European Union

Young women such as Greta Thunberg and Sanna Marin made a name for themselves in 2019. But established politicians like Jacinda Ardern and Ursula von der Leyen also figured prominently in the headlines. Is this the dawn of the age of women?

With Brexit, the UK will become the first country to leave the EU next year. Many see this as the climax of a long-standing process of alienation within the European community of states. The press discusses the cracks that divide the continent today, and how they could be filled.

EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan told the Irish Times newspaper that he was seeking to reset trade relations with the United States during a planned visit in Washington in January. "I will be seeking a reset of the EU/US trade relationship on issues like tariffs on steel and aluminium and the threat of US tariffs in response to a digital tax in Europe, " he said.

the UK chancellor of the exchequer Sajid Javid said the government will provide €3.4bn of funding over two years to support farmers as Britain leaves the European Union. "When we leave the EU and are freed from the Common Agricultural Policy, we will be able to support our vital rural communities," he said in a statement. EU funding accounted for over 60 percent of UK farmers' average income in 2014-17.

Jacques Vandenschrik, the president of the European Food Banks Federation, was quoted in the Guardian newspaper saying the EU's long-term budget proposal seeks to cut almost 50 percent of the €3.8bn in funding to feed the poorest in an effort to offset Brexit bills. "The explanation is that the overall budget of Europe needs to be tightened up. Brexit is one of the arguments," he said.

David McAllister, the German centre-right chair of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee, told the Hanover-based RND news portal on Sunday that the return of an independent Scotland into the European Union would be "presumably shorter" when compared to outside candidates. "Scottish institutions are already asking me whether I can be their contact person in Brussels after Brexit," he said.

Poland has cried out for EU solidarity after Russian president Vladimir Putin spoke of Poles as "anti-Semitic pigs" who "colluded" with Hitler.

The outgoing head of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, warns companies and financial institutions that fossil fuel assets will potentially be "worthless".

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Sunday (29 December) condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for blaming Poland for the outbreak of the Second World War, saying Moscow was lying to deflect attention from recent failures.

Italy will delay to early 2020 the presentation of a plan to sell its stake in Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the Treasury said on Sunday (29 December), as the bank struggles to shed bad loans.

Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists in the country's war-torn east exchanged 200 prisoners on Sunday, swapping detained fighters for civilians and servicemen held captive in some cases for years in two breakaway regions.

Turkey unveiled its first fully domestically-produced car on Friday (27 December), saying it aimed to eventually produce up to 175,000 a year of the electric vehicle in a project expected to cost 22 billion lira (€3.3 billion) over 13 years.

More frequent extreme weather events, increasing political nationalism and growing economic inequality are making sustainable development goals harder to achieve. EURACTIV looked at the work of four frontier researchers to explore how a more sustainable future could look like.