Opinion
EU must get real on Russia
The EU must call the Ukraine conflict by its true name - Russia's illegal war on its peaceful neighbour - and take commensurate action to protect peace in Europe.
News in Brief
- North Macedonia EU-membership talks set for June
- EU ups benefits rights for mobile workers
- Chinese leader visits Italy, France as Rome joins 'Silk Road'
- EU agrees to sanction political parties breaching data rules
- EPP votes Wednesday on future of Orban's party
- Nordic MEP candidates in first ever joint EU election debate
- Merkel: I will fight to the 'last hour' for orderly Brexit
- EU affairs ministers demand Brexit clarity from London
EU migrants sneaking into US from Mexico
Almost 1,000 Romanian nationals were caught trying to sneak into the United States in 2017, of which around half attempted to cross via Mexico. Nationals from countries like Hungary and the UK were also intercepted.
Estonian spies warn EU on Russian security threat
France, Germany, and Italy are Russia's top targets for EU election meddling, amid mounting military threats to Nato, Estonia's intelligence service has warned.
Opinion
Unanimity under review, if new EU sanctions to work
Any new regime should focus on individual perpetrators, such as the prison guards and low-level administrators and officers - but it must also similarly allow the listing of individuals higher up in the command chain.
Opinion
Syrian detainees must be Brussels conference priority
World leaders meeting in Brussels from 12-14 March must make the freeing of detainees held by Syria's Assad regime the number one priority on their agenda.
Opinion
Ukrainian election: a country struggling to reform itself
With a record of 44 candidates running for president, it remains to be seen who will become Ukraine's next leader. But will Ukrainian politicians and their international partners be able to keep the country on the road to reform?
Europe shifts gear to balance relations with China better
A new 10-point strategic plan sharpens Europe's profile in relations with China, and signals impatience with Beijing.
Name row on new EU sanctions exposes deeper rift
EU officials have voiced scepticism on proposed new human rights sanctions, amid a "nasty" debate to what extent Russia ought to be named and shamed in the title of the new measures.
Opinion
The Magnitsky Act - and its name
It is disappointing that so many MEPs in the Socialist and Green group caved in to Russian interests, in fear of challenging a plutocratic regime, by saying 'no' to naming the Magnitsky legislation by its rightful name: Magnitsky.
Hopeless Gaza Strip ripe for Islamic State, says UN head
Fears are mounting that more extreme militants, possibly linked to the Islamic State, will gain a foothold in the Gaza Strip as trapped youth lose all sense of hope in a conflict that is on the verge of boiling over.
Investigation
Leaked document sheds light on Turkey's controlled 'coup'
More than two years after the failed putsch, evidence is trickling out to support what the EU initially suspected - that Erdogan knew what was going to happen and let it go ahead as a pretext to create one-man rule.
Opinion
Let's put women in charge of peace talks
We need a more meaningful representation of women in EU institutions and on EU's negotiation tables abroad. The most successful EU deal in the last years, the Iran deal, was brokered by women – Frederica Mogherini and Helga Schmid.
Saudi Arabia evades EU dirty-money list for now
EU states have rejected a commission proposal to blacklist Saudi Arabia and four US territories on money laundering and terrorist financing grounds.
Lithuanian bank named in new EU 'laundromat' leak
A now-defunct Lithuanian bank was used to help move billions of euros of suspicious money out of Russia, according to leaked documents.
Ball rolling on EU human rights sanctions
A Dutch proposal for EU asset freezes and visa bans on human rights abusers is moving ahead following initial talks in Brussels.
Feature
EU warned on danger to Israel of occupation tactics
Israel is trying to annex Palestinian lands by making friends with far-right extremists in Europe and the US, an Israeli NGO has warned MEPs in Brussels.
Outrage over EP job for daughter of Putin spokesman
The daughter of a Kremlin spokesman has been hired as a trainee by a French MEP in a move attacked as bad taste by some and as a security risk by others.
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Latest News
- US glyphosate verdict gives ammunition to EU activists
- Have a good reason for Brexit extension, Barnier tells UK
- EU countries push for new rule of law surveillance
- EU rolls out €525m for military projects, but bars illegal tech
- May to seek Brexit extension amid UK 'constitutional crisis'
- Catalan independence trial is widening Spain's divides
- My plan for defending rule of law in EU
- Anti-corruption lawyer wins first round of Slovak elections
Opinion
Italy-Russia links highlight threat to EU democracy
Senior figures in Italy's far-right League party have interests in a mysterious Russian firm, amid wider questions on the safety of European democracy.
Exposed: How Russia offered to fund Italy's Salvini
Russia reportedly offered Italy's far-right League party €3m to help contest the EU election in May, in a deal which "shames" Rome if confirmed.
Microsoft warns EU on election hack threat
Russian hackers posed a threat to EU elections, US tech giant Microsoft has warned, amid fresh revelations of cyber-attacks against European targets.
Trump and Kurz: not best friends, after all
The visit of Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz to the White House on Wednesday showed that the current rift in transatlantic relations is deepening by the day.
Opinion
Trump right for once: Europe should take back foreign fighters
EU countries and US should take every opportunity to shrink the group of wandering Islamist fighters in the Middle East and neighbouring regions.
Merkel defends Russia ties, ridicules Trump on cars
Russia could be a Cold War-type "partner" for Europe, German leader Angela Merkel has said, but Donald Trump's car tariff ideas were "scary".
Belgian spy scandal puts EU and Nato at risk
A Belgian intelligence officer has been accused of working for Russia, amid long-standing security fears in Brussels - the home to EU and Nato institutions.
EU Parliament demands Saudi lobby transparency
A resolution demanding Saudi Arabia release prisoners and stop gender-based violence was passed by over 500 MEPs on Thursday in Strasbourg. They also demanded greater transparency over Brussels-based lobbying for the Saudis, following an EUobserver exclusive.
Saudi Arabia, but not Russia, on EU 'dirty money' list
The EU has stigmatised Saudi Arabia and four US territories on "dirty money" - but let Azerbaijan and Russia off the hook.
Rutte warns EU to embrace 'Realpolitik' foreign policy
'The EU needs a reality check; power is not a dirty word," Mark Rutte declared, in a speech on foreign policy in which he explicitly ruled out a European army.
Germany bound to apply EU rules to Russia pipeline
Germany will need to make sure EU rules are being followed by Russia's controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, currently under construction, it was decided in negotiations between EU institutions on Tuesday evening.
Opinion
Brussels and Washington need clarity from Tymoshenko
Yulia Tymoshenko's contradictory politics raises questions about the direction she would lead Ukraine if she is elected president in March 2019.
MEPs maul Italian leader for 'ugly' politics
Italy's new leaders have behaved in an "idiotic ... spiteful ... [and] ugly" way, MEPs told "puppet" prime minister Giuseppe Conte in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
Saudis paying College of Europe to lobby MEPs
The Bruges-based College of Europe is setting up private meetings with the EU institutions for seven ambassadors plus seven high-level officials from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
US warns Hungary on Chinese and Russian corruption
The US has warned Hungary that Chinese and Russian "corruption" posed a national security threat, but Budapest hit back with accusations of "hypocrisy".
Interview
'No thanks!' to EU and Nato, Iceland PM says
Eurozone failures mean Iceland should stay out of the EU, its prime minister told EUobserver. She would also quit Nato if she had her say.
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- Civil society asks PACE to appoint Rapporteur to probe issue of political prisoners in Azerbaijan
