Thursday
2nd Apr 2020
The EU Commission called on member states not to trample on democratic rules in the fightback against coronavirus - without mentioning Hungary by name. It will monitor all EU countries and discuss emergency measures on Wednesday.
The European Commissioner for equality Helena Dalli has said the distribution of 'LGBTI-free zones' stickers or the adoption of anti-LGBTI resolutions cannot be allowed. Some 86 towns in Poland have so far declared themselves 'LGBTI-free zones'.
Belgian intelligence services, responsible for protecting the EU and Nato, have launched a major clear-up amid fears of Russian and other infiltration.
Poland has called for Nato solidarity on Russia, but judicial meddling and populist hate speech have made it unpopular on the Western stage.
The European Commission says it is working on proposals to fight terrorism, organised crime, drugs and now wants to expand the EU's police agency Europol. A whole raft of measures covering all three areas have been proposed since 2001.
Malta's new government does not look likely to turn it into a normal, law-abiding EU state any time soon, the son of slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has said.
A lone judge will read out 16 verdicts in an almost empty chamber in the EU court on Thursday, as Europe tries to uphold rule of law in the pandemic.
Rule of law in Poland could be gravely harmed on 20 March unless the EU takes action, a Polish judge who faces prison for his verdicts has told EUobserver.
The EU's border agency Frontex says Greece may have to wait until next week before receiving any extra border guards.
Turkey has accused Greece of using live ammunition against migrants, killing one man, amid growing violence on the EU border.
Greece cannot waive its obligation to help asylum seekers by citing EU protocols, the UN has pointed out.
Some 13,000 people were waiting to cross into Greece from Turkey on Saturday, prompting Athens to call for an emergency EU foreign ministers' meeting.
Poland is preparing to prosecute a government-critical judge using new powers the EU says are not compatible with European norms.
Five European Parliamentary groups warned EU member states that if they don't act on breaches of EU rules and values in Poland and Hungary, the EU's integrity and credibility will be undermined.
Modelled in many respects on the same blueprint for democratic decline followed in Hungary by strongman Viktor Orbán and his ruling Fidesz party, the government in Poland has sought to fuse the ruling party and the state.
The Hanau shooting was a national wake-up call to the scale of far-right extremism in Germany, from violent individuals to political hate speech.
No, ending anonymous shell companies does not threaten your privacy rights.
Western Balkan secret services have handed over more the 250 alerts on suspected foreign terrorist fighters since last summer - fed into the EU's police database by the Czech Republic, according to a confidential document seen by EUobserver.
Laura Kovesi who heads the new European Public Prosecutor's Office, tasked to tackle fraud linked to VAT, money laundering, and corruption across the EU, warned she is dangerously understaffed and underfunded.
In her mid-70s and in ailing health, Regina Hayes still holds out hope justice will prevail after losing her life savings in a Ponzi-like scam linked back to a former EU commissioner from Malta.
Around 7,500 applications were sent to Frontex to fill 700 new border guard posts. The guards will become official EU staff and wear a yet to be unveiled 'European Union' uniform.
In a draft resolution, MEPs say that EU countries inability to deal with rule of law breaches by Poland and Hungary undermine the EU's integrity and credibility.
Although non-binding, a critical opinion from the EU's top court could mean laws in Belgium, France and the UK allowing for the indiscriminate bulk collection of people's data may have to be eventually amended to respect EU privacy rules.
Malta's new prime minister has pledged to "strengthen rule of law" amid EU mistrust in the government over the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
EUobserver's revelations of how the UK violates and abuses an EU police database sparked heated debate in the European Parliament's civil liberties committee - as the European Commission refused to respond to questions given the confidentiality of the leaked document.
Legal action related to climate change is set to grow considerably in the next few years - especially after a largely-overlooked ruling over Christmas by a Dutch court forced the government to reduce its emission by 25 percent by 2020.
While Poland's government is escalating its rule of law crisis by introducing even more drastic measures against the country's judges, another problem is looming over the EU's commitment to upholding the rule of law: Malta.
EU officials can expect five more years of needling investigations at the hands of their ombudsman, "energetic" Irish woman Emily O'Reilly.
Poland risks blundering out of the EU with a new gagging law on judges, former EU Council president Donald Tusk and others have warned.
MEPs have tasked Irish woman Emilly O'Reilly to hold EU institutions' feet to the fire for another five years.
Calls for Maltese prime minister Jospeh Muscat to resign rang out from several sides in special European Parliament debate on Tuesday.
The way Poland disciplines its judges gives rise to political abuse, a European anti-corruption watchdog has said, but Warsaw is planning to tighten the leash further still.
The Dutch prime minister and figures from the European Parliament are both piling on pressure for leaders at the EU summit to discuss the rule of law in Malta, as the presence of the island-nation's prime minister draws protests.
