Euobserver.com

Imports of US soybeans to Europe increased by 283 percent in July, compared to July last year, according to figures released by the EU Wednesday. Soybeans from the US now represent 37 percent of imports, compared to 9 percent last year. The increase, mainly due to a fall in prices after Chinese tariffs on US products, predates European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker's promise last week to buy more US soybeans.

European Parliament denies access to draft papers, claiming publishing them could lead to 'self-censorship' by MEPs.

Belgian authorities, under a law adopted earlier this year, plan to charge €100 per year for journalists who ask for an accreditation for EU summits. The charge - €50 every six months - is to cover security screenings. API, the organisation that represents foreign correspondents in Brussels, called it discriminatory and an "unnecessary obstacle" to the work of journalists and will "restrict media access to events of great public interest."

The European Commission declined to comment on an Italian boat that reportedly returned rescued migrants at sea back to Libya - but instead said the country is too dangerous to be considered as a place safe enough for disembarkation.

Despite growing calls for a new referendum, political conditions are not yet there to reverse the Brexit process.

If the EU finds Poland in violation of their obligations to respect the rule of law, then extraditions under the European Arrest Warrant must cease altogether.

At a meeting with Italian PM Giuseppe Conte, the US president said that other EU countries should adopt the same tough line on migration.

EU states have spoken out in strident terms against the Israeli demolition of another Palestinian community - but what are they prepared to do to stop the war crime?

Elmar Brok, a senior MEP with the centre-right German CDU party, said it was a "mistake" for pro-EU politicians not to have been involved in the campaign before the Brexit referendum. "We should have faced the lies of the Brexit advocates much more aggressively," Brok said in a FAZ newspaper interview published Tuesday. He also expressed support for a second referendum on the UK's future.

European commissioner Vera Jourova, responsible for data protection, has told US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross America needs to finally appoint a permanent ombudsman, to deal with complaints from Europeans whose data is processed by American firms. The ombudsman is a requirement of the EU-US Privacy Shield agreement. Jourova said in a letter, seen by the FT, that there is "little reason for the delay" and set an October deadline.

A Downing Street spokesman has denied press reports that the British army would need to be deployed on the day the UK leaves the EU in a 'no-deal' scenario, to distribute fuel, food, and medicines. "There are no plans to involve the army in this," the prime minister's office said on Monday, adding that it is in both the UK's and the EU's interest to secure a deal.

EU states have decided to move the HQ of their Atalanta anti-piracy mission from the UK to Spain and France due to Brexit.

While Twitter and EU bubble publications are flooded with photos of protesting crowds and "chains of light" in front of the presidential palace, the Law and Justice-controlled senate has adopted a law restructuring the electoral code for 2019's European elections.

The Macedonian parliament adopted on Monday the question for the referendum on 30 September on the agreement with Greece about the country's name: "Are you in favour of European Union and NATO membership by accepting the agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Greece?" Under the agreement, signed in June, the country's official name will be North Macedonia.

The implementation of a 2016 cybersecurity directive - meant to protect vital services - is facing delays.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and US president Donald Trump talked again on Friday to follow up their meeting in Washington last Wednesday, the commission announced Monday. The two sides "are currently putting in place the relevant structures that are needed" to start trade talks agreed by the two leaders, a spokeswoman said. She insisted that neither agriculture nor public procurement would be part of the talks, despite US claims.

Back in Belgium after Spain lifted a European Arrest Warrant against him, the separatist former leader wants to be the real power behind the region's government and a new push for independence.

The Financial Times on Monday reported that Miguel Arias Canete, the EU energy commissioner, wants EU states to set new carbon reduction targets for this year. He wants the EU to increase its carbon reduction target to 45 per cent by 2030, up from the current target of 40 per cent, relative to 1990 levels."We have to press the throttle," he said.

A UK House of Common's committee report released on Sunday described "disinformation", also referred to as fake news, as a potential threat to democracy. The inquiry said the threat arises with the "spread through the deliberate distortion of facts, by groups with a particular agenda, including the desire to affect political elections." The report follows intense debates over the campaign that led to Brexit.

The leader of Italy's Five Star Movement denied in an interview published on Sunday that his coalition government will hold a referendum on Italy's eurozone membership. "This government will not pursue it," deputy prime minister Luigi Di Maio told Corriere della Sera. Last week, Five Star Movement founder Beppe Grillo said Italians should have a referendum on the euro and a debate about a "plan B".