Euobserver.com

Europe - and Nato - need to acknowledge that on some issues the US president may be brutish but he does have a point.

US lawmakers are banned from holding second jobs due to possible conflicts of interest. Yet MEPs in the European Parliament have earned up to €41m from side jobs since 2014.

EU institutions should change their working methods to better involve national parliaments, as well as regional and local authorities in policy making, said the so-called task force on subsidiarity, proportionality and 'doing less, more efficiently', chaired by European Commission first vice-president Frans Timmermans. In a report issued Tuesday, the seven-strong group proposed to assess regularly the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, and give parliament a quicker say.

The entire Brexit debate since at least 2015 has been like a bad date. But this is the age of Tinder, why can't we just swipe left?

EU and Nato pledged Tuesday to continue strengthening the transatlantic military alliance which they say plays a "unique and essential role as the cornerstone of collective defence for all allies." In a joint declaration ahead of Wednesday's summit, they said Nato members should "foster an equitable sharing of the burden, benefits and responsibilities." Meanwhile US president Donald Trump tweeted "Nato countries must pay more, the United States must pay less."

European Council president Donald Tusk told US president Donald Trump on Tuesday to appreciate his European allies, adding "after all, you don't have that many." Tusk's message comes a day before the Nato summit where Trump is expected to push EU countries to pay more. Tusk also warned Trump not to confuse the US's strategic friends and problems ahead of the president's meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin next week.

Why do we allow these firms to dictate public policy when they clearly have a commercial interest in ensuring tax legislation lets multinational corporations off the hook, and ensuring governments privatise state-owned enterprises to the benefit of their clients?

Jehovah's Witnesses must respect EU laws on the protection of personal data when they gather information in their door-to-door preaching activities, the European Court of Justice ruled on Tuesday. Examining a case brought by the Finnish data protection authority, the judges ruled that the group was responsible for organising with the purpose of preaching, and therefore was "a controller" for the processing of data.

The EU has roundly criticised Russian aggression in Ukraine amid concern that US leader Donald Trump might break Western ranks.

The Dutch government is preparing contingency plans to be ready by October for a possible no-deal Brexit. The work has begun following unanimously agreement in the parliament last week to prepare for a collapse of negotiations "and the associated potential chaos," reports Reuters. The Netherlands is among Britain's largest trading partners, with British goods going through the port of Rotterdam.

A pilot project scheme is giving preferential treatment for interns to land highly sought-after jobs at the European Commission - bypassing the lengthy open competition for everyone else seeking the same position.

One in three members of the European Parliament (31 percent) have a paid side job, with up to 30 MEPs earning more than their MEP salary, according to an analysis of over 2,000 financial interest declarations by Transparency International. In total, the 751 MEPs have declared 1,366 activities, a 13 percent increase from the beginning of the mandate in 2014. In total MEPs earned €18-41million from side jobs since 2014.

Finnish and Swedish defence ministers signed on Monday for the first time a defence pact, covering peace and war time. The collaboration between the two non-Nato countries in defence matters has developed quickly over the past few years, with improved communications channels and joint military exercises, Finland's defence ministry said in a press release. The pact does not specify a duty to provide mutual assistance.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan was on Monday sworn in for another five-year term as president with new, stronger powers and named his son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, as the country's new finance minister. The Turkish lira dropped nearly three percent after the appointment of Albayrak, who served as energy minister since 2015. Former deputy prime minister Mehmet Simsek, seen as a market-friendly minister, was not reappointed.

Germany's far-right AfD has overtaken the social democrat SPD, according to an INSA survey published by Bild on Monday. The SPD lost two points, to 17 percent. The AfD gained one point compared to last week, at 17.5 percent. The survey shows the AfD is benefitting from recent turbulence inside chancellor Merkel's coalition government.

The new US ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, arrived in Brussels on Sunday and presented his credentials to European Council president Donald Tusk on Monday. Sondland is founder and CEO of Provenance Hotels, a "lifestyle" hotel chain. His political experience includes being Republican liaison between his state of Oregon and the White House in the 2000s for seven years. His predecessor Anthony Gardner resigned in January 2017.

Almost three quarters (74.3 percent) of ivory imported to the EU is illegal, a study by an Oxford University's carbon testing unit has shown. In a sample of 109 items bought in 10 EU countries by the campaign group Avaaz, 81 were found to be from after 1947, making their sale illegal without government-issued certificates. Among them, 19.3 percent dated from after 1989, when the global ivory trade was banned.

EU officials said Brexit negotiations will not be affected by the resignations of the foreign secretary and Brexit secretary. European Council president Tusk noted that "unfortunately the idea of Brexit hasn't left" with David Davis or Boris Johnson.

British foreign secretary Boris Johnson resigned on Monday (9 July), hours after the resignation of Brexit secretary David Davis, in a severe blow to prime minister Theresa May's fragile government. Johnson is the third minister to resign in 24 hours, as Davis's deputy also quit. Johnson's departure puts May's ability to continue into question - just three days after the cabinet agreed her Brexit plan last Friday.

As Sebastian Kurz's government takes over the helm of EU-policy making for the next six months, Austrian MEPs from opposing sides weigh in on the EU's youngest prime minister's possible influence on the continent's future.