Monday

21st Nov 2016

  1. Section
  2. Investigations

MEPs criticise Oettinger's 'judgement'

The German commissioner says it was normal to travel by a private jet owned by a German businessman. MEPs, with the exception of Oettinger's own EPP group, are gearing up to grill him.

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

  1. Cyprus leaders aim for map agreement
  2. New three-party centre-left government in Estonia
  3. New three-party government in Denmark
  4. Support for the EU on the rise
  5. Brussels to name public space after murdered UK MP Jo Cox
  6. World tells Trump climate momentum is 'irreversible'
  7. No voters in Dutch Ukraine referendum 'not anti-EU'
  8. EU states give conditional approval to visa-free travel for Ukraine
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.

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.

The great looting of Donbass

Over half of major enterprises in Ukraine separatist zone of Donetsk and Luhansk closed or seized by rebels.

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?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. European Jewish CongressTakes Part in Building Resilient Communities
  2. UNICEFUniversal Children’s Day: UNICEF Calls for Global Action on Child Rights Violations
  3. Counter BalanceThe EU Bank Cannot be a Key Player in Europe's Response to the Plight of Refugees
  4. International Partnership for Human RightsProvides Evidence of Human Rights Violations and International Crimes in Crimea
  5. Dialogue PlatformThe Failed Military Coup in Turkey & The Mass Purges
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersNew Nordic Climate Solutions at COP22 in Marrakech
  7. Counter BalanceNGOs Call on Development Finance Institutions to Act Against Tax Avoidance
  8. Martens CentreOur Transatlantic 9-11: Europe After Trump
  9. European Free AllianceTrump Victory and Brexit Show Urgent Need of Improving Democracy
  10. Dialogue PlatformTimmermans Points to Gülen Movement as Coup Plotter But Lacks Proof
  11. APEALSteel for Packaging - The Model Material for a Circular Economy
  12. European Healthy Lifestyle AllianceChildhood Obesity Rates Expected to Increase at Least Until 2025

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.

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?

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.

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.

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Crowdsourcing Week EuropeLearn From Pioneers of Crowdsourcing, Crowdfunding & Innovation at #CSWEurope16 - 10% Off CSWEU16
  2. EFAErdogan's Attacks on Democracy can no Longer be Tolerated
  3. Access NowBeware: Countering “Violent Extremism” Online Risks Human Rights
  4. EUFORESSecurity and Growth Potentials in the Energy Union
  5. World VisionMosul: Children Arriving at Camps too Terrified to Speak, say World Vision Staff
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersUN Global Sustainable Development Goals, Integration, and Security on Agenda for Nordic Council Session 2016
  7. Access NowBleeding Lives and Money: the Cost of Internet Shutdowns from Turkey to Bahrain
  8. Taipei EU OfficeTaiwan Seeks to Join Fight against Global Warming
  9. ANCI LazioAnci Lazio Definetely has a lot to Celebrate This Year
  10. EU-China ForumDebating the Future of the EU-China Relations on 28 November in Prague
  11. COMECEMigrants: From Fear to Compassion
  12. Birdlife EuropeBusiness as Usual - Juncker Snubs Environment and Protects Broken CAP