European Union

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker on Tuesday defended in a speech at the EU Industry Days the block's competition policies saying "we will never play politics or play favourites". He spoke ahead of an expected rejection on Wednesday of a high-profile rail merger between Germany's Siemens and France's Alstom, meant to compete with Chinese rival CRRC. French ministers have already called for reforms of EU competition rules.

The European Commission has backed carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a one of the seven key technologies to enable deep decarbonisation of Europe’s economy by mid-century. But it’s still tangled in bureaucracy when it comes to funding.

The Danish parliament's approval of participation in wars in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq was based on inadequate and tailored information from the then government, lead by liberal prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, according to an investigation by researchers at University of Copenhagen published on Tuesday. The current liberal government lead by Lars Loekke Rasmussen closed an official investigation into the matter in 2016.

The former chief prosecutor of Romania's anti-corruption agency, Laura Codruta Koevesi, has been ranked first in the selection procedure to head the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), the Guardian reported. Koevesi investigated ministers, mayors and members of parliament, before Romania's justice minister dismissed her in July 2018. Twenty EU countries agreed in 2017 to set up EPPO to fight large-scale cross-border financial crime. It is set to open next year.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras stressed Tuesday (5 February) they planned to resolve disputes between their two countries through dialogue.

Prime Minister Theresa May will travel to Brussels on Thursday (7 February) to tell European Union leaders they must accept legally binding changes to the Irish border arrangements of Britain’s divorce deal or face the prospect of a disorderly no-deal Brexit.

Russia will race to develop two new land-based missile launch systems before 2021 to respond to Washington’s planned exit from a landmark nuclear arms control pact, it said on Tuesday (5 February).

On 25 October 2018, the European Parliament adopted a new legislative framework for veterinary medicinal products and medicated feed, which are a step forward in preventing the rise in antibiotic resistance.

The Romanian presidency and the European Parliament reach a preliminary agreement on a simplified framework for financial derivatives to reduce costs and enhance transparency and access to clearing.

President Tusk received the letters of credentials from two new ambassadors to the European Union.

The Romanian presidency of the Council and the European Parliament reach a preliminary agreement on removing existing barriers to the cross-border distribution of investment funds.

The United States sees the European Union as its top priority in a global effort to convince allies not to buy Huawei equipment for next-generation mobile networks, a US State Department Official said on Tuesday (5 February).

Thousands of flights by carriers such as Iberia or Vueling could be grounded because of their non-EU ownership, in the case of the UK's no-deal exit from the EU. But the European Commission stressed on Tuesday (5 February) that airlines have been warned to prepare.

Russia's war in eastern Ukraine has already lasted as long as World War One - leaving civilians, including children, and their minds at risk.

France and Germany will on Wednesday (6 February) announce a 65 million euros contract financed equally by both countries over two years as the first act of the joint programme to design a next-generation combat jet, a French army source said.

It is not of our competence to decide the political destiny of Venezuela, it is the right of Venezuelans to do so, Maximiliano Reyes writes.

Corporate Europe Observatory asked the Brussels offices of 19 member states to reveal which lobbyists have been hosted. Only two provided a complete list.

The right-wing Eurosceptic Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD), Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF), and European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) groups hold 151 out of 751 seats - even large gains are unlikely to give them a majority.

Easier information sharing will improve security, allow for more efficient checks at external borders and contribute to prevent and combat illegal migration.

Lyudmila Petkova becomes the new chair of the Council working group overseeing the implementation of the EU's code of conduct on business taxation.