leader's election leaves Catalan crisis unresolved
Quim Torra was elected president of the regional government, but neither his - nor Spanish prime minister's - strategy ahead are clear.
Commission urges Poland to settle dispute by late June
The EU executive said Poland's recently proposed amendments to alleviate rule of law concerns are not enough. Warsaw disagrees.
Poland, Hungary push back at EU budget 'conditionality'
EU affairs ministers held their first discussion on the Commission's long-term post-Brexit budget plans - with cohesion and agriculture cuts, phasing put rebates, and the overall size emerging as major divisions.
Opinion
Erdogan and the Queen
Images of Erdogan being greeted by the Queen will be beamed to Turkish households, a sure boost for Erdogan's bid to make his way back to his own presidential palace in Ankara after next month's elections.
Agenda
Western Balkans, Iran, trade on the agenda This WEEK
EU leaders will meet in Sofia for a summit with their Balkan neighbours. But Donald Trump's decisions on the Iran nuclear deal and trade tariffs will top their agenda.
Investigation
Shut-out Balkan migrants find Romanian backdoor to EU
The closure of the Hungarian border to keep migrants out has pushed some of those who are desperate to leave Kosovo or Albania to find new routes to Western Europe via Romania.
Macron and Orban defend opposing EU visions
Two models - of deeper integration and liberal values, versus a Europe of strong and illiberal nations - will define voters' choices in the EU elections in 2019.
Opinion
Europe's solution to migration is to outsource it to Africa
Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker says the EU has almost solved the migration issue - but a large part of this 'solution' has been a deliberate strategy to push the problems out of sight, outsourcing stopping migration to African states.
'Friendship group' visit derails MEPs' Bahrain rights probe
The Kingdom of Bahrain has refused to host a visit by MEPs from the parliament's official human rights committee, citing scheduling conflicts - while helping organise one from an unofficial 'friendship group'.
Focus
Trump chaos breeds better EU-China relations
The EU has encouraged China to take a leading role in fighting the new US protectionism - but has also insisted that Beijing needs to reform and needs to be fairer to European investors and traders.
EU-funded body 'hunted Russian exiles in Guatemala'
An EU-funded commission in Guatemala helped Kremlin corporate raiders to conduct a vendetta against a Russian family, campaigners have warned.
Interview
EU and US clash on Iran: an ex-spy's view
Halting the Iran deal could plunge its nuclear programme back underground, the CIA believes. It could also create a sanctions clash with EU states, a former US spy has warned.
Stakeholders' Highlights
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- People Who Speak-Up Should Feel Safe to Do So
- Progress on China-EU Cooperation
- World's Energy Ministers to Meet in Oresund in May to Discuss Green Energy
- Parabéns! Portugal Votes to Respect the Rights of Trans and Intersex People
- Jobs, Energy, Steel: Government Work Report Sets China's Targets
- Kantor Center Annual Report on Antisemitism Worldwide - The Year the Mask Came Off
- Calls for the Protection of Children in the Gaza Strip
- Foreign Minister Wang Yi Highlights Importance of China-EU Relations
- Immigration and Integration in the Nordic Region - Getting the Facts Straight
Stakeholders' Highlights
- Macedonians in Bulgaria Demand to End the Anti-Macedonian Name Negotiations
- The EIB Needs to Lead by Example on Tax Justice
- Trans People in Sweden to be Paid Compensation for Forced Sterilisation
- The Danger of Standing Up for Justice and Rights in Central Asia
- China and EU Must Work Together to Promote Global Steel Sector
- EU Tax Proposal on Digital Services Causes Concern for Small Exporting Economies
- Condemns the Horrific Murder of Holocaust Survivor Mireille Knoll in Paris
- An Open China Will Foster a World-Class Business Environment
- An Opportunity to Help Shape a Better Future for Europe
- Controversial Turkish Azerbaijani Gas Pipeline Gets Major EU Loan
- Syria’s Children ‘At Risk of Never Fully Recovering', New Study Finds
- Meets with US Congress Member to Denounce Anti-Macedonian Name Negotiations
