
Will Michel lead on lobbying transparency at Council?
Few people know that the code of conduct for the European Council president is substantially weaker than the code of conduct for commissioners.
Friday
6th Dec 2019
Few people know that the code of conduct for the European Council president is substantially weaker than the code of conduct for commissioners.
Fundamental reforms are needed if the EIB is to become more accountable, democratic and transparent. Establishing a firm grasp on corruption to ensure that public money no longer feeds corrupt systems is a vital first step.
Europe's bee population is dying. The number of pollinator species threatened by extinction is increasing each year, and human activity is the main cause.
For a long time, Europe's strategic chattering class has been wondering what would happen if you took the US out of Europe's security architecture.
If European countries want a strong role in this new order, they must redefine sovereignty and update it. This means that only if Europeans are prepared to pool power, they can help lay the foundations for new international institutions.
We interviewed 18 Syrian refugees in Turkey by phone. They all said Turkish authorities had arbitrarily detained them in immigration removal centres and forced them to sign forms they were not allowed to read but believed were voluntary repatriation forms.
The EU's eastern neighbourhood is in flux. The collapse of the pro-reform government in Moldova and the stagnation of anti-corruption reforms in Ukraine was recently followed yet by another political crisis in Georgia.
An open letter to EU leaders from Maltese MEP David Casa on the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder case and prime minister Joseph Muscat.
So many things are happening in Europe that many of us will have missed the small political earthquake that took place in Switzerland recently.
There is a significant risk that Nato will be weaker and more divided after the London meeting than it was before. What was supposed to be a low-key celebration of the 70th anniversary takes place against multiple crises.
Ahead of its summit in London this week, Nato foreign ministers confirmed the intention to make space an "operational domain" – alongside air, land, sea, and cyber. The move will bring space within the scope of the alliance's collective-defence commitment.
EU has to decide whether it wants to go down in history as a force for peace by aligning itself with victims or to be remembered on the side of an apartheid government that slaughtered a defenceless people with impunity.
As the share of the EU in the global economy shrinks, the soft power of its economic instruments and the attraction of the internal market is destined to decline.
On Wednesday (27 November), European ambassadors will discuss plans to set up a European Peace Facility (EPF) to provide up to €10.5bn for EU military operations and security assistance.
I want to make use of my right of reply and take the opportunity to rectify the numerous slanders and unfounded accusations against King Leopold II and the Belgians who created and developed the Congo.
On Wednesday (26 Novebmer), MEPs will finally cast their votes on the proposed new European Commission, headed by Ursula von der Leyen. For Renew Europe, there will be no 'carte blanche'.
Paris is, by default, now steering the EU's overall policy agenda toward the Western Balkans. This seems to be the opening volley and test bed for Macron's goal of recalibrating the entire EU agenda.
The Hong Kong special administrative region government is open to frank and candid exchanges with groups from all sides. Our priority is to end the violence and restore calm.
Member states have different positions towards China - on which some countries are economically dependent.
We are aware that the normalisation of relations between Zimbabwe and the EU will take time. No-one can expect immediate miracles from what is only the beginning of the first ministerial level dialogue for 20 years, writes Zimbabwe's foreign minister.
As EU foreign affairs ministers meet in Brussels, we have seen unarmed protestors in Hong Kong shot at point blank range, others bloody and beaten, and then incarcerated over the border in mainland China in prison camps.
Over the years, both real and perceived levels of corruption in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia have remained high. The necessary reforms in those countries, to put it mildly, are not yet effectively carried out.
A letter to the president of the French Republic, from British Green MEP Magid Magid, following a visit to the refugee camps of Menton and Ventimiglia on the French/Italian border.
Beyond the Israel-specific dimension of this decision, the EU court places ethics back at the heart of European consumer choices and reminds us that our daily, mundane purchases may have considerable and unforeseen geopolitical implications, particularly as regards occupied territories.
There has been little substantial analysis, since the Macron veto, of why so much money and effort in the Balkans has failed to result in the political and economic transformation needed to prepare candidates for full membership.
The list of suspects orchestrating foreign influence campaigns is growing. The likes of China, Iran, India, Saudi Arabia are also tapping into Russia's disinfo playbook.
It is telling how often faraway dates feature in Europe's more successful projects: it creates momentum and focus for those that want to move forward. It also creates a sense of inevitability for those that need to move forward.
The Commission's proposal to revise the rules on which social security system covers workers when they cross borders, originally a technical clarification, has opened the floodgates for national interests to be put above workers' rights.
Turkey has more journalists behind bars than any other country in the world. The authorities seem to equate journalism with terrorism: everyone has the right to express themselves, but, in their eyes, legitimate journalism is a threat to security.
Enlargement has always propelled the EU's growth. On the contrary, every time the European Union closes its doors to potential new members, it chooses a path of decline, warns Ukraine's deputy PM, Dmytro Kuleba.
An explosive investigation by a Pulitzer-winning journalist has revealed how relatives of the Cambodian regime stashed tens of millions of dollars abroad using EU golden passports.
Momentous changes are underway in European intelligence, propelled by new technology, but is democratic accountability keeping up?
What if the EU can't guarantee European security? In times when US physical presence does not make up for its mental absence, the question got urgent.