Euobserver.com

As the end of the year approaches, I don't want to write an angry column — even though there are plenty of things to be angry about.

Israel's "revenge" on Gaza was so "unbearable" that Western leaders letting it continue risked losing the Global South and their own voters, a Danish former head of the United Nations General Assembly has warned.

The EU fears Russia will commandeer more European factories, according to new sanctions — which could see even dead Russians' money kept frozen.

EUobserver interviewed the general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) to discuss labour migration, staff shortages and working conditions — in views that strongly clash with the EU Commission's plan to attract more legal migrants.

Attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis risks destabilising the region, says the European Union. The Houthis also warned of escalation.

Many Russians are confident in their army, believe it will win the war, approve of their government, and Vladimir Putin has high approval ratings for the presidential election in March. So where does that leave Ukraine?

The European Commission has launched an investigation into the X platform, formerly Twitter, under new rules countering the spread of illegal content online.

Rights defenders are issuing dire warnings that the EU's asylum overhaul risks curtailing international protection standards.

Despite the best opposition result in years, Aleksandar Vučić scores crucial victory in the Serbian election. Election day itself was marred with serious accusations of irregularities by the opposition, which are yet to receive an investigation.

Undoing the damage wrought to Poland's arts and cultural sector by the prior two consecutive Law & Justice administrations will not be easy.

After a bittersweet outcome from the final EU summit of the year, the Brussels Bubble will try this week to finalise new rules on fiscal rules and the pact on migration and asylum before the Christmas holiday break.

Younger MEPs are more proactive than others, but they vote in line with their older party members, according to a data-driven investigation by Novaya Gazeta Europe and EUobserver.

An EU ban on Russian diamonds can start from 1 January, after Vienna agreed to let Kyiv keep an Austrian bank under pressure over trade in Russia.

Austria is still "blackmailing" Ukraine using EU sanctions, the same way Hungary did — to protect a bank doing business in Russia.

EU leaders failed to issue a joint statement on the Israel/Gaza war at their summit in Brussels on Friday — despite shared views on what should happen after it ends.

The European Commission is hoping to reach a new agreement with Egypt in January as it steps up efforts to curtail irregular migration towards Europe.

The European Commission is praising Finland for shutting down its land borders with Russia despite reports prospective asylum seekers are being forcibly conscripted to fight in Ukraine.

Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban told the EU summit he would consider lifting his veto on providing further funds to Ukraine — if the remaining frozen EU funds linked to concerns on Hungary's rule of law are unblocked.

A few days after French president Emmanuel Macron performed an unending monologue at COP28, serenading every actor but France about their responsibility to do more, it is worth looking at the French government's behaviour in EU negotiations.

MEPs have adopted a resolution calling on the EU border agency Frontex to comply with fundamental rights in border operations, raising concerns over the situation in Greece, Lithuania and Hungary. The resolution adds to the mounting pressure on EU institutions.