Von der Leyen agrees €7.4bn aid programme for Egypt
The EU finalised an economic investment and migration pact with Egypt on Sunday (17 March) that will be worth €7.4bn to Cairo over the coming four years.
Tuesday
19th Mar 2024
The EU finalised an economic investment and migration pact with Egypt on Sunday (17 March) that will be worth €7.4bn to Cairo over the coming four years.
Today, around 300 million people need humanitarian assistance. If this number constituted a country, it would be the fourth largest globally.
Could the EU repair its reputation and credibility by taking action on Gaza? EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, Spain, Belgium and Ireland, have worked hard to repair the damage, but have faced political headwinds due to internal divisions.
As the idea of reforming the Council heats up, let's remember that not all is broken and that the power of consensus shouldn't be forgotten.
EU lawmakers are expected to agree on the creation of a new ethics body despite major reservations about the weakness of its mandate.
Eight years on, the EU Commission is to recommend on Tuesday that member states open accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina after the country took "impressive steps" to meet the bloc's standards, Ursula von der Leyen said.
The European Parliament has confirmed that it will sue the European Commission over the release of €10.2bn in frozen funds to Hungary, following a meeting of the assembly's leadership on Thursday (14 March) in Strasbourg.
Finland, which shares a border with Russia, has cautioned about the danger of a Russian attack in coming years. Russia is not "invincible" but "self-satisfaction is no longer an option," Finnish prime minister Petteri Orpo said.
We estimate the total direct cost of Ukraine to current member states via the regular EU budget at €19bn per year. But Ukraine's feeble democratic institutions have been weakened by the war, writes Zsolt Darvas of the Bruegel think-tank.
The European Parliament will likely take the European Commission to court for unblocking more than €10bn in funds for Hungary last December. A final nod of approval is still needed by European Parliament president, Roberta Metsola.
How the roll-out of online voting will hand Vladimir Putin his fifth presidential term.
The Portuguese electorate confirmed the predicted shift to the right in an election on Sunday (10 March) with an above-average turnout — and no broad majority for any force to form a government.
MEPs will hold a debate with EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen about the next European Council on Tuesday. Later this week, on Sunday, von der Leyen will be in Egypt for talks regarding a potential 'cash-for-migrant-control' deal.
The Portuguese go to the polls on Sunday after eight years of socialist rule — what can we expect? What is shaping these elections and what are the citizens worried about?
On International Women's Day, EUobserver took a closer look at the last five years of gender policy — has the EU been ambitious enough in achieving equality? What were the main hits and misses? And where needs more work?
New meta-analysis shows that the evidence that economic hardship causes populism is "overwhelming".
Ursula von der Leyen has been confirmed as the center-right lead candidate to become the next EU Commission president, following June's elections. However, more than one-third of the EPP delegates did not exercise their vote at the Bucharest congress.
It is high time to step back to take a look at a wider picture —that takes into account a broad array of factors affecting the European agricultural market so that the impact of the Ukrainian imports is not overblown.
The centre-right European People's Party (EPP) has unveiled its priorities for the next parliamentary term, as European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is expected to get confirmed as the party's lead candidate in the June elections.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, backs her European People's Party proposals to offshore asylum abroad — in what appears to mimic a controversial UK plan to send people to Rwanda.
The European Commission has unveiled its first-ever defence strategy and investment programme — in a bid to reduce its dependence on the US and in response to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
To state a plain truth: at present, Moldova does not have a justice system worthy of a EU member state; it is riven with corruption and lax and inconsistent standards, despite previous attempts at reform, writes Moldova's former justice minister.
The EU's administrative watchdog has faulted the European Commission for maladministration over its lack of transparency in its 'do no harm' policy in Libya.
Ukrainians struggle to match the kindness of individual Hungarians with the nationalist government's pro-Russia rhetoric. "Ukraine's primary enemies are Russians and Putin, obviously. But the number two is Viktor Orbán," Viktoria Petrovszka, a Ukrainian woman living in Hungary, says.
The EU's own analysis has made it clear this is economic self-sabotage, and it's politically foolish three months from European elections where the far-right are predicted to increase support, writes the general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation.
Europe's centre-left leader Nicolas Schmit hopes to battle far-right hate-mongering with level-headed economic policies, but could be hampered by the brand of frugal socialism favoured in Denmark and Germany.
During a plenary session in Strasbourg, an MEP was denied access to the chamber because he was carrying his young child, due to unforeseen circumstances. The episode shows parliament's rules need to be updated, several MEPs told EUobserver.
This weekend, Europe's top socialists will officially nominate Nicolas Schmit as their candidate in the upcoming European elections in June.
The European Commission has legally paved the way for Poland to access up to €137bn EU funds, following Donald Tusk's government's efforts to strengthen the independence of their judiciary and restore the rule of law in the country.
Recent polling puts the Flemish nationalist parties, the right-wing N-VA and far-right Vlaams Belang at a combined majority in the Flemish parliament, leading to fears about a far-right government take-over — even sparking worries about the future of Belgium itself.
In this week's Euroscopic podcast; antisemitism and confusion in France and Germany, Sweden joins NATO, Novaya Gazeta Europe editor Mikhail Komin on Ukraine and EU and a chat with DiEM25, an EP election hopeful campaigning in Berlin.
EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen urged "a new European defence mindset" to strengthen the bloc's defence capabilities. But will her latest proposal, to use Russian assets for Ukraine's military needs, stir up controversy?
Disputes between member states, notably Germany, highlight the lack of coordination among national industrial capabilities for a European Defence Industrial Strategy — which may include the EU's first ever defence commissioner.