European Union

The relatively-new Spitzenkandidat process means the commission will be led by a political candidate, and thus it instantly becomes more political. But is that the desired effect?

The US oil and gas giant hosted Cypriot MEPs, Cyprus' highest EU diplomat and EU commissioner Christos Stylianides at a dinner in a private club in Brussels.

The dramatic drop of the Turkish lira on the currency markets has continued since Friday, with the exchange rate currently at over eight lira to the euro. Since the start of the year the Turkish currency has lost around 40 percent of its value against the euro and its downwards slide has now been accelerated by new tariffs and sanctions imposed by the US. What will the currency crash mean for Turkey and Europe?

Tens of thousands of demonstrators have been protesting in Romania since Friday, calling for the resignation of the social-liberal government which they say is corrupt. Many of the demonstrators live abroad and have returned expressly to take part in the protests. Commentators believe the political system in Romania is on the verge of collapse, and call on the EU to keep a closer eye on the country.

Angela Merkel and her Spanish counterpart Pedro Sánchez have agreed to collaborate more closely on the issue of migrants from North Africa. Morocco is to receive more money for border control measures while Spain will take back individual refugees heading for Germany. Can Berlin and Madrid give the starting signal for a new refugee policy with the deal?

A draft law put forward by the Hungarian government is set to ban universities in the country from offering courses in gender studies. The bill would affect the Central European University, financed by George Soros, as well as Eötvös Lóránd University in Budapest. While pro-government media are thrilled to see traditional values being protected, others condemn the initiative as cheap propaganda.

After ten years of negotiations the five states that border the Caspian Sea have agreed on a treaty governing the legal status of the body of water. Up to now only a deal agreed between the Soviet Union and Iran in the 1930s had applied. Commentators analyse Russia's position in settling the dispute.