Wednesday
16th Jan 2019
If the European parliament votes in favour of the new Morocco agreement without knowing that it complies with the European Court of Justice judgement, how can it demand that other countries respect international law and their own courts?
Transparency remains an essential instrument to remedy the present crisis of trust in the institutions. Accepting its fading away will be extremely damaging.
The murder of two Scandinavian backpackers in the Atlas mountains before Christmas shocked the EU.
Though we would never admit it, the only difference between Trump and the EU is we don't need a wall - because we're 'fortunate' enough to have the Mediterranean.
If misinformation in the field of migration can bring a government down, as in the recent case of Belgium following the country's adoption of the UN migration pact, then it can doubtless produce a populist majority in the European parliament.
The EU needs to get its act together as US leader Donald Trump continues to wreck the global order.
With US forces leaving, there is a realistic scenario that Turkey would seize the opportunity to invade Rojava, killing the aspirations of the Kurds for autonomy in a federal Syria in the future, similar to the situation in Iraq.
There is room for cautious optimism in Slovakia, but the chilling effects of Jan Kuciak's murder may be felt for some time and continued international scrutiny is important.
In response to the EUobserver article Muscat's one-man rule poses problems for EU.
The Kosovan deputy PM calls on Nato members to follow the US in supporting the enlargement of the Kosovo Securitiy Force. "Kosovo owes it to both its own people and the international community to take this step", Behgjet Pacolli says.
Sometimes in chess, a sacrifice brings victory. Theresa May should pay heed to the example of Slovakia's premier, Iveta Radicova, who sacrificed her job in order to get difficult euro bailout legislation through the Bratislava parliament.
New rules are needed that do not place the heaviest burdens on a few countries, but ensure that all countries benefit from the euro. Avoiding imbalances in trade between countries can do this.
As Europe heads into election year, EU leaders need to secure the vote from social media manipulation and foreign attacks.
Labour MP Diana Johnson has brought a private members bill to Westminster that proposes to decriminalise abortion in the whole of the UK, which means that, if successfully passed, current provisions for Northern Ireland will also be repealed.
Europe must make sure that its current dependence on fossil fuels is not replaced by another one: on primary raw materials coming from outside our continent.
It is obvious that Babis´s family is benefiting from the economic success of Agrofert, which in turn is influenced by its receipt of EU funds and subsidies, even if Andrej himself is not named.
Most migrants, like most European citizens, would rather have proper contracts, pay taxes and benefit from the social services rather than toil in the fields for up to 15 hours a day, in dangerous conditions, for meagre pay.
At COP24 climate talks in Katowice, Poland, four out of the six newly-announced sponsors are coal and gas companies, including Europe's largest coking coal producer JSW.
The European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, has yet to be heard on the forced eviction of the Central European University from Budapest to Vienna. Just months before crucial European parliament elections, EU leaders should not shy away from this debate.
It's not surprising that a handful of nationalist European governments – Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Italy – have followed Trump's lead in rejecting the UN's migration pact, to be formally adopted in Marrakech next week.
Why all the fuss? You might not like their political views but let the Italian government implement some pro-growth reforms because austerity did not work in jumpstarting their economy.
On Thursday (December 6), the constitutional affairs committee of the European Parliament will finally have a crucial vote on changes to rules of procedure that govern MEPs. It's success - or failure - will largely depend on the EPP.
One year ago, the European Union published its first ever blacklist of tax havens. It is crucial that EU governments help end the era of tax havens to ensure the billions currently hidden from public coffers.
Hard to comprehend why European automobile industry is pushing politicians into drastically speeding up transition away from the private car.
The finances and opulent lifestyles of Kremlin linked Oligarchs should be scrutinised fiercely in line with EU money laundering legislation.
The Visegrad Four would be wise to focus on how the lack of migrants could undermine their economic models, future prosperity and welfare.
Backsliding on rule of law and democracy have led to EU penalties for Moldova - a former success story for EU policy in the former Soviet region.
EU funding of military research will not be without consequence. It will likely fuel an arms race.
Orban's Hungary will edge closer to Russia and cause discord within its Western alliances if it gets away with harbouring a convicted ex-PM.
Vladimir Putin's nightmare of Petro Poroshenko's re-election will be even certain as Ukrainians rally around the flag. Next March's election is not just to elect a new president but also a commander-in-chief to deal with five more years of Putin.
With parliament and member states both demanding action, a rare alliance has formed. If ever there was a popular, immediately effective and easy piece of regulation, it is this. So who at the Berlaymont is blocking a legal proposal?
EU foreign ministers meets on Monday to discuss the most contentious part - private finance tools - of aid in the 2021-2027 budget. We believe private companies have a role - but with strict conditions.
After the fleeing of ex-PM Nikola Gruevski to Hungary, what Macedonia needs is an independent judiciary so that wrongdoers from all parties are brought behind bars, and a reconciliation between Albanians and Macedonians, based on full equality between communities.
