European Union

Commission President Jean Claude Juncker may be interested in sitting down with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Osaka on 28-29 June, according to Russian ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov. 

EU Council President Donald Tusk on Monday (17 June) accused the governing conservatives from his home country of Poland of exploiting state institutions for political purposes and propaganda.

Two regional summits held in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan last week had a common denominator: the support from Russia and China to Iran in the face of US threats after two oil tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman.

EU trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said on Monday (17 June) that a trade agreement with Mercosur countries could be concluded by the end of this mandate but “not at any price” as other trade partners await the outcome with “great attention”.

UPDATE: The European Commission warned EU countries today (18 June) that draft national plans for the coming decade are insufficient to achieve the bloc’s 2030 energy and climate targets. "Substantial" gaps have been identified on renewables and energy efficiency.

Now is the time to be bold in our approach and for leaders to take a positive and decisive stance in welcoming refugees.

Despite securing a place among the very few European leaders with a landslide victory under their belt in the EU election, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán is not celebrating, write Balázs Jarábik and Dániel Bartha.

FoodDrinkEurope is ready to step up to the plate!

The decision-making for the top jobs in the European institutions bears some similarity to how Roman Catholic Cardinals elect the new Pope. There is a lot of unpredictability and a long wait for the outcome of a less than transparent process.

"Systemic failings" marked by serious operational and transparency shortcomings, electoral security problems and a low turnout was the verdict of the European Union’s election observers on February’s presidential, parliamentary and governorship elections.

The guessing games have come to an end as Austria's former Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache announced on Monday (17 June) he will remain politically active in Vienna and won't take up his MEP seat in Brussels. An analysis by Herbert Vytiska for EURACTIV Germany.

With the current Socialist & Democrats group leader, Germany's Udo Bullman pulling out of the race, Spanish MEP Iratxe Garcia is likely to become the next leader of the second biggest group in the European Parliament.

A number of newly elected members of the European Parliament committed to joining forces in the upcoming five-year term in fighting disinformation, during an event organised by EURACTIV foundation.

Will the EU honour its word to Tirana and Skopje or will Brussels – not for the first time – leave the Western Balkans stewing in its own juice? All eyes are on the reaction of EU foreign ministers to last week's inflammatory rhetoric by two Balkan leaders, writes Denis MacShane.

The EU commission will discuss on Tuesday a deal over its future relationship with Switzerland, but is not expected to make a proposal on extending the Swiss stock exchange's access to the EU market, which expires at the end of June. "At this stage, we do not anticipate decisions will be taken, but a lot can change," a commission spokeswoman said. The two sides held inconclusive talks last week.

The Green Energy Platform, led by the think tank Farm Europe, organised a workshop in Brussels on Wednesday (12 June) to present the results of the ‘2030 Transport Decarbonisation Options’ study, conducted by the consultancy firm Navigant.

Slower oil demand growth in 2019 is expected to lead to a glut of oil next year, which could have significant impacts on energy prices in Europe.

The European Parliament concluded the last plenary session of its 8th term on 18th April

Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Austrian far-right ex-leader Heinz-Christian Strache, who quit as vice-chancellor over a video showing him offering to fix state contracts to someone who posed as a Russian oligarch, said Monday he would not take up a European Parliament seat. He stepped down as the Freedom Party's leader last month after German media published the secretly filmed 2017 footage. Strache got enough preferential votes to get a seat in the parliament.

Germany, France and Spain inked on Monday (17 June) a framework agreement for the joint construction of Europe's largest arms project to date, the so-called Future Air Combat System (FCAS).