European Union

The latest shake-up in Hungarian media since Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's election win in April sparked fresh fears Tuesday (18 September) about increasing government control over the sector.

People's Vote, a group seeking a second Brexit referendum, said Tuesday there were six scenarios to another plebiscite, including parliament's rejection of the deal, or snap elections. "MPs ... could yet reject it [Brexit]," they said. A study by Oxford Economics the same day said if EU migrants were forced out in a no-deal Brexit, the UK would need a five percent income tax increase to offset their tax contributions.

US President Donald Trump called EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker "nasty" on Tuesday (18 September) - but it was meant as a compliment.

EU negotiator warned that UK and EU needed to agree on how to avoid a hard border in Ireland, as talk swirls on a possible Brexit summit in November.

Germany will choose where to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal by the end of 2018 as a gesture to the United States, which wants to ship more gas to Europe, the Bundesrepublik's economy minister said on Tuesday (18 September).

As Europe and the wider world begins to wake up to the need to cut emissions, Dr Kirill Komarov argues that tackling climate change will see the use of nuclear energy grow in the coming years, not as a competitor to renewables but as a competitor to coal.

As expected, opposition leader Christian Kern said yesterday (18 September) he would run as top candidate for the Austrian Social Democrats in the European Parliament elections next year, aiming to help build a strong counterweight to growing nationalist forces.

The EU commission is expected to refer Poland to the EU's top court over firing supreme court judges, but Warsaw refused to commit on Tuesday that it will implement future EU court rulings.

Vladislava Gubalova argues that Visegrad countries should not be considered as having caught up with older EU members, while taking aim at Sofia for attracting too much financing.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) will discuss on Wednesday (19 September) the next multi-annual financial framework (MFF) with budget commissioner Günter Oettinger. EESC President Luca Jahier told EURACTIV.com that the long-term budget for 2021-2027 should be increased to 1.3% of EU’s GDP.

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (18 September) the United States is considering a request from Poland for a permanent US military presence in the fellow NATO country, acknowledging that he shares Poland's concerns about possible Russian aggression.

The EU’s financial support for African peace and security policies “has had a poor effect and needs refocusing,” the European Court of Auditors said in a report published on Tuesday (18 September).

A leaked internal memo, obtained by EURACTIV, gives a rare glimpse into the communication strategy of Europe's main business lobby group ahead of the COP24 conference later this year, showing how it plans to “oppose” any increase in the EU's climate ambition for 2030.

The informal Salzburg summit will be an opportunity for Austria to breath some life into the bridge building catchphrase, and to act as honest broker to find common ground.

Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain and the European Union were nearing a divorce deal but called on the bloc to show "goodwill and determination" to avoid a disorderly Brexit and secure a close future partnership.

Greece's migration minister on Tuesday (18 September) pledged to improve living conditions for migrants in camps on islands in the Aegean Sea, where he said arrivals had doubled this summer.

The EU issued a financial tracking report on progress against the pledges made at the Brussels II conference on "Supporting the future of Syria and the region".

The Council endorsed the priorities of the UN-EU Strategic Partnership on peace operations and crisis management for the period 2019-2021.

The Council extended until 30 September 2020 the mandate of the mission EUCAP Sahel Niger.

The Council appointed Susanna Terstal as EU Special Representative for the Middle East peace process.