Euobserver.com

Given the rapid pace of digitalisation, the EU has rushed to set and regulate digital standards. Many new initiatives are led by Margrethe Vestager, EU commissioner for competition, who says the focus must be on making technology work for people.

What's a credible dystopian nightmare for a leading writer on AI and Big Data? "It's going to be the size of a mosquito and it'll be an aerial drone".

The inflationary "threat" is a favourite bogeyman of conservative and neoliberal economists. For them it's a question of defending savers and wealth and preparing the ground for austerity policies. This vision fails to identify the actual reasons behind price rises.

EU parliament president Roberta Metsola blamed "malign actors linked to autocratic third countries" for the Qatargate corruption scandal. But the parliament's Bureau has for years seeded a culture of impunity where MEPs can get away with almost anything.

The threat to civil society organisations protecting human rights now not just from Russia, Turkey, Hungary and Poland but also from elected governments in states whose democracies appear healthy, such as France, Greece, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

The European Union has impressive digital ambitions and an equally-impressive array of initiatives, proposals, directives and regulations, all designed to make the bloc 'fit for the digital age'. But what do they all mean — and will they all work?

Almost 16,000 European arrests warrants were issued in 2020, compared to just over 20,000 in 2019, according to a European Commission document.

"The Chinese Mission to the EU and I look forward to reaching out to EU partners and interlocutors from all sectors with an open heart and open arms."

A majority in Czechia, Hungary, and Poland are open to their countries hosting Ukrainian refugees, according to a survey by Globsec, the Bratislava-based think tank, published last week.

Russia and Serbia are preparing to stir up trouble in the Western Balkans to divert attention from Russia's losses in Ukraine, Kosovo's prime minister has warned.

Former EU home affairs commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos held meetings with EU commission vice-presidents at a time when he was being paid by Fight Impunity, an NGO linked to the Qatari corruption allegations.

EU member states on Tuesday voiced support for an ambitious nature restoration law which will set legally binding targets for nature restoration for 20 percent of Europe's land and sea area's by 2030.

Take 'Qatargate'. European Parliament president Roberta Metsola has artfully shifted the blame for the EU's epic bribery scandal on nasty "autocratic third countries" which (surprise, surprise) hate democracy.

The parallels between the two leaders can be seen in the campaign to denigrate and delegitimise political opposition and ethnic minorities, attempts to muzzle the independent judiciary, exploitation of religion to promote nationalism, and efforts to co-opt extreme rightwing parties.

"Erdoğan got the answer to his blackmail," exiled Turkish journalist Bülent Keneş has said after Sweden snubbed Turkey's extradition demand.

More than half of registered trafficking victims are EU nationals, with most sold off for sex, said the European Commission. Most are registered in Romania, followed by Germany and the Netherlands.

Energy ministers on Monday met for a final push to agree on a gas price-cap before the end of the year.

In a nutshell, we have more than 100 million young Europeans who are using an app that snoops on personal data, relays information to Beijing and has direct control over what users see in their feeds.

On Monday, we will also find out of there is a deal among European Parliament and EU government negotiators on the agreement to reform the bloc's Emissions Trading System (ETS) and on the Social Climate Fund.

All the articles you should not have missed this week.