
Secret EU lawmaking: the triumph of the trialogues
The setting could not be less spectacular – but trilogue meetings are a central hub of the EU's law-making machine.
Friday
29th Sep 2023
The setting could not be less spectacular – but trilogue meetings are a central hub of the EU's law-making machine.
Political parties facing multiple corruption charges are hoping for a grand comeback at Saturday's snap elections in Slovakia —which could also lead to a reversal of the central European country's position on Ukraine and Russia.
While Belarus has not sent its own troops to fight Russia's war in Ukraine, the Minsk dictatorship has been heavily involved. As a result, Belarus must be punished for its involvement — what can the world do to sanction Belarus?
Classified files can damage EU interests if they get into the wrong hands. But where is the line between security and transparency? What is the difference between a lobbyist and a spy? EUobserver investigates.
"SECRET UE" is the fourth in a series of EUobserver investigative reports. It looks at what kind of high-value information the EU institutions have, who wants it and how they are trying to protect it.
Andrew Rettman writes about foreign relations for EUobserver. He joined the site in 2005 and specialises in Israel, Russia, the EU foreign service and security issues. He is 37 years old and was born in Warsaw, Poland.
A plan to cut spending on IT security in the EU diplomatic corps is causing concern among officials who handle classified files.
EU countries have a protocol for sharing official "secrets." But motives for classifying files are not always pure and the number of really hush hush papers in Brussels is tiny.
Lobby firms are the "eyes and ears" of their clients, with the daily hunt for EU information worth up to 70 percent of their business.
The head of Belgium's intelligence service has said Brussels is home to more spies than almost any other city.
EUobserver's list of 144 lobby firms in Brussels, with financial data where available.
With Belgium's spy-catcher-in-chief speaking out on espionage in the EU capital, TargetBRUSSELS and EUobserver profile recent cases which came out in the open.
Full transcript of EUobserver interview with Alain Winants, the head of the Belgian intelligence service, the VSSE, on espionage in Brussels.