European Union

In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about how the EU member states reacted to the European Union-wide assessment of the rule of law, as well as other news from the Capitals.

EU representatives have expressed readiness to mediate a dialogue between Serbia’s government and the opposition, said Zoran Lutovac, a representative of the United Opposition of Serbia (UOS), on Wednesday (30 September) in Belgrade. The date of the talks depends on...

A Double Taxation Convention would lead to many benefits when it comes to the taxation of all kinds of income and to the improvement of conditions for boosting bilateral trade, said Croatian Finance Minister Zdravko Marić . “This is a...

After the reshuffle of the Polish government the number of ministries has decreased from 20 to 14. Some of the functioning ministries will be expanded with additional departments. The reconstruction will also see familiar faces come back into government. PiS...

A group of 139 asylum seekers, 53 unaccompanied minors along with children with serious health problems and their families, left the Greek islands on Wednesday (30 September) in order to be transferred to Germany. Rather than being a European solution,...

The Greek government is very pleased with the visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the announcements he made from the Souda port-military base in Crete. Pompeo had chosen to visit Greece twice in a very short period...

Spain’s health ministry warned on Wednesday of a “high risk of uncontrolled” virus transmission in some regions, including in the capital city of Madrid, which is one of the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, EFE reported. The risk is...

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio in Rome on Wednesday (30 September). “We are counting on the influence the US has on Libya and other international actors...

Britain will work with Republican President Trump or his opponent Democrat Biden in order to clinch a US trade deal, trade minister Liz Truss said on Wednesday (30 September), declining to comment directly on a chaotic first US presidential debate....

Health Minister Olivier Véran is expected to announce on Thursday (1 October) new government measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. The French capital, which has already reached a stage where it could fall into a high alert zone, fears...

The Finnish government had not by Wednesday evening (30 September) commented on the Commission’s Report. However, it would be safe to predict that the country would welcome the report. The rule of law has traditionally been high on Finland’s agenda,...

At the same time, Hungary’s parliament has warned it will withhold its consent for the EU’s recovery plan if there is a proposal to link the bloc’s funds to rule-of-law criteria. Read more. The Hungarian government said “Hungary is one...

With regard to Poland, the European Commission’s report states that justice system reforms introduced in 2015 raise serious concerns, noting that these reforms affected the Constitutional Tribunal, Supreme Court, common courts, National Council of the Judiciary and the prosecutor, which,...

As expected, Poland and Hungary said they have serious reservations regarding the report’s concept, methodology and sources of content. It cannot serve as a basis for the discussions on the rule of law in the EU, said Polish Justice Minister...

Greece looks for EU support this week in tough upcoming talks with Turkey after securing a diplomatic boost from the visiting US secretary of state.

Bulgaria’s Justice Minister Desislava Akhladova and the ruling GERB party described the European Commission’s report as “positive and objective”, despite it stating that there are no solid results in the fight against corruption and that most Bulgarian media outlets serve...

“Romania has long argued that we need such a report, instead of the CVM, which discriminates between Romania and Bulgaria and the other member states.” President Klaus Iohannis told reporters on Wednesday (30 September), confirming that the government agrees with...

EU leaders meet physically for an extraordinary summit in Brussels on Thursday (1 October) in an attempt to break the deadlock over imposing sanctions on Belarus and resolving a standoff with Turkey, both crucial for the EU's credibility on the international scene.

The European Commission has laid out plans to boost the education of citizens in digital skills across the bloc, as part of a drive that it hopes will aid Europe's long-term economic stability while the continent rebounds from the after-effects of the coronavirus crisis.

The only plausible exit strategy for our current global challenges is science and innovation. We need EU funding for science and innovation more than ever… yet the Council wants to cut Horizon Europe, warn Pascal Lamy and Carlos Moedas.