The Dutch rule of law top man said the new commission would be just as tough on the issue as the current one, but would not say whether he wants to hold onto the portfolio in the next executive.

EU states ought to undergo a yearly "Rule of Law Review Cycle" to help stop countries such as Hungary, Poland, and Romania from backsliding on EU norms, the European Commission has said.

The European Commission is to propose annual rule-of-law reviews on all EU states, but Poland is "optimistic" that Ursula von er Leyen will let it off the hook.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Polish government punishing judges and prosecutors who stand in its way with disciplinary action and smear campaigns, Amnesty International has said.

Italy's recent handling of a migrant rescue ship was unbecoming of an EU founding state, Germany has said, prompting a backlash by Rome.

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.

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.

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.