European Union

Few parliaments can match the House of Commons for ancient, arcane and apparently incomprehensible traditions and procedures. And MPs were given an intensive lesson by the grand master in procedure on Wednesday (31 October).

Most farmers sell their products to large food companies and therefore lose large proportions of their income to long supply chains. But individual farmers manage to sell directly to customers. Is this a viable model? EURACTIV Germany reports.

The Supreme Court in Hungary, a country known for its tough stance on migration, has cleared of all charges the camerawoman who kicked refugees live on camera at the Serbia-Hungary border in 2015.

Committee and political group meetings, Brussels

Source : © European Union, 2018 - EP

Europe's fragmenting political landscape is an opportunity for Emmanuel Macron to blow apart Brussels' traditional left-right duopoly in next year's European election, the newly appointed head of the French president's EU campaign said.

Chinese investment in sensitive industries, tensions with Russia and a recent Iranian-linked terror plot push security to the top of Nordic leaders' agenda in Oslo.

Italy's populist government is proposing to give land to families about to have a third child, hoping it would help fight the growing depopulation of rural areas and abandonment of arable land. But it has not been embraced by everyone.

The exact amount of money that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will receive under the new food transparency rules will be decided at the level of agriculture ministers, sources close to the issue told EURACTIV.com.

The United States will not allow any international reconstruction in Syria, given the damage carried out by the Damascus regime and its allies Russia and Iran.

The European Commission said on Wednesday it regrets Austria's decision not to sign a UN global migration pact. "We regret the decision that the Austrian government has taken. We continue to believe that migration is a global challenge," said a spokeswoman. The pact was approved by 193 countries. Austria now joins Hungary and the US in refusing to back the non-binding pact, to be signed in Morocco in December.

The number of people without jobs in the EU stood at 6.7 percent in September, the lowest figure since 2000, according to the EU's statistical office, Eurostat. Eurostat also noted that the unemployment rate among the 19 EU states using the euro stood at 8.1 percent in September, the lowest since 2008.

After Merkel's announcement that she will not stand again for election as leader of the CDU, Europe's leading politicians have expressed their respect for her decision and in particular her commitment to Europe. In these turbulent times the EU will have trouble surviving without a pro-European leader, some commentators fear. Others take a more positive view.

The Central European University (CEU) will move from Budapest to Vienna, according to its rector. The university, which is financed by George Soros, came under pressure after the Orbán government passed a law stipulating that foreign universities operating in Hungary must also be active in their home countries.