Feature
Samos: Inside Greece's 'nightmare' EU hotspot
Asylum centres on the Greek islands have borne the brunt of implementing the EU-Turkey deal. The centre on Samos island has struggled more than the others.
Investigation
Donbass: a region nobody wants?
The Donbass region in east Ukraine is on the road to becoming a de jure Ukrainian province, but a de facto Russian-backed mafia state.
Investigation
Dutch bank faces questions on Romania land-grab
Dutch banking giant Rabobank is facing questions over investments in Romania, amid concerns that its subsidiaries are "land grabbing" in some of the EU's poorest and most corrupt regions.
News in Brief
- Scotland warns of 'hard Brexit'
- EU unfazed by Fico on migrant quotas
- Bombs hit mosque in Germany
- UK will oppose EU army plans: minister
- ECB needs help from from states, says Draghi
- EU removes Colombia's FARC guerilla from terror list
- Italy constitutional vote set for 4 December
- EU to hand out money to migrants in Turkey
Poland's CIA probe: road to nowhere
Poland is probing human rights abuses committed by the CIA on its territory, but politics and hostile public opinion have turned what was once a proper criminal investigation into a farce.
How Brussels took on Orban's son-in-law
EU anti-fraud sleuths have taken a closer look at the company of the son-in-law of Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban - and they don't like what they found.
Rabobank subsidiary accused of leasing Romanian land to criminals
Each year, the European Commission provides billions of euros to companies buying up huge tracts of land in eastern Europe, on the premise that they are assisting in land concentration and driving up land prices.
EU asylum applications from lone children quadruple
At least 95,000 unaccompanied children applied for asylum in Europe last year, four times the numbers for 2014. In Sweden, the rise was 402 percent.
TTIP: EU offered 97% cut on US tariffs, secret papers show
In the new round of talks over the TTIP free trade agreement that started on Monday, the European Commission is ready to offer lower taxes on US imports in exchange for open public procurements.
Albanian women trafficked in EU: abused, rejected, abandoned
Abused by gangsters, disowned by their families, and let down by the state: Albanian women trafficked as sex slaves in Europe face an uphill battle to build new lives.
Lives for sale: Booming market for Bulgarian babies in Greece
Pregnant Bulgarians travel to Greece to sell their babies to couples desperate to adopt - an illegal trade which is flourishing while efforts to stop it flounder.
EU court entertained bogus case on welfare rights
EU court heard bogus case on social welfare rights, despite being told by fake plaintiff he had nothing to do with it. Outcome could have shaped EU-wide laws.
The great looting of Donbass
Over half of major enterprises in Ukraine separatist zone of Donetsk and Luhansk closed or seized by rebels.
EU admits parts of tobacco deal too bureaucratic
"Investigative needs ... dictate much faster means of enquiry than formal requests with a deadline of 45 days," EU anti-fraud agency said..
How did EU spend its €110mn of tobacco money?
The European Union and its member states have so far received at least €1.4 billion from four tobacco giants as a result of anti-smuggling cooperation agreements. How have they spent that money?
Scant evidence EU tobacco deal curbed smuggling
A ‘landmark’ agreement with tobacco company PMI was supposed to bring down cigarette smuggling. But it is very difficult to estimate the success of the deal, which is up for renewal in 2016.
EU sleuths ignore special powers on tobacco smuggling
EU anti-fraud agency, in past 11 years, made little use of investigative instruments gained under special deal with tobacco giant Philip Morris.
Will EU renew $1.25bn deal with tobacco firm PMI?
A 2004 deal saw Europe halt its legal claims against Philip Morris in exchange for the multinational's cooperation in the fight against cigarette smuggling.
Stakeholders' Highlights
- Did You Know Europe's Largest Dinosaur Gallery Is in Brussels? Check It Out Now
- Human Rights in Uzbekistan After Karimov - Joint Statement
- Cloud Infrastructure Providers Unveil Data Protection Code of Conduct
- Messages of Hope From the Basque Country and Galicia
- Digital Rights Heroes and Villains. See Who Protects Your Rights, Who Wants to Take Them Away
- Quo Vadis Georgia? What to Expect From the Parliamentary Elections. Debate on 29 September
- Appalled by Recommendation to Remove Hamas From EU Terrorism Watch List
- Bringing Education to Refugees in Lebanon With the Clooney Foundation for Justice
- An Industry-leading ICT Solution Provider and Building a Better World
- UN Refugees Meeting a Wasted Opportunity to Improve the Lives of Millions of Children
- Can Democracy Survive Global Disorder?
- Trimming the Waste-Line: Weaving Circular Economy Principles Into Our Operations
Latest News
- Green MEPs launch EUleaks
- EU funds for Bulgaria target border security
- EU sanctions hurting Russian firms, US says
- Strengthening child protection in the EU and globally
- The EU’s new offer to Africa
- Why Putin's union doesn't want to work with the EU
- Charges await Danes and Germans for helping refugees
- EU migrant quota idea is finished, Fico says
Europeans give Google final say on 'right to be forgotten'
Citizens may ask national authorities for a second opinion, but figures compiled by EUobserver show that very few people are exercising this right to appeal.
Frontex resource limitations put agency in straitjacket
The EU border agency has the potential to police Europe's borders, save lives and reduce human trafficking, but lack of means and political will reduces it to a resource-poor coordinating agency, says a report by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
French eyes for a Russian tiger
Russian tanks are using French technology in Ukraine. But will Russia's new "star" tank, the T-14, also rely on EU-made kit?
Polish airport used by CIA obtains millions in EU funds
A small airport in north-eastern Poland used by the CIA to fly in kidnapped detainees for torture at a nearby intelligence training camp has received over €30 million in EU funds.
HIV sweeps across eastern Europe amid economic crisis
HIV is spreading at a dangerous rate in nations around the Black Sea, with hotspots in Ukraine and Russia.
EU and Kosovo corruption: Scratching the surface?
The EU has asked an ageing academic to look into Eulex corruption allegations. But former officials want to know why it failed to convict a single "big fish" in the past five years?
EU smoke & mirrors
EUobserver reporter Nikolaj Nielsen sheds new light on the Dalli lobbying scandal, which, by Barroso's own admission, threatened to bring down the EU executive, but which is not over yet.
Europe’s tax haven investments in Africa
A combination of lax rules and no-questions-asked policy means that money from the European Investment Bank, the EU's longterm lending institution, is flowing to tax havens. An Egyptian case study shows how this happens.
Barroso tops commission travel expenses in 2012
EU commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso's travel expenses in 2012 were almost three times as high as those of foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
Several EU states impose arms ban on Russia
Most of the EU’s top arms exporters have imposed a quiet ban on sales to Russia, but Ukraine’s military embargo could have a bigger impact on the crisis.
Arms deals and bribes: The downfall of Slovenia's former PM
Former Slovene PM Jansa has been sentenced to two years in prison over a scandal involving defence contracts and a trail of corrupt money across several EU states.
Secret EU lawmaking: the triumph of the trilogues
The setting could not be less spectacular – but trilogue meetings are a central hub of the EU's law-making machine.
Malta's sale of EU passports causes controversy
A British consultancy will make millions for helping Malta to create EU citizens-on-paper, amid questions on conflict of interest and national security.
Privatising immigration
A growing number of EU countries use private security firms to guard migrant detention centres and handle visa applications, raising questions of accountability if things go wrong. EUobserver looks at the rise of a new European security industry.