European Union

Elevation of Juncker's right-hand man to a top post in the European Commission jeopardised "public trust", the EU ombudsman said, adding "maladministration" to charges of "coup" and "blackmail".

Facebook has been blocked in the Libyan capital of Tripoli and other cities, residents said on Monday (3 September) as fighting between rival groups raged.

Denmark's top bank handled up to €28bn of dodgy Russian funds in just one year, in what has the makings of the biggest money-laundering scandal in European history.

Former French president Francois Hollande has said in memories that Russian leader Vladimir Putin inadvertently admitted to having troops in Ukraine in ceasefire talks in Minsk in 2015. " The Russian president was so worked up, that he started threatening to decisively crush his [Ukrainian] counterpart's forces. This showed that there are Russian troops in eastern Ukraine. Putin suddenly realised, and got a grip on himself," Hollande's new book says.

A European Parliament plenary session on 11-14 March 2019 will be the last possible in order to endorse any Brexit deal on time, Polish MEP Danuta Hubner, head of the European parliament's constitutional affairs committee, told fellow MEPs Monday, Reuters reports. The parliament's meeting 25-28 March would be too late because the Council also must approve it, she said. The UK is set to leave the EU on 29 March.

Just tree weeks before a referendum on 30 September on Macedonia's name deal with Greece, a US embassy cable revealed by Wikileaks showed the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) was willing to accept the name Republic of Northern Macedonia or Republic of North Macedonia as early as 2008. The name dispute has blocked closer EU relations. Meanwhile, German chancellor Merkel announced a visit to Macedonia on 8 September.

Plans to extend the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) to transport gas from Azerbaijan via Greece and Albania to Puglia in Southern Italy will be discussed in a meeting between former British prime minister Tony Blair and Italy's interior minister Matteo Salvini, reports the Guardian. Smaller than the Nord Stream 2 gas project, TAP is meant to diversify European gas supply, making it less dependent on Russia.

Commission president Juncker promised in 2016 that rules relating to the approval of pesticides like glyphosate would be changed, but member states refuse to play ball.

China's massive and expanding "Belt and Road" trade infrastructure project is running into speed bumps as some countries begin to grumble about being buried under Chinese debt, says an analysis by AFP.

A top-level business alliance has called on UK and EU leaders to ensure Brexit includes a comprehensive Climate and Energy Chapter, amid worries about the UK's commitment to international climate policies after the country leaves the European Union.

A German far-left politician will launch today (4 September) a cross-party movement called "Stand up" (Aufstehen.de), modelled on the populist campaigns of US Senator Bernie Sanders and Britain's Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The longer Donald Trump stays in office, the higher the risk that anti-American forces will gain the upper hand in Germany and push it into the arms of Russia and China, veteran German diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger said in an interview.

Governments are unprepared for a crucial climate change meeting in Poland later this year aimed at ensuring the full implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement, Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said on Tuesday (4 September) at the opening of climate talks in Bangkok.

The lack of access to modern technologies combined with the fragile political landscape has put agriculture production in the EU under enormous pressure, at a time when other major farm markets in the world are growing, a new report has found.

Europe needs to develop competitors to tech giants like Facebook instead of introducing more regulation of the tech industry, EIT Digital CEO Willem Jonker told EURACTIV in an interview. 

Party leaders in the Italian coalition government signalled they will seek leeway from the EU to increase next year's budget deficit, heading on a collision course with the European Commission and investors who want it cut.

Cypriot marine police said they escorted 36 Syrian migrants ashore on Monday (3 September), at a time the authorities have raised concerns about an influx of boat people on the island.

Rapid technological advances cut inflation only marginally and temporarily, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said on Monday, weighing in on one of the biggest debates in modern central banking.

The British pound has fallen significantly against the euro, amid fears that the progress of the Brexit talks is stalling and may result in an unstable future for the UK.

EU executive asking member states for mandate to help US producers get a better share of imports of non hormone-treated meat.