European Union

Exit polls indicated on Sunday that the moderate Islamist party Ennahda would remain the largest party in parliamentary elections, despite a huge loss of votes. With 17.5 percent of the votes it would be two percent ahead of the Heart of Tunisia party of jailed media magnate and presidential candidate Nabil Karoui. He will participate in the second round of the presidential elections which will be held on 13 October.

Environment ministers agreed on Friday (4 October) to “update” the EU’s current emission reduction pledge next year but fell short of saying by how much. Ten countries blocked attempts by the others to commit outright to an increase there and then.

Thousands Ukrainians protested in Kiev on Sunday against a plan that would give the Donbass region more autonomy. Envoys from both Ukraine and Russia made an initial agreement to give the region a special status in order to end the five-year stalemate in the region. New Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said elections would be organised and Ukrainian soldiers would leave the moment Russian troops left the region.

The Capitals brings you the latest news from across Europe, through on-the-ground reporting by EURACTIV’s media network. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.

As Josep Borrell faces questions from MEPs, a report from Amnesty International finds the EU's commitment to protect and support human rights defenders in its foreign policy is not consistently upheld - not between nor even within countries.

The Spanish government summoned the US ambassador to Spain, Duke Buchan, on Friday (4 October) to express its opposition to the new tariff increases announced by the Trump Administration. EURACTIV’s partner EFE reports.

Vesselin Mareshki gained international prominence when French far-right leader Marine le Pen chose him as her political ally in Bulgaria. But things started to go wrong when Mareshki lost the European elections in May. Now, judges have recognised him as the mastermind of a cross-border network of medicine traffickers.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a UN agency, decided on Friday (4 October) to press ahead with plans to make its own emissions offsetting scheme the only option available to its 193 member states.

Since the start of the financial and economic crises in 2008/2009, the EU project has lost a considerable part of its standing. A recent forum has raised ideas for reversing the decline of the EU’s ranking in the global arena. Dušan Reljić explains how.

French and German attempts to end the conflict in east Ukraine risk increasing tensions that were already rising in the European Union over how to handle Russia and which could complicate peace efforts.

A parade of US diplomats will head to Capitol Hill for closed-door testimony this week as Democrats build their impeachment case against President Donald Trump, while the White House considers ways to slow down the process.

Thousands of people gathered in Kyiv's main square on Sunday (6 October) to protest against President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's deal with Moscow to grant autonomy to Ukraine's pro-Russian rebel-held east as part of efforts to end a five-year conflict there.

Electric vehicles are a massive talking point on the agenda for tackling climate change but what are the challenges facing large-scale deployment and how far can they take us to close the global emissions gap? Lucy Craig explains the situation.

Portugal's ruling Socialists won Sunday's (6 October) parliamentary election but fell short of an outright majority, meaning Prime Minister António Costa will need to negotiate a new deal with one or both of his far-left allies in the previous legislature.

Denmark, backed by 10 other European Union countries, on Friday (4 October) called for a strategy to phase out diesel and petrol cars, including allowing the ban of sales at national-level by 2030 to combat climate change. Denmark made the...

Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan and US President Donald Trump discussed Turkey's plans to establish a "safe zone" east of the Euphrates River in Syria in a phone call on Sunday (6 October), but the White House said US forces would not be involved.

The European Sunlight Association a.s.b.l. (ESA) was established to promote safe, controlled and informed use of sunbeds compliant with the relevant regulative framework.

There are rules in exploring energy resources in the Mediterranean Sea, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Saturday (5 October), warning Turkey not to engage in drilling activity that is "illegal" and "unacceptable".

Should lobbyists engage with far-right and extremist lawmakers?

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned against the “malign” influence of Russian trolls and Chinese investment during a brief tour through the Western Balkans on Friday (4 October). Washington frequently accuses Moscow of meddling in the region that sits...