Son: Malta trial for murdered journalist 'not enough'
Malta is about to put on trial three men it says killed journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017, but only a public enquiry might show who ordered the murder, her son has warned.
News in Brief
- Ansip's ex-cabinet chief to head EU cybersecurity agency
- Malta starts trial of journalist murder suspects
- Full text of von der Leyen candidacy speech to MEPs
- Von der Leyen open to further Brexit delay
- Von der Leyen promises carbon border tax
- Brexit: both UK PM candidates say Irish backstop is 'dead'
- Mogherini: Iran's nuclear enrichment 'reversible'
- Report: Selmayr to leave 'next week'
Romania warned of EU wrath over corruption
Romania could face a barrage of EU sanctions if it created "de facto impunity" for corrupt officials, the European Commission has warned.
Stalling on VAT reform costing billions, says Commission
German media outlet Correctiv, along with other newsrooms, have revealed how criminals annually cheat EU states out of billions in VAT fraud. The EU Commission says solutions exist - but member states refuse to budge on tax unanimity.
EU justice 'barometer' hindered by data gaps
Some member states continue to impede the European Commission's annual attempt to define the state of Europe's justice system, by not providing data on their national situations.
Ugly face of Polish judicial reforms laid bare
Polish government punishing judges and prosecutors who stand in its way with disciplinary action and smear campaigns, Amnesty International has said.
Germany shames Italy on migrant rescues
Italy's recent handling of a migrant rescue ship was unbecoming of an EU founding state, Germany has said, prompting a backlash by Rome.
Anti-separatist Spanish MEPs dominate liberty committee
The European Parliament's powerful civil liberties committee (Libe) has elected anti-separatist Spanish MEPs for its chair and vice-chair positions. The issue risks complicating efforts by pro-Catalan factions to have the debate on independence raised to the EU level.
Orban ally's bid to chair EP committee in trouble
Former communication chief of the Hungary's Fidesz party, Balazs Hidvegi, wants a senior spot on the European Parliament committee working on migration and law. His nomination was delayed following a surprise decision by the centre-right EPP group.
EU court: Denmark's family-reunification law 'unjustified'
The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg has delivered a blow to Denmark's strict family-reunification laws. The ruling will likely cause headaches for its new left-leaning government given its stance on immigration, and opens up 8,000 pending cases.
Investigation
Smurfing: How Russians laundered €4m in Belgium
A Russian group laundered €4m in Belgium by breaking it into small chunks to buy luxury goods and an apartment, as police and regulators struggle to keep up.
EU defends US data pact, as Facebook court case opens
An Austrian privacy campaigner vs Facebook over the future of data transfers to the US case opened at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg on Tuesday. The European Commission, meanwhile, says the Privacy Shield pact is working fine.
Finnish presidency to war-game hybrid threat response
The Finnish presidency will draw up scenarios on hybrid attacks, for EU home affairs and finance ministers to practice decision-making when facing acute threats.
Polish judicial reforms broke EU law, court says
Poland has lost a flagship court case over its judicial meddling brought against it by the European Commission, putting its nationalist rulers on the back foot.
MEP blasts Portugal over football whistleblower
Ana Gomes, a socialist MEP from Portugal, has accused national authorities of erring on the side of corruption by detaining a whistleblower who helped expose tax evasion by some of Europe's biggest football stars.
Czech PM attacks EU after fraud report prompts outrage
The Czech Republic's billionaire prime minister, Andrei Babis, has accused the EU anti-fraud office, Olaf, of trying to "destabilise" his country.
Opinion
EU sanctions regime cannot be an 'EU Magnitsky Act'
The debate about the choice of name should not boil down to a political muscle show against Hungary, which opposes the reference to Magnitsky because of its political relations with the Russian government.
Europol busts global cybercrime gang
A loose network of cyber criminals recruited from an online Russian forum managed to infect thousands of computers in an effort to steal online banking credentials. The gang has been dismantled, with some now on the run.
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Latest News
- European Commission has first ever woman president
- Son: Malta trial for murdered journalist 'not enough'
- Von der Leyen's final appeal to secure top EU post
- EU talks tough on Turkey, but arms sales go on
- The Abortion Exodus - more Poles and Croats going abroad
- Poland's ex-PM loses EU parliament chair again
- Von der Leyen reaches out to left and liberal MEPs
- Farmers among new MEPs deciding on EU farming money
Opinion
World Press Freedom: Can EU take the global lead?
With European elections around the corner, press freedom advocates are holding their breath because political change can make for uncertain times.
Opinion
A fundamental contradiction in EU drug policy
The knock-on affects from a 'war on drugs' in Europe is creating problems in Albania - and as far afield as Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Bangladesh and the Philippines.
Puigdemont to challenge ban on standing as MEP
Carles Puigdemont is set to take legal action to defend his rights as European Parliament candidate and for voters' right to cast a vote for him. He could go so far as to challenge the outcome of the May elections.
Bulgaria, Hungary, and Malta shamed on press unfreedom
Bulgaria, Hungary and Malta were named as the EU's worst offenders on press freedoms by a leading French NGO, while Norway and EU state Finland ranked best.
Brunei defends stoning to death of gay men in EU letter
Brunei has defended its draconian anti-gay laws in a letter to MEPs by saying that few homosexuals are actually stoned to death in practice.
EU parliament backs whistleblower law
MEPs backed an EU law to protect whistleblowers from retaliation in both the public and private sectors. EU states will have two years to transpose the directive.
EU president Romania gets last warning on rule of law
Romania stands on the edge of an EU sanctions procedure, the EU commission has warned, amid concern that law and order is being dismantled in the interest of its ruling elite.
Prison suicide rates in France highest in Europe
Suicide rates per 10,000 inmates in 2017 in France stood at 12.6, higher than any other European country. The latest figures are part of a much bigger report out Tuesday by the Strasbourg-based human rights watchdog, the Council of Europe.
Interview
From Turkey to EU freedom: an exile's journey
EU asylum claims from Turkey are on the rise as people such as Emrah Buyuktas, a former Turkish policeman, risk everything to live free in Europe.
Swedish bank joins list of EU dirty money scandals
Swedish lender Swedbank handled €135bn of dodgy money in recent years, leaked documents say, in a second EU banking scandal of vast proportions.
Malta and Cyprus EU passport sales under fire
Malta and Cyprus should end their golden passport schemes, MEPs have said, amid an EU-wide alert on Russian money laundering.
Slovakia puts squeeze on free press ahead of election
Smer, Slovakia's ruling party, wants the country's media to give politicians a right-of-reply, or face stiff fines. Advocates of a free press are alarmed, and it poses a problem for the European Commission, whose vice-president is a Smer presidential candidate.
EU countries push for new rule of law surveillance
Germany and Belgium have put forward a proposal for a "peer review" of EU countries' legal systems as member states and EU institutions struggle with disciplining member states that break EU rules.
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.
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.
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.
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