European Union

The Week Ahead 24 – 30 June 2019

Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

The European Commission "confirms that it remains committed to the right to use cash as legal tender", commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis said in response to a question from Austrian centre-right MEP Lukas Mandl. The MEP was worried about media reports "about attempts to do away with cash". Dombrovskis stressed however "the fact that cash remains the most popular payment instrument in the EU".

The opposition between France and Germany over the appointment of the new European Commission president reflects their radically different political views. For France, the treaty and the best candidate matter the most, while for Germany, the priority is democracy. EURACTIV France reports.

Talks on the EU's top posts were stalemated at the Thursday summit in Brussels due to disagreement over election of a new EU Commission president, Danish prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters Friday. The three leading political parties focussed on promoting their own candidate, which "stalled the talks", he said. An extra summit on 30 June could "open the game" and "add new names", he said.

Luxembourg prime minister Xavier Bettel on Friday criticised the Spitzenkandidaten (lead candidate) system, saying that if Europe really wanted it to work, the name of the pan-European candidate should be on the ballot paper at the next European parliament elections in 2024. "In my country no one who voted Christian Democrat, did so for [Manfred] Weber," said a frustrated-looking Bettel, referring to the candidate of the centre-right European People's Party.

A "Europe that protects" - that is the promise EU leaders are trying to make to citizens and to themselves. But the reality shows, strategic thinking can easily fade into the background.

EU leaders have rolled over sanctions on Russia, while calling for justice on the MH17 air disaster, and for Russia to stop meddling in Ukraine.

EU visa bans and asset freezes in the air over Turkish gas drilling in Cypriot waters as Ankara sends a second ship into disputed zone.

A Polish judicial reform to lower the retirement age for judges is breaching EU laws, the European Court of Justice's advocate general said on Thursday. The law, introduced by Poland's conservative Law and Justice party in 2017, reduced retirement age for male judges from 67 to 65 and from 67 to 60 for female judges.

The Austrian province of Tyrol on Thursday restricted access to small roads used by drivers avoiding traffic and tolls on the highways. The ban will be applied on weekends during summer and comes despite the EU court ruling on Tuesday that a planned toll on German motorways for non-residents is illegal. Bavaria's transport minister Hans Reichhart (CSU) called on Brussels to "ensure free travel in Europe".

In the last decade, we have begun to witness a visible and organised backlash in gender equality and human rights across Europe.

US President Donald Trump approved military strikes on Friday (20 June) against Iran in retaliation for the downing of an unmanned $130-million surveillance drone, but pulled back from launching the attacks, the New York Times said.

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 daily newsletter here. /// EU leaders failed to reach an agreement in the early hours of Friday (21 June) on...

European Union leaders will urge finance ministers on Friday (21 June) to keep working on deeper euro zone integration as flagship ideas such as a euro zone budget or a deposit guarantee scheme either lack key elements or have not progressed at all.

The EU in the night to Friday (20 June) stepped up its rhetoric over Turkey's "illegal" drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus, raising the threat of sanctions if Ankara refuses to back down.

The European Council on 20 June 2019 adopted conclusions on the next institutional cycle, the MFF, climate change, disinformation and hybrid threats, external relations, the European Semester and enlargement.

The European Council on 20 June 2019 adopted conclusions on the MFF, climate change, disinformation and hybrid threats, external relations, enlargement and the European Semester.

The European Council on 20 June 2019 adopted a new strategic agenda for the EU for the years 2019-2024.

The Council extended the restrictive measures in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia until 23 June 2020.