A group of former EU commissioners, national ministers, UN rapporteurs have warned EU policymakers that the bloc’s plans to water down environmental and human rights regulations would be a “backward step”.

EU member state negotiators agreed to scale back the Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), limiting it to corporate giants with at least 5,000 staff and €1.5bn in turnover. Only six member states have companies large enough to fall under the revised law: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Spain.

Nato allies are expected to agree to raise defence spending target to five percent of GDP at the Hague summit. But previous broken promises and Spain’s reluctance highlight growing tensions between military demands and protecting domestic social welfare budgets.

Legal scholars have dubbed it a "sleeping beauty" — a potent yet practically unused EU Parliament instrument akin to the EU's own Article 7, designed to safeguard the rule of law and the integrity of its institutions.

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.

Russian spies are still active in the EU capital and have a "higher risk appetite" than before the Ukraine war — despite Belgium's efforts to push back against their plots.