Merkel rules out 'agreement at any price'

​The European Union is expected to add Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Israel and Russia to a so-called grey-list of tax-havens, in a public relations blow.

The European Commission is asking French authorities to explain whether they authorised the sale of cyber-surveillance tools to the regime in Egypt, posing questions over possible violations of EU export rules.

The inquiry could uncover the extent to which EU governments use the smartphone spyware against critics and political opponents.

If the EU institutions adopted a single working language, couldn't the substantial amount of money saved on translation services be put to good use: such as protecting and preserving the many endangered languages of Europe?

Ahead of the EU-AU summit, Europe seems rather optimistic, while the African side is much more cautious. The water between both sides of the Mediterranean is still deep.

For many Europeans it may be weird to hear German citizens tell phone-in programmes that "with weapons you cannot create peace" - as if Ukraine would be wrong to defend itself against an enormous military threat posed by Russia.