European Union

Theresa May will not be the only Prime Minister coming to the two-day summit starting on Thursday (13 December) after having won a confidence vote the previous day.

Norway is getting closer to building the world’s first carbon-free cement plant, a move that could reverberate across the globe as 197 countries meet for the UN's annual climate conference in Katowice, Poland.

Rare scenes of chaos gripped the Hungarian parliament Wednesday (12 December) as it passed a controversial judicial reform, as well as labour legislation that critics call a "slave law".

Ralph Regenvanu, foreign minister of the Pacific island Vanuatu, said at the COP24 talks in Poland it was disappointing the host country was promoting coal - but was happy with EU contributions to tackle climate change.

As the EU's multi-annual budget is being negotiated, the amounts and efficiency of spending matter but also priorities and European values when disbursing programmes. Smarter conditionality is needed, triggering less political backlash, and, where needed, direct payment to beneficiaries, argue Benedek Jávor and Laszlo Andor.

After almost five years of negotiations, the European Parliament ratified the EU-Japan trade deal on Wednesday (12 December), sealing the biggest ever trade agreement negotiated by the European Union.   

A chapter of eurozone history will come to a close Thursday (13 December), with the European Central Bank widely expected to withdraw a key element of support for the economy while reassuring observers fearful of the growing risks.

The EU is providing its air transport sector with a mechanism to ensure fair competition with non-EU airlines.

Council agrees its position on a regulation on the transparency and sustainability of the EU risk assessment in the food chain.

EU ambassadors today endorsed a deal with the European Parliament on new rules for placing fertilising products on the EU market.

Prime Minister Theresa May survived a no-confidence vote on Tuesday night (12 December) but it came at a heavy price, as she lost the support of nearly 40% of her Conservative MPs and the opposition hinted it may soon mount its own challenge against her.

EU leaders will discuss late on Thursday (13 December) how to address the UK's concerns about its withdrawal agreement from the EU, but discussions on contingency plans are gathering pace as the chances of an orderly divorce continue to wane.

Plenay, Strasbourg

Source : © European Union, 2018 - EP

EU officials warn that even if the Conservatives topple British prime minister Theresa May, the Brexit deal on offer would remain the same. At summit, EU-27 leaders are only expected to give a statement on the backstop, no legal assurances.

Hungary passed a law Wednesday setting up new courts overseen directly by the justice minister, that critics said would allow political interference in the judiciary, further undermining the rule of law. The administrative courts will take over cases on government business, such as taxation and elections, currently handled in the main judicial system. The justice minister will have significant powers in appointing the judges and will oversee the courts' budgets.

Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki has called a vote of confidence on his government's controversial reforms ahead of this week's EU summit. The vote is to decide if its programme, which includes a political purge of judges, "should be continued", he said. His ruling party, which controls parliament, is certain to vote yes, in what one opposition MP called a political "cabaret", as EU leaders fret over Poland's anti-democratic swerve.

MEPs in Strasbourg on Wednesday urged Russian president Vladimir Putin to free Ukrainian prisoners. One of them, Oleg Sentsov, received an EU human rights prize in absentia there the same day. Sentsov, a Ukrainian film maker from Crimea, was jailed on terrorism charges in a show trial in 2014. Putin should also free 23 Ukrainian sailors recently captured by the Russian navy, who face six years in prison, MEPs said.

EU social security coordination will make it easier for EU citizens looking for work to seek employment in another member state. EURACTIV France reports.

The European Parliament spelt out its position on Theresa May's Brexit and leadership problems on Wednesday afternoon, explicitly stating there could be no renegotiation of either the withdrawal agreement or the political declaration, and that without an Irish 'backstop', there would be no deal. However, "all efforts to make clear [the backstop was a last resort] were welcomed", the statement from Conference of Presidents added.

Italy could lower its national deficit target to two percent of GDP in a revised budget designed to alleviate EU complaints, an Italian treasury official told the Bloomberg news agency Wednesday. Rome felt "positive" its concession would see the European Commission allow Italy to overspend on fiscal rules, the official said. French plans to raise welfare in light of the 'yellow vest' riots could also see France break EU rules.