European Union

EU ministers held the first-ever Article 7 hearing in Luxembourg on Tuesday (June 26) to determine the state of play in the rule of law dispute between Brussels and Poland. The EU remains unconvinced by Poland's recent efforts, with everyone waiting to see if and how a crucial judicial reform will go ahead on 3 July.

US president Donald Trump may meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Helsinki in July, a US official has said, according to CNN. Trump would meet Putin while in Europe for the Nato summit in Brussels in July. Neither the White House nor the Kremlin has confirmed a meeting. "At least neither country have strong objections to Helsinki as the location for a summit," researcher Teija Tiilikainen told Helsingin Sanomat.

Four individuals in the Cabinet Brexit sub-committee, namely Theresa May, Boris Johnson, David Davies and Liam Fox, are so trapped in their rhetoric about taking back control and regaining freedom, that if they changed their position, their political careers would be over, writes Michael Emerson.

After a nearly four-hour crisis meeting in chancellor Angela Merkel's office, party and parliamentary leaders of Germany's governing parties departed early Wednesday morning without agreement in the asylum dispute that is splitting the CSU and CDU sister parties ahead of the EU summit this week. Meanwhile a Spiegel survey showed a drop in support for CDU and CSU to 29.8 percent.

The Cypriot government on Tuesday confirmed a request from Israel to examine the possibility of building a port facility for Gaza-destined goods to pass through. Such a facility would provide a new way for goods to make it to the Gaza Strip, which is under a blockade by Israel and Egypt. The Cyprus port plan would include construction of a special pier for cargo ships carrying goods destined for Gaza.

Over 500 Austrian policemen and 220 soldiers took part in an exercise on Tuesday on the Slovenian border over fears of a repeat of the 2015 migrant crisis. "A state which can't protect its borders when needed loses its credibility," said far-right Freedom Party interior minister Herbert Kickl, overseeing the exercise with defence minister Mario Kunasek. It was the first time Austria's new border guard troop, 'Puma', was in action.

EU ministers agreed on Tuesday to revise the Union's maritime security strategy. With 90 percent of the EU's external trade and 40 percent of its internal trade transported by sea, security for the ships is of high priority. The strategy forms part of the larger EU Global Strategy, takes into account the future European Defence Fund and affirms the EU as a "global maritime security provider".

British and European trade unions and business organisations have clubbed together in a rare joint call for "pace and urgency" in Brexit negotiations. In a statement from CBI, BusinessEurope, TUC and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), ahead of this week's EU summit, they call on the UK government and the EU to bring "measurable progress". Disagreement would be "dire for firms, workers and the communities where they live."

A minor escalation carries an important message. Russia has reason to support Azerbaijan’s move in Nakhchivan, as its primary imperative in the South Caucasus is to prevent any country from moving too far into the Western camp, writes Xander Snyder.

The June European Council is an opportunity to make sure we have the right measures in place to tackle hostile state threats to security such as cyber attacks, disinformation and meddling in elections, writes Mark Sedwill.

Bulgaria launched a tender today (27 June) for a new gas link with Turkey in a push to persuade Russia to extend the second part of the Turkish Stream pipeline to its border rather than Greece.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Spanish counterpart agreed yesterday (26 June) to cooperate on migrant policy, saying a European approach was the only way forward as her Bavarian allies pile pressure on her to deliver a deal this week.

In an exclusive interview with EURACTIV, the EU's antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager, said the US social network Facebook was on her radar screen but not the e-commerce giant Amazon, which is also suspected of abusing its dominant position.

Accession talks to start in 2019, not this year as hoped, after France, Denmark and Netherlands force delay despite breakthrough on Macedonia name dispute.

Trade unions and employers have joined forces to urge the EU and UK to speed up Brexit talks ahead of tomorrow's European Council summit. 

The patchwork of measures to fight air pollution currently in place across European cities is not only inefficient but sometimes counter-productive, said participants at a EURACTIV event on Tuesday (26 June).

Russian businessman Oleg Sirota thinks he knows why the French soccer team got off to a winning start at the World Cup: he is supplying their hotel with cheese and yoghurt from his dairy.

French President Emmanuel Macron held an "intense" meeting with Pope Francis during his first official visit to the Vatican yesterday (26 June), discussing global issues including the fate of migrants coming to Europe.

The German parliament, the Bundestag, is hosting a public hearing on Wednesday (27 June) on the European Commission's proposal on cars' CO2 emission limits for 2025/30 in a bid to find a consensus between the different ministries.

The European Union agreed a compromise yesterday (26 June) whereby it would open negotiations to join the bloc with Albania and Macedonia starting in June next year, provided certain conditions are met.