European Union

In der Lira-Krise hat die Zentralbank in Ankara am Donnerstag den Leitzins von 17,75 auf 24 Prozent erhöht - deutlicher als von vielen Experten erwartet. Kurz zuvor hatte Erdoğan erneut eine Zinssenkung gefordert und die Zentralbank kritisiert. Kommentatoren fragen sich, wie unabhängig die Währungshüter wirklich sind und ob sie sich gegen den türkischen Präsidenten langfristig behaupten können.

Macron hat einen Plan zur Bekämpfung der Armut in Frankreich vorgestellt. Vorgesehen sind Ausgaben in Höhe von acht Milliarden Euro sowie ein neues Konzept, das sich stärker auf soziale Begleitung statt auf finanzielle Unterstützung fokussiert. So wird am richtigen Hebel angesetzt, loben einige Kommentatoren. Andere werfen dem französischen Präsidenten fehlende Geradlinigkeit vor.

Germany’s highest court has postponed a decision on whether YouTube is liable for violations of intellectual property rights on its video platform in order to seek the opinion of European Union judges, a process expected to take one to two years.

MEPs have urged the European Commission to investigate Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš for possible conflicts of interest involving EU funds, after being persuaded by the Czech branch of Transparency International and the Czech Pirate Party.

Hungary has sold visas to Russian businessmen in exchange for hundreds of thousands of euros. Permits were also given to the family of the Kremlin's foreign intelligence chief, who is covered by European sanctions. EURACTIV Poland's media partner Gazeta Wyborcza reports.

Croatia's possible entry into the eurozone has become the subject of much talk among economic and political leaders over the past two years, as well as everyday citizens. EURACTIV Croatia reports.

French leader Emmanuel Macron's party LREM is polling to win 21.5 percent of votes in next year's EU election, compared to 21 percent by the far-right, the Rassemblement National (formerly called the National Front), according to a new survey by Odoxa-Dentsu Consulting. Macron said on Thursday he would plough €8bn into poverty reduction. A previous poll in May put his party on 27 percent versus the far-right's 17 percent.

Th next EU budget is the most pivotal opportunity to advance a vision for Europe rooted in human rights and that builds a Union that works for all its members.

"If we ever reach an agreement [with Kosovo], Serbia would need to get clear guarantees that it'd become an EU member in 2025," Serb president Aleksandar Vucic told Reuters on Thursday. Talks on a land-swap deal with Kosovo could take 10 years, he added. "I smile when I hear how people simplify things ... 'I will give you three villages and I will get six villages [in return]'," he said.

House prices in the UK could plunge by 35 percent in three years after a no-deal Brexit and the British economy could suffer a 2008-type financial shock, British central bank chief Mark Carney has warned. British motorists could also be forced to get international licences to drive on the continent, the British government said, while Eurostar trains from the UK might be blocked from entering France, a French minister noted.