European Union

The far-right anti-EU group Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) has announced the "creation of a new political group", scheduled for Thursday, listing MEPs from nine member parties. Those parties won 73 seats in total. It is unclear if the ENF name will change. The group now has for the first time Czech, Danish, Estonian, and Finnish MEPs. If all 73 MEPs join ENF, it will be the fifth-largest group.

It has been described as “the most ambitious” and progressive trade deal ever signed by the EU, but what does CETA do?

French president Emmanuel Macron has told Swiss broadcaster RTS that he would endorse German chancellor Angela Merkel to be the next European Commission president if she wanted the post. The EU "needs someone strong" at the top, he said Tuesday. "If she were to want it, I would support her," he added. Merkel herself has said she does not want to come to Brussels and will quit politics in 2021.

Italian leaders have said they hoped for compromise with the EU on overspending, despite agreeing a new flat tax on Tuesday likely to propel its debt beyond EU fiscal limits. "I don't think they'll go all the way", Italian duty prime minister Luigi di Maio said, referring to the risk of EU fines. "We hope Europe will allow Italy to return to growth," Italy's other deputy PM, Matteo Salvini, said.

Europe's credibility is at risk in the Western Balkans, half its member states have warned - but EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said Albania and North Macedonia unlikely to start accession talks soon.

News organisations are being challenged by technology giants and unsettled by a broader lack of trust but they have a much deeper problem: most people don't want to pay for online news, the Reuters Institute found.

Latvia's ruling coalition parties agreed on Tuesday to back Valdis Dombrovskis for a second term as the country's EU commissioner. "I'm honoured to be nominated," he wrote on Twitter, adding "I will work in the interest of a stronger Europe". Latvia's prime minister Krisjanis Karins is one of six PMs tasked to advise EU Council president Donald Tusk on who to appoint as the heads of the major EU institutions.

Representatives of the European political groups meet on Wednesday to formulate joint political priorities for their work in the new five-year term. The European Commission has already tabled a strategic agenda focusing on borders and migration, economy, climate and global interests. While two parties, EPP and S&D, held the majority in the previous parliament, three or four parties are needed to form a stable majority in the new assembly.

Small businesses will be hit disproportionately when the EU's Second Payment Services Directive, from September, requires all online transactions above €30 to be subject to a two-step verification procedure in order to reduce fraud. "If small firms can't comply, they can't compete and may relocate or fold," Michael Cocoman, payment platform Stripe's global head of regulatory affairs warned in Dublin on Tuesday, the Irish Times reported.

The European Union moved closer on Tuesday (11 June) to taking disciplinary action over Italy's growing debt, as authorities in Rome made tentative steps to avert a procedure that could saddle the country with large fines and alienate investors.

‘Horror show’ of Tory leadership campaign. As the race to be the next UK Prime Minister heats up, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon took aim at the current Conservative campaigning for Theresa May’s job on Tuesday, calling it a “horror show” and claiming that a hard Brexit would "increase the likelihood of Scotland becoming independent.”   

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday (11 June) that he would support German Chancellor Angela Merkel if she were to seek to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the European Commission.

President Donald Tusk congratulated Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on his victory in the presidential elections in Kazakhstan.

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.

A new community outbreak of Legionella in Belgium's Flanders region renewed public attention to the so-called Legionnaires' disease, which is increasing in the EU, according to the EU agency for infectious diseases control.

US President Donald Trump blamed the European Central Bank’s loose monetary policy for the high number of tourists arriving to Europe, and attacked once again the US Federal Reserve for keeping “ridiculous” high interest rates.

In one of her last acts as prime minister, Theresa May confirmed that parliament will implement the recommendations of the Committee on Climate Change, creating a legally binding net-zero carbon target for 2050. EURACTIV's partner, edie.net, reports.

Thousands of overlooked yet beneficial crop species are threatened unless we learn to conserve, farm and consume them, writes Juan Lucas Restrepo.

The kick-off of the eighth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ was not the only marquee occasion in France last week. On the eve of the tournament, a stellar line-up of global leaders from the worlds of football, politics, business and society assembled in Paris for the first FIFA Women’s Football Convention.

In his response, Dr Zoltan Kovacs does not even try to refute my main point about Hungary: that most Hungarian news media have been captured by the state, and that this anti-democratic trend is spreading across Eastern Europe.