
Feature
Remembering Falcone: How Italy almost became a narco-state
On the 30th anniversary of the Falcone murder by the Sicilian mafia, Italy remembers how one of the EU's founding members almost became a Mediterranean narco-state.
Sunday
22nd May 2022
On the 30th anniversary of the Falcone murder by the Sicilian mafia, Italy remembers how one of the EU's founding members almost became a Mediterranean narco-state.
Eurozone finance ministers will discuss the economic worries with the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, agriculture ministers are set to talk food prices, and EU affairs ministers will put Hungary on the spot in the Article 7 procedure.
Vladimir Putin's Ukraine war has threatened to be a public relations disaster for hard-right gatherings like the Conservative Political Action Conference — now meeting in Budapest and featuring Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán, who remains highly-cordial with the Kremlin.
On World Bee Day, it is essential to pay homage to a variety of pollinating insects crucial for our food security. A number of EU projects contribute to their sustained survival.
The leader of the Catalan government, Pere Aragonès, denounced the use of the Israeli-made Pegasus spyware against Catalan politicians and MEPs during a visit to Brussels.
The French EU presidency is pressing to make some last-minute headway on the EU's migration and asylum reform but is still meeting resistance from a handful of member states.
Prices of cereals, fertilisers, and oilseed have shot up drastically in several European markets due to Russia's war on Ukraine, prompting some member states to seek EU aid.
Former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Austria's ex-foreign minister Karin Kneissl should be blacklisted if they don't step down from top Russian state-owned companies, while EU countries should sanctions Europeans who take key jobs at Russian state firms.
In a debate between energy commissioner Kadri Simson and MEPs, some lawmakers called for a stronger response to Russian energy aggression.
A Joint Investigation Team combines prosecutors, police and judges from different countries who come together under the coordination of Eurojust to synchronise cross-border investigations — with a track record of achieving results: from the Bataclan attacks to the MH17 investigation.
The Nordic Bridges cultural initiative is now in full swing in Canada — an initiatives of the Nordic ministers for culture, to showcase interaction between their cultures and the rest of the world.
EU countries need to refill stockpiles after several member states supplied weapons to Ukraine in its fight with Russia, and to phase out existing Soviet-era weapons systems, and reinforce air defence.
The EU and US are carrying out legal assessments on whether it can use frozen Russian money to rebuild Ukraine after the war.
The EU unveiled its plans to increase solar generation capacity and accelerate the rollout of major renewable projects in the EU — as part of efforts to reduce energy imports from Russia.
EU leaders unveiled a €210bn strategy aiming to cut Russian gas out of the European energy equation before 2027 and by two-thirds before the end of the year — but questions remain on how it is to be financed.
Granting EU candidacy status to Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine will firmly anchor their ties with Brussels — and enable the EU to secure its place in the Black Sea region, connecting Europe to China and energy-rich Central Asia, bypassing Russia.
The EU Ombudsman reviewed 100 'revolving door' cases at the European Commission — of which, the EU executive forbid a former staff member from taking on a private sector job on just two occasions.
Ukraine can continue to count on arms supplies from EU states as it inflicts "record" losses on Russia's invading force, the EU's foreign affairs chief has said.
The EU warning comes after the UK government escalated the conflict over the Northern Ireland protocol — a set of post-Brexit trade rules — by saying it will unilaterally pass a law to change the EU-UK trade treaty.
Four defendants in a larger case by Italian prosecutors face 20 years in prison for having helped rescue hundreds of people from drowning in the Mediterranean Sea.
EU must increase funding to "help ensure Ukraine prevails over Putin's aggression," US treasury secretary Janet Yellen said in Brussels — but some EU leaders are starting to sound less warlike and have instead called for an early peace.
MEPs on the environment committee agreed on reform of the European carbon market — including expanding it to buildings and transport. They also want to extend the scope of the carbon border tax, and phase out free permits by 2030.
The full-scale war Russia has launched in Ukraine simply reinforced the Ukrainisation and Europeanisation of Ukrainian society.
Would you pick up a gun and fight for Ukraine? The injustice of the Russian invasion has led white-collar professionals like Florent and Thomas to trade suits and ties for camouflage and Kalashnikovs.
Hungary is continuing to block an EU oil embargo on Russia, but there is optimism its objections can soon be overcome — perhaps within a few days to "a week or two", according to some EU foreign ministers.
EU plans to quit Russian gas and replace it, in part, by importing overseas liquified natural gas has lead to a flurry of new gas projects — which threaten to lock in unnecessary gas use for decades.
MEPs have raised concerns over the level of contamination of some hazardous chemicals in Europe, prompting calls to speed up the restrictions on the so-called "forever chemicals".
The impact of Russia's war in Ukraine is being felt throughout the EU and the eurozone. The European Commission has downgraded its economic forecast to 2.7-percent growth this year.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a threat to all Europe, particularly the Baltic. Sweden and Finland must join Nato to secure peace in the Baltic Sea, write the leaders of the EPP Nordic and Baltic delegations in European Parliament.
Sweden has signalled it will follow Finland in applying to join Nato, as Switzerland also mulls closer ties with the Western alliance.
The EU Commission is expected to put forward the RePowerEU plan, which aims to help the diversification of fossil fuel imports in the bloc, as the EU aims to get rid of its dependence on Russian energy supplies.
Valdimir Putin's equivalent to Nato — the Collective Security Treaty Organization of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Armenia, Tajikistan, and Belarus — is convening in Moscow next week to give cover that Russia is not alone in its war against Ukraine.
The European Parliament and EU member states have reached an agreement over new rules intended to protect Europe's public and private critical entities from cyberattacks.