Sunday
17th Feb 2019
EU probes into Hungary and Poland on rule of law and democracy are back on the agenda of EU affairs ministers - but with little guidance from the Romanian presidency, without a clear idea where the procedures are headed.
Brexit talks will continue in Brussels, as UK PM Theresa May's government is trying to find a way out of the political impasse at home. Murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's fiancee will speak at the European Parliament next week.
The Bruges-based College of Europe is setting up private meetings with the EU institutions for seven ambassadors plus seven high-level officials from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
There can be no more excuses for business. They will be held for responsible for their failure to take action to prevent the risk of human and labour rights through their supply chains.
A resolution demanding Saudi Arabia release prisoners and stop gender-based violence was passed by over 500 MEPs on Thursday in Strasbourg. They also demanded greater transparency over Brussels-based lobbying for the Saudis, following an EUobserver exclusive.
The EU has stigmatised Saudi Arabia and four US territories on "dirty money" - but let Azerbaijan and Russia off the hook.
A Belgian intelligence officer has been accused of working for Russia, amid long-standing security fears in Brussels - the home to EU and Nato institutions.
After marathon talks, EU negotiators agree on provisional copyright reform, requiring companies to filter content to prevent unauthorized work on their platform. Online platforms and open-internet advocates warn it will hurt the free flow of information.
'The EU needs a reality check; power is not a dirty word," Mark Rutte declared, in a speech on foreign policy in which he explicitly ruled out a European army.
The European Parliament's Italian president referred to Croatia and Slovenia as former Italian regions at the weekend, sparking outrage. Although Antonio Tajani apologised, somer former leaders and MEPs are now calling for his resignation.
Germany will need to make sure EU rules are being followed by Russia's controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, currently under construction, it was decided in negotiations between EU institutions on Tuesday evening.
Yulia Tymoshenko's contradictory politics raises questions about the direction she would lead Ukraine if she is elected president in March 2019.
Italy's new leaders have behaved in an "idiotic ... spiteful ... [and] ugly" way, MEPs told "puppet" prime minister Giuseppe Conte in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
In 2017, 17.5 percent of the EU's energy consumption came from renewable sources, while the target is 20 percent by 2020. Brexit may actually help achieve that target - but only through a statistical sleight-of-hand.
The US has warned Hungary that Chinese and Russian "corruption" posed a national security threat, but Budapest hit back with accusations of "hypocrisy".
No breakthrough emerged from the meeting between the top EU and UK negotiators on Monday evening in Brussels. Michel Barnier urged the UK to move on its red lines to help clinch a deal, with 45 days left until Brexit.
MEPs are set to rubber-stamp a trade deal with Morocco to fish off the disputed coastline of the Western Sahara. Human Rights Watch have stepped in to point out the deal could be in breach of international law.
A new report from the environmental group said that between €28.5bn to €32.6bn of the European Union's subsidies for farmers supports the livestock sector.
The European Parliament elections in May will show that EU officials in Brussels, and French president Emmanuel Macron, are out of touch with average Europeans, according to the Polish prime minister.
Romania is due to join the single currency in 2024 - despite currently only meeting one of the four criteria. Now the government in Bucharest is enlisting an unlikely ally to promote the euro to the public: the clergy.
Germany alone will decide whether to enforce EU law on its new gas pipeline with Russia, after France caved in during last-minute talks.
EU and UK negotiators reopen Brexit talks as the clock tics to March. Italy's populist prime minister also shares his vision of the EU with MEPs.
EU commissioner for justice Vera Jourova was advised to ask Facebook to use its "contacts with the US administration and with Congress".
EU law should govern Russia's new gas pipeline to Germany, France has said, heaping doubt on the project.
Theresa May's venture seems very similar to the attempt by Alexis Tsipras in 2015 to persuade Brussels to accept his terms for the bail out - a huge negotiation failure, presented to the public as the best possible deal.
The EU council president who, a day earlier said there was a "place in hell" for Brexiteers without a plan, told May that Britain's opposition leader could hold the key to the Brexit deal.
After Theresa May's "robust" talks with top EU officials, London and Brussels agree to talk further - even though their opposing positions have not inched closer. European Parliament president Antonio Tajani warned "We're weeks from an economic and human catastrophe."
Henrik Hololei, director-general for Mobility and Transport at the EU commission, riled against "old-fashioned, totally non-future-oriented taxi companies".
Macedonia is on its way to join Nato next year - despite a Russian push-back in the Western Balkans and beyond.
The rift between Italy and France appears to be widening after a meeting held between 'yellow vest' leadership and Italy's deputy prime minister Luigi Di Maio.
What is revelatory about the study by Corporate Europe Observatory is the sheer number of embassies, committees and advisory groups that lobbyists can target: from the Council all the way down to standing committee on plants, animals, food and feed.
Dutch MP Renske Leijten said that a year after she asked for more openness, nothing much has changed.
EU council chief Donald Tusk said he wondered if there is a 'special place in hell for those who promoted Brexit without a plan', as Brussels expects British PM Theresa May to arrive on Thursday - without a plan.
