Investigation
No record of Latvian MEP's 'official' Azerbaijan trip
Last June, a Latvian socialist MEP went to Azerbaijan and sang its praises — but the EU Parliament committee he claimed to represent had no idea he was there.
Opinion
Why the new ECHR Ukraine-Russia ruling matters
The ECHR ruled that Russia was in "effective control" of separatist regions of Eastern Ukraine from 11 May 2014. In doing so, the court has formally acknowledged the inter-state character of the conflict and Russia's culpability for human rights abuses.
Europe continues to finance Russia's war in Ukraine with lucrative fossil fuel trades
Sanctions targeting Russia's fossil fuel earnings are now in place but as exports by European-controlled tankers persist, revenues still flow into the Kremlin purse.
Latest News
- Pressure mounts on EU to coordinate visas for Russian rights-defenders
- Dutch set to agree to US-led chip controls to China
- No record of Latvian MEP's 'official' Azerbaijan trip
- Why the new ECHR Ukraine-Russia ruling matters
- Europe continues to finance Russia's war in Ukraine with lucrative fossil fuel trades
- Official: EU parliament's weak internal rule-making body leads to 'culture of impunity'
- Red tape border logjam for EU's 1.3m 'frontier workers'
- Greece's spy scandal must shake us out of complacency
Pressure mounts on EU to coordinate visas for Russian rights-defenders
Pressure is mounting for EU states to ease multiple-entry visas for human rights defenders from Belarus and Russia. But with EU states in charge of issuing visas, the possibilities for a coordinated EU approach appears limited.
Dutch set to agree to US-led chip controls to China
Japan and the Netherlands are set to agree to join the United States in restricting exports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China.
Analysis
Red tape border logjam for EU's 1.3m 'frontier workers'
If just one-in-five barriers were removed from EU internal border regions, it could gain around two percent in GDP.
Official: EU parliament's weak internal rule-making body leads to 'culture of impunity'
Nick Aiossa, deputy director of Transparency International EU said there is a "culture of impunity" in the parliament among MEPs, which contributed to the Qatargate scandal that has rocked the insitution at the end of last year.
Opinion
Greece's spy scandal must shake us out of complacency
The director of Amnesty International Greece on the political spying scandal that now threatens to bring down prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Activists and NGO staff work with the constant fear that they are being spied on.
Greek government in no-confidence vote over spying scandal
A no-confidence vote on the Greek government is set for Friday, following revelations of state-led surveillance on senior military officials and a minister.
Opinion
The legal battle for justice against Kremlin's 'untouchables'
Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavsky writes that it is self-evident that Vladimir Putin and his cronies must be held accountable for planning and ordering a war of aggression — whatever the legal hurdles.
MEP harassment case sheds light on flimsy support for victims
The European Parliament does not rule out mandatory anti-harassment training for MEPs — but has left questions of greater support for victims of bullying and abuse open-ended.
Opinion
Big Agri's EU lobbying playbook on 'hunger' and a 'refugee crisis'
Over the last few decades, the fossil-fuel industry has shown that you do not need to all-out oppose EU legislation in order to resist it. Muddying the waters can be enough to ensure that action is paused, watered-down, or shelved.
MEPs push for explicit consent for online political ads
"We must do everything we can to be ready with this new system for the next European elections," MEP Sandro Gozi said after the committee vote.
Nuclear chief on Zaporizhzhia: 'How long will we be lucky?'
IAEA chief spent last week in Ukraine and is heading to Russia to seek an agreement on a protection zone. "I don't know for how long we are going to be lucky in avoiding a nuclear accident", he told MEPs.
Column
To avoid war, enforce the centre
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold", W.B. Yeats wrote. Yet now, a century later in Europe — from Italy, to Hungary, to Belgium and the Netherlands, even in the European Parliament — the centre is shrinking.
Slow progress on EU poverty sees MEPs demand directive
"At the current levels, benefits are not enough to lift people out of (relatively) poverty", the EU's advisory Social Protection Committee warned in 2022.
Europe's response to Musk's Starlink set for 2024 launch
Europe's response to Elon Musk's Starlink broadband internet system — currently used by Ukraine in its war against Russia — is to deliver its first services sometime next year.
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News in Brief
Interview
MEPs should fund own foreign trips, German Green says
MEPs should pay for their own foreign trips to avoid suspicion of undue influence, a German deputy has said after rebelling over a recent visit to Azerbaijan.
Germany 'wouldn't veto' Polish tanks for Ukraine
Poland is urging other EU states with Leopard-class tanks to send them to Ukraine after Germany softened its position on re-export.
EU auditors probe commission's role in defending EU money
The auditors are set to focus on actions taken by the commission for 6 member states., Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Italy and Greece.
Boom in software spying on remote workers, MEPs hear
Companies are increasingly using software to spy on employees working remotely, said Polish computer forensics analyst Maciej Broniarz. "The market for highly intrusive spyware is snowballing," Broniarz told MEPs.
Analysis
Why is petrostate UAE going all in on green hydrogen?
The United Arab Emirates announced its ambition to become one of the world's premier trading hubs for green hydrogen. Interesting, to say the least, for a country that relies on the sale of fossil fuels for its prosperity.
Opinion
Why Putin war crimes 'tribunal' will need backing of Global South
The 40 civilians buried in a Dnipro apartment block by a Russian missile won't be the last war victims, since diplomats have yet to find a concrete plan to hold president Vladimir Putin accountable for the crime of aggression.
Germany 'shocks' allies by withholding Ukraine tanks
Accusations of Russia appeasement have redoubled following Germany's decision to continue withholding tanks from Ukraine.
Agenda
New sanctions and democracy in focus This WEEK
On Monday, Brussels will see EU foreign affairs ministers focusing on a 10th sanctions package against Russia, a special tribunal, and preparing the EU-Ukraine summit on 3 February in Kyiv.
Exclusive
Internal memo: EU navies to police Libya migration for years
EU navies should stay parked beside Libya for years to come, military advisors say, renewing concern on "vile" conditions for refugees.
MEPs urge EU countries to back a special tribunal on Russia
Legal scholars, however, have argued that without the backing of the UN general assembly, it would be legally challenging to set up a tribunal to prosecute Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Arctic Swedish mine poses threat to indigenous Sami
The indigenous reindeer-herding Sami people in northern Sweden say they are facing an existential threat from an iron-ore mine billed as a pivotal shift towards the EU's green transition.
Opinion
We call on EU leaders to work with Tehran to release Olivier Vandecasteele
Olivier Vandecasteele, an experienced and respected Belgian humanitarian worker, is being arbitrarily detained in an unknown location in Iran, sentenced to a cumulative total of 40 years of prison and 74 lashes.
Improving conditions for gig workers splits MEPs
EU Commission estimates suggest that between 1.7 and 4.1 million workers are currently misclassified as 'self-employed'.
Denmark to ditch Christian holiday to hit Nato spending
"If we want to safeguard our national security in the light of Putin's invasion of Ukraine with all its wider implications, we all have to contribute", said the Danish minister of labour.
MEPs keen to scalp Orbán's EU commissioner
The EU Parliament has cast doubt on whether Hungary's commissioner, Olivér Várhelyi, is fit to do his job following his antics in the Western Balkans.
Poland's legal fixes to collect EU funds come under fire
Unlocking the €35.4bn in grants and loans allocated for Poland as part of the EU's Covid-19 fund is key for the Law & Justice (PiS) government to boost its chances ahead of the upcoming elections in the autumn.
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