Tuesday
18th Jun 2019
With the current Socialist & Democrats group leader, Germany's Udo Bullman pulling out of the race, Spanish MEP Iratxe Garcia is likely to become the next leader of the second biggest group in the European Parliament.
A summit in Belgian capital this week will host heads of government and state to discuss top EU institutional posts. But before they meet, the jockeying for the Commission presidency will have already started among the European political groups.
The efforts to sway the mood - and the votes - of EU citizens was more targeted and nuanced, and not only restricted to Russian sources. The EU wants online platforms to do more.
Turkey could face EU sanctions over gas drilling in Cyprus, Greece and others have warned, prompting mockery by Turkey's president.
Scientists say there is no acceptable dose to avoid brain damage. Its use is banned in several European countries. Yet its residues are found in fruit baskets, on dinner plates, and in human urine samples from all over Europe.
Juan Branco is a lawyer and co-author of a legal document submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC) accusing EU officials and member states of crimes against humanity for their migration policies. "Some people should have to go to prison."
Political bosses of the European Parliament's groups, hoping to assemble a majority coalition, are eyeing putting forward an political agenda - and possibly a name for the commission top job - before EU leaders gather in Brussels.
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.
Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comin currently live outside Spain. They were prosecuted for the serious crimes, and they have fled justice. It is not possible to judge in absentia in Spain, where the justice system protects the rights of defendants.
Oil supplies to Europe and further afield are at risk of serious disruption, the world's oil tanker association has warned, following more attacks on shipping in the Persian Gulf.
Germany will agree to open EU accession talks with North Macedonia in September, Skopje has said, but Albania's prospects look less bright.
Nathalie Loiseau, the French president's top choice to lead the new European Parliament liberal group known as Renew Europe, has returned to Paris after reportedly insulting the group's leading MEPs.
The new far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) political group fails to muster enough support among other eurosceptics to become a heavyweight in the European Parliament. But with 73 MEPs, from nine EU states, it managed to secure the fifth spot.
European shops should label Israeli settler exports so consumers can boycott them for "ethical" reasons the same way they did South African ones under apartheid, a senior EU jurist has said.
Donald Trump has pledged to move troops from Germany to Poland, while praising Poland's nationalist rulers and attacking Germany on energy and defence.
In February - for the first time - the European parliament considered seized property in reviewing Bosnia's membership application to the European Union. But more work has to be done.
An EU-funded school programme aimed at promoting environmental awareness is sending students across Europe - by airplane.
The centre-right, the socialists, the liberals and the greens will start their discussion on policy in five areas - while EU leaders also gear up for a summit next week on who should lead the EU institutions.
In 2013, the European Commission declared ships that help migrants in distress would not face sanctions. Now - six years later - Italy's government endorses a decree to impose fines up to €50,000 for rescue boats docking in Italian ports.
Europe's credibility is at risk in the Western Balkans, half its member states have warned - but EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said Albania and North Macedonia unlikely to start accession talks soon.
In his response, Dr Zoltan Kovacs does not even try to refute my main point about Hungary: that most Hungarian news media have been captured by the state, and that this anti-democratic trend is spreading across Eastern Europe.
Ten politicians have passed the first hurdle to be Britain's next prime minister, with Brexit and threats of "no deal" dominating the race.
A right of reply on behalf of the Hungarian government to the opinion piece "Orban-style 'media capture' is spreading across Europe" published on 6 June.
Albania currently faces a serious crisis, which it would be foolish for all actors in the international community to ignore. Yet we must ask that our partners in Europe read Federica Mogherini's report carefully and recognise accomplishments.
Talks on EP groups and top jobs in the wake of the EU election last month continue. Finance ministers also discuss whether to fine Italy, while EU commissioners promote Western Balkans enlargement.
Six EU leaders representing the three most-successful political blocs in the EU elections last month are meeting in Brussels on Friday to start talks on Europe's top jobs.
Current challenges to the rule of law, an independent civil society, and the equal treatment of minorities are just as much in need of tackling as are the challenges of globalisation, migration, and digitalisation.
John Dalli was ousted as European Commissioner for health in 2012 over a tobacco-lobbying scandal. On Thursday, the general court of the European Union dismissed his case against the European Commission.
Denmark has elected a young, female, centre-left leader, completing a socialist sweep in the EU's nordic states - but only after adopting right-wing anti-migrant policies.
The procedure against Italy for excessive debt recommended by the European Commission on Wednesday was foreseeable, if not inevitable.
We hear a lot about the threats of social media and misinformation to our democracies. What we don't hear about is another anti-democratic disease that has already claimed multiple victims across the continent - 'media capture'.
The EPP has backed Weber as their leader in the new EU parliament - but talks on a coalition and parliament's top candidate for the commission presidency are moving slowly.
