EU women promised new dawn under anti-violence pact
The EU is meant to become a safer place for women from Sunday (1 October), as the Istanbul Convention enters into force.
Column
Will Poles vote for the end of democracy?
International media must make clear that these are not fair, democratic elections. The flawed race should be the story at least as much as the race itself.
Opinion
Orbán's 'revenge law' is an Orwellian crackdown on education
On Tuesday, the Hungarian parliament passed a troubling piece of legislation known by its critics as the 'revenge law', which aims to punish and intimidate teachers who dare to defy Viktor Orbán's regime. This law is a brutally oppressive tool.
Latest News
- EU ministers go to Kyiv to downplay fears on US, Slovak aid
- Hoekstra faces tough questioning to be EU Green chief
- Frontex shared personal data of NGO staff with Europol six times
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- Slovak's 'illiberal' Fico victory boosts Orbán, but faces checks
- European Political Community and key media vote This WEEK
- Is the ECB sabotaging Europe's Green Deal?
- The realists vs idealists Brussels battle on Ukraine's EU accession
Poland and Malta: EU capitals for legal harassment of journalists
Poland and Malta are the worst places in Europe for legal harassment of journalists, in what NGOs called a "worrying threat to democracy".
Fresh stink around former EU chief in tobacco affair
Knives are back out for Barroso, the former EU Commission chief, after a Belgian court found his top sleuth guilty of gross misconduct in the biggest EU scandal before Qatargate.
Hungary follows Turkey with new row on Sweden's Nato entry
Hungary is now threatening to halt Nato's war-time expansion over a 10-minute Swedish video-clip it doesn't like.
Sweden braces for fresh Koran burning
Another Koran burning is set to take place in Sweden on Thursday, risking Muslim anger and feeding Russian propaganda.
Security controls reinforced in Sweden after Koran burning
Denmark and Sweden countries are at the centre of a heated debate over religious sensitivities and freedom of expression which have sparked concerns over the potential risks to national security.
Column
What's the point of the OSCE if everyone just ignores it?
The governments that spend all that money on the OSCE? They shrugged and sent congratulatory telegrams to Turkey's president Erdoğan regardless. Same in Poland: twice the OSCE found its elections violated international norms for democratic elections. Reaction? Zero.
MEPs' integrity vote skirts binding anti-corruption reforms
MEPs on Thursday passed another integrity resolution on the European Parliament that is unlikely to have any practical effect. The non-binding resolution is among a series of similar declarations passed by the European Parliament since the 'Qatargate' scandal.
Poland and Hungary still lagging, says annual EU rule-of-law report
Poland has made little progress on the rule of law, while Hungary made only marginal improvements, says a new European Commission report.
Hungary all-but drops objection to Sweden's Nato bid
Hungary has all-but dropped its veto on Sweden's Nato entry, as Turkey dials down rhetoric despite a Koran-burning scandal.
Far right in Italy and Spain target rainbow families and flags
Prison terms of up to three years and fines of up to €1m for Italians who use foreign surrogate mothers in draft new Italian law.
Column
Cultural issues divide people, social issues unite them
Some pictures are hard to forget, such as that of a black street cleaner in Paris in a fluorescent vest, sweeping up rubbish left the night before by young, petit bourgeois protesters.
Opinion
Big Oil lobbyists should be banned from climate summits
How do we justly exit the era of fossil fuels when climate summits and EU officials stay surrounded by Big Oil lobbyists?
Interview
Belgian bâtonnier on Russia: 'You can have a client you don't like'
With many of Russia's EU lawyers based in Brussels, Belgian bar chief Plasschaert explains why he'd work on an anti-sanctions case: "There are no good or bad clients, the only duty of a lawyer is to defend their client".
EU's proposed ethics body 'toothless', say campaigners
Transparency campaigners say the new ethics body proposed by the European Commission will do little to prevent corruption at the EU institutions. The proposal comes six months after allegations of a Qatari corruption affair involving a former European Parliament vice-president.
Stakeholders' Highlights
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- Global interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
Investigation
EU lawyers for Russia: making 'good' money?
Meet the Russian oligarchs' number one go-to man for overturning EU sanctions: bespectacled, 56-year old Belgian attorney Thierry Bontinck.
Top EU court rules Poland's court reforms 'infringe law'
The total bill for the Polish government for not amending its disciplinary scheme for judges is €556m. The EU Commission has already deducted €360m from transfers of EU funds to Poland.
Opinion
Why Hungary cannot be permitted to hold EU presidency
Just think of the creative ways in which autocratic leaders aligned with Viktor Orbán would gain more access to the EU.
EU data protection chief launches Frontex investigation
Warsaw-based Frontex is likely violating rights by data dumping migrant testimonies with the EU's police agency Europol, according to a data protection authority.
Madrid steps up bid to host EU anti-money laundering hub
Next year, the EU will have a new anti-money laundering agency. Madrid has offered its tallest skyscraper rent-free, but other cities are also in the running.
MEPs pile on pressure for EU to delay Hungary's presidency
MEPs have adopted a non-binding resolution that "questions" if Hungary is fit to hold the EU's presidency in the second half of 2024, given persistent concerns over the country's democratic backsliding.
Germany unsure if Orbán fit to be 'EU president'
Germany has raised doubts on Hungary's 2024 EU presidency, amid an European Parliament vote on rethinking prime minister Viktor Orbán's eligibility.
EU Parliament chief given report on MEP abuse 30 weeks before sanction
EU Parliament head Roberta Metsola knew final details of a harassment case more than 30 weeks before she sanctioned the accused MEP.
Exclusive
EU to blacklist nine Russians over jailing of dissident
The Kremlin's main tormentor of 'foreign agents' is to join an EU blacklist for sending dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza to die in jail.
EU criminal complicity in Libya needs recognition, says expert
EU and Italian complicity in crimes against humanity in Libya has yet to grip the public debate among EU circles, says the lead author of a new European Parliament study.
Investigation
Europe's missing mails
How the EU Commission and national governments delete official emails and text messages — creating areas of decision-making without oversight and control.
MEPs to urge block on Hungary taking EU presidency in 2024
"This will be the first time a member state that is under the Article 7 procedure will take over the rotating presidency of the council," French Green MEP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, the key lawmaker on Hungary, warned.
MEPs urge Orbán to act to unblock EU money
MEPs tasked with controlling spending of EU funds said they continued to have "great concerns" on how Hungary is handling EU money and called on prime minister Viktor Orbán's government to implement the necessary reforms to unblock suspended EU funds.
Plans take shape for EU anti-money laundering hub
Detailed plans are taking shape for the EU's new anti-money laundering agency, which is to have a beehive of secure offices around a massive meeting room.
Exclusive
Details emerge of first-ever EU sanctions on corruption
New EU sanctions against foreign kleptocrats should take into account the size of bribes taken and be decided by majority, instead of unanimity, details of the proposals say.
MEPs push for world's toughest rules on AI
The aim is "to avoid a controlled society based on AI, instead to make AI support more freedom and human development, not a securitarian nightmare" a key MEP on the file said.
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- Think-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
