European Union

From Kuala Lumpur, the global trading system currently resembles a high-stakes poker game played by giants – China, the US and the EU. ASEAN as a region feels almost like an outlier, writes Dato’ Lee Yeow Chor.

A survey conducted by Greenpeace has found that 25 out of 46 MEPs of the European Parliament’s agriculture committee have “strong” links to the farming industry.

Facebook does not create profiles about internet users without a Facebook account, the US company told MEPs. "However we may take the opportunity to show an ad encouraging the non-user to sign up for Facebook," the company said in a five-page document published Thursday. The company answered in writing some of the questions MEPs did not get an answer to during Tuesday's meeting with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The proposed expenditure cuts in Common Agriculture and Cohesion Policy in the next long-term EU budget are higher than what the European Commission announced and this might impact future EU policies, the European Parliament’s budget rapporteurs told reporters on Wednesday (23 May).

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect in the EU on Friday. It is meant to standardise data privacy in the EU and strengthen consumer rights - particularly in regard to US companies. While some commentators see the EU as a pioneer in data privacy, others say the regulation could end up hurting those it is meant to protect.

Italy's President Sergio Mattarella has tasked Giuseppe Conte, a jurist with little experience in politics, with forming a government, freeing the way for the future prime minister to form a cabinet made up of ministers from anti-EU parties the Five Star Movement and the Northern League. Commentators speculate on the impact of this decision for Europe.

154 economists have warned in a joint article against further integration of the Eurozone as proposed by Macron, Juncker and in the Berlin coalition government agreement. They criticise the planned introduction of a European monetary and investment fund and fear that money could be paid to countries that have failed to undertake reforms. Are they right to oppose the reform proposals?

Turkey's central bank has reacted to the drop in the value of the lira by raising key interest rates. The Turkish currency had already lost roughly a quarter of its value since the start of the year when it came under additional pressure on Wednesday morning after Japanese investors divested en masse. What are the factors behind the slump?