The EU-Mercosur trade deal is set to pass its first hurdle on Wednesday despite another major protest by farmers outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg. 

MEPs inflicted a major defeat on the EU Commission’s trade agenda on Wednesday, after narrowly passing a resolution that effectively delays ratification of the Mercosur trade pact, potentially for up to a year. 

Canada's prime minister Mark Carney had a proposal at Davos — 'middle states' should work together, not taking sides between the US, Russia or China, but defending free trade and international law. This is a nice idea, but the question is whether it is powerful enough to calm the world and restore some order to the chaos.

Across Europe, mayors and local councillors are facing a disturbing rise in harassment, threats, disinformation, and even physical violence. These aren’t isolated incidents — they are a growing pattern. And they’re not 'just politics'. They are deliberate attempts to silence, intimidate, and push people out of public life, warns the Council of European Municipalities and Regions.

A French banker inside Euroclear, who flew to Russia 155 times for "private" reasons, allegedly tried to connect the company's CEO, Valérie Urbain, with Russian spies and threatened her when she declined, according to an investigation by EUobserver, Humo, De Morgen, and Dossier Center.

Today, we kick off an anniversary campaign to convince new supporting members to join EUobserver's mission of providing the information citizens need to safeguard EU democracy.