Tuesday
28th Mar 2023
Polish abortion rights activists Justyna Wydrzyńska was last week sentenced for giving abortion pills to a 12-week pregnant woman. She will appeal. But with a court stacked by politically-appointed judges, her chances of overturning it are slim.
From the perspective of international relations, the EU is a rare bird indeed. Theoretically speaking it cannot even exist. The charter of the United Nations, which underlies the current system of global governance, distinguishes between states and organisations of states.
Turkey goes to the polls in May for both a new parliament and new president, after incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdoğan decided against a post-earthquake postponement. The parliamentary outcome is easy to predict — the presidential one less so.
As leaders meet for their Brussels summit on migration, the 2016 "deal" with Turkey is a prime example of why the EU should not transfer its own responsibilities regarding migration to third states.
It is no easy thing to restrict thousands of chemicals used in daily products and manufacturing for some 70 years — but this week the EU opened public consultations on two proposals to do just that.
Three far-right French MEPs are to stay on a European Parliament blacklist after losing a legal challenge.
The bitter dispute over the so-called 'child protection' law, a red line for the Viktor Orbán government, could also influence the outcome of negotiations on unblocking EU funds for Hungary.
Frustration over the lack of cooperation from member states and the European Commission has left MEPs probing spyware in the EU upset and demanding answers.
"It is the truth that Russian aggression targets first," Lithuania's president Gitanas Nausėda warned MEPs in a speech in Strasbourg, adding that "ignoring the past is never a good idea."
Two major trends — more Europe and a more intergovernmental Europe — should get alarm bells ringing. The European Union risks becoming a bazaar dominated by national politicians haggling, doing handshakes, walking out and having tantrums.
A Polish activist is facing up to three years in prison for helping another woman obtain an abortion — it is the very first case in Europe where an activist is charged with helping to access abortion care.
Dindic fought for pro-democratic reforms and Serbia's integration in the EU. He was a symbol of hope for a better future for Serbia as a key factor of stability in the Western Balkans.
Sweden has launched new EU talks on combatting racism and antisemitism — but not Islamophobia, prompting accusations of a rightwing approach.
Messaging apps are an inescapable fact of life — it therefore comes as surprise that Ursula von der Leyen, claims that the EU's freedom of information law does not cover her text messages. The New York times is challenging that.
Policies have a strong impact, argues EIGE director Carlien Scheele. But gender equality is improving by a snail's pace. And more women in decision-making also mean more backlash.
In a letter to Italy's prime minister, concerning the shipwreck that killed some 70 people, the European Commission suggests shoring up the Libyan coast guard and launching anti-smuggling partnerships with Tunisia and Egypt.
An opinion piece accuses our think-tank, MCC Brussels, of promoting "Putin's vision". Hungarian MEP Katalin Cseh states that our aim is "to destroy the EU". In typical McCarthyite fashion she relies on innuendo and false allegations to discredit our work.
Five years ago, investigative Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, were murdered. The Slovak authorities are now close to delivering a verdict in the trial — offering an example of how to challenge impunity for journalist killings.
The European Commission is imposing new rules to restrict free trips paid for by countries like Qatar, following revelations that its director-general of transport not only accepted such flights — but had also cleared himself of any conflict of interest.
This 'Windsor Framework' renegotiation took place without any new (European) Council guidelines, mandate or significant involvement. Members states and the European Parliament, which once used to scrutinise every twist and turn with their magnifying glasses, now face a fait accompli.
In last month's 'State of the Nation' address in Budapest, an isolated Viktor Orbán outlined a strategy to ramp up his anti-EU disinformation campaign. European institutions must find a way to fight back, writes Hungarian MEP Katalin Cseh.
Next summer's EU elections could see voters targeted by very personal ads and EU parties more free to take foreign money, as talks on new laws build momentum.
Pro-transparency MEPs are asking probing questions into possible conflict of interest between a senior EU commission official and Qatar, following revelations his business class trips were paid by Doha while negotiating a market access deal for its national airline.
Bulgaria goes to the polls again in April — the fifth election in less than two years. That's the most on the European continent in more than a century.
"Germany outsourced its security to the US, its export-led growth to China, and its energy needs to Russia." Is that fair?
Three Green MEPs complain of a biased approach by the chair of the European Parliament's petitions committee, concerning the handling of a session on the use of the Catalan language in Spain.
"We have removed any sense of a border in the Irish Sea," UK prime minister Rishi Sunak told reporters after sealing the "Windsor Framework" with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
Embarrassingly, the European Parliament could soon be handing its prize to a film in a language which cannot be used in the European Parliament.
The launch of ChatGPT has sparked a worldwide debate on Artificial Intelligence systems. Amidst Big Tech's proclamations that these AI systems will revolutionise our daily lives, the companies are engaged in a fierce lobbying battle to water-down regulations.
The EU's legitimacy and credibility has also suffered recently due to the Qatargate scandal engulfing the European Parliament, which undermines the EU's ability to protect the rule of law in member states.
It is evident that the EU is putting substantial diplomatic and political effort into its 'externalisation' of migration plans: Niger, for example, received visits in 2022 from Ursula von der Leyen and EU commissioenrs Ylva Johannson and Jutta Urpilainen.
Hungarian prime prime minister Viktor Orbán has set the ball rolling for ratification of Finland and Sweden's Nato accession.
A new exhibition at the Deutsches Historiches Musuem in Berlin unveils industrial photography of Germany's steel, coal, car, chemical and textile industries from the 1950s to 1980s — some in East Germany, some in West. But which was which?
