Poland imposes anti-abortion law amid EU concern
Poland is bringing a divisive anti-abortion law into force, amid escalating EU doubt on the legality of its court system.
News in Brief
- Putin holds out olive branch to Europe
- US snatched Russian anti-air system from Libya warlord
- UK to extradite alleged trafficker to EU despite Brexit
- EU puts trust in Boeing 737s after post-crash ban
- EU animal-export trade under harsh spotlight
- City of London wants to set rules for EU
- MEPs want 2030 targets to reduce consumption footprint
- Coronavirus cases worldwide pass 100m
Feature
Covid-hit homeless find Xmas relief at Brussels food centre
The Kamiano food distribution centre in Brussels is expecting 20 people every half hour on Christmas Day. For many, Kamiano is also more than that - a support system for those made homeless or impoverished.
Top court finds Hungary and Poland broke EU rules
EU tribunal said Hungary's legislation made it "virtually impossible" to make an asylum application. Restricting access to international protection procedure is a violation of EU rules.
MEPs chide Portugal and Council in EU prosecutor dispute
The Belgian and Bulgarian prosecutors who were appointed had also not been the experts' first choice. Belgian prosecutor Jean-Michel Verelst has challenged the council's decision at the European Court of Justice.
Frontex and Europol pledge greater access to documents
Frontex has pledged to create a searchable central document management system by the end of the year, while Europol has agreed to be more proactive.
MEPs to debate Portugal's EU prosecutor controversy
Leading centre-right and liberal MEPs have called on Lisbon to clarify the appointment of José Guerra as its EU public prosecutor, amid efforts to depoliticise the new anti-fraud body.
MEPs: Portugal 'risks undermining' trust in EU prosecutor
Portuguese justice minister Francisca Van Dunem, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, argued that the Lisbon government was only following the advice of the country's magistrates when pushing for its candidate.
EU Commission mulls police access to encrypted apps
The European Commission has not ruled out allowing police access to encrypted services. Instead, it says a balance needs to be found to protect rights while at the same time offering some leeway to law enforcement.
UK access to EU police database hangs in balance
With Brexit talks intensifying, MEPs are pressing negotiators to cut UK access to the EU's Schengen Information System, a database used by police and border guards.
Muscat poker-faced in Malta inquiry into journalist murder
"How well I'm screwed," was the then Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat's first thought on 16 October 2017, when he found out his country's best-known journalist, Daphne Caruana Galizia, had just been murdered by a car bomb.
Belgian expulsion orders of EU nationals lowest in years
Belgium revoked residency rights of 16,563 EU nationals between 2008 and 2019, according to Liège University migration scholar Jean-Michel Lafleur.
EU law needed to protect free press, NGOs say
More than 60 NGOs and media, including EUobserver, have signed a call for an EU-wide law to stop the rich and powerful from silencing critics with malicious litigation.
Frontex takes transparency activists to EU court
The EU border agency Frontex's annual budget for 2020 is €460m. Now they are launching court proceedings against two pro-transparency campaigners for not paying them €24,000 in legal fees after losing a case last year.
Investigation
EU taxpayers in the dark on US corona-drug deal
The EU recently signed a huge contract for a US anti-corona drug which, the WHO says, might not work, but there's little transparency on how the deal was made.
Poland hammered on women's rights in EU debate
The European Commission has urged Poland not to abandon a treaty against domestic violence, as Warsaw continues to drift further from EU norms.
'Golden Passports': Malta takes 67 days to respond to EU
The European Commission exchanged 24 letters with Bulgaria, Cyprus and Malta over their 'Golden Passports' schemes between October 2019 and October 2020. Malta took 67 days to respond to the commission's first letter, followed by Cyprus (42) then Bulgaria.
Opinion
We need to call Orbán's bluff by going ahead without him
You hear voices already calling for the European Council to give in to the Hungarian and Polish demands, by coming up with supposedly 'technical' solutions allowing them to veto any corruption case or breaches of the rule of law .
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Latest News
- Poland imposes anti-abortion law amid EU concern
- The EU's vaccine strategy - the key points
- EU-AstraZeneca row flares up after vaccines shortfall
- First Covid, now McKinsey - how austerity hit EU healthcare
- Frontex suspends operations in Hungary
- Cyprus: a heavy caseload for new EU prosecutors office
- MEPs: Portugal 'risks undermining' trust in EU prosecutor
- EU to control vaccine exports in row over delays
Opinion
The human cost of whistleblowing
The fate of Jonathan Taylor, a British whistleblower stuck in legal limbo in Croatia, is a test of European laws designed to protect those who put themselves at risk for the common good.
Opinion
Rule-of-law deal: major step for Europe of values
At the very moment when an incumbent president across the Atlantic was carrying out staggering attacks on the foundations of democracy, the European Parliament obtained a historic agreement to protect the rule of law in Europe.
EU to target migrant integration and encrypted apps
Migrants ought to learn EU languages and "integrate" their children, while encrypted messaging apps should give keys to authorities to combat terrorism, EU ministers are preparing to say.
EU Commission: EU free-travel overhaul planned
Plans to reform the EU free-travel zone were already announced in September by the European Commission. On Friday, it re-stated those intentions following demands by the French president for a major overhaul.
France pledges overhaul of EU free-travel to stop terrorists
French president Emmanuel Macron has pledged deep reform of free movement in the EU in the wake of recent terrorist attacks.
Feature
Poland: Abortion 'revolution' means end of old order
More than half a million people protested in Poland over the weekend against a recent court ruling that effectively bans abortion.
Nice attack: EU urges world leaders to stop hate speech
EU leaders have urged other nations to stop inciting hatred after a Tunisian migrant murdered three people in France on Thursday.
Feminists target Polish churches in abortion 'revolution'
Feminists disrupted church services in Poland on Sunday in a fourth day of "revolution" against new anti-abortion laws and the ruling party's right-wing vision.
EU declares war on Malta and Cyprus passport sales
Cyprus and Malta are breaking EU law and facilitating crime by selling 'golden passports' to wealthy foreigners, the European Commission has said.
France marks trauma of history teacher's murder
French people have held rallies in outrage over the murder of a history teacher by an Islamist extremist.
Spain's Sanchez in storm over judicial appointments bill
Spain's socialist-led coalition has proposed changing how members of the country's top judicial body, the General Council of the Judiciary, are appointed - triggering a political and judicial storm about the independence, and drawing 'double standards' complaints from Poland.
Cyprus risks EU legal threat over selling 'Golden Passports'
Cyprus has earned some €7bn from the sale of EU citizenship since 2013. Now it says it will scrap its scheme from next month, in the wake of an investigation by Al Jazeera news.
EU seeks political accord on migration this year
The German EU presidency is striving to sort a political agreement on the migration and asylum pact before the end of the year. In reality, it means two months when factoring Christmas holidays.
Court verdict sees sun set on Greece's Golden Dawn
While the leaders of Greece's Golden Dawn facing lengthy jail terms, the atmosphere remains tense in Athens and some other parts of Greece. Depending on the exact sentencing, further clashes between anarchist-leftists and remnants of the extreme-right may ensue.
Opinion
The EU Commission rule-of-law report: wrong in so many ways
The European Commission claims that it evaluates all member states objectively. In that regard, its new rule-of-law report is a manifest failure.
Paper tiger? EU roars in first rule-of-law report
The inaugural annual rule of law review highlighted shortcomings in member states - but will not lead to concrete action.
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