Euobserver.com

EU politicians will cosy up with Big Toxics at a secretive event on Tuesday to discuss a new 'European Industrial Deal' — a blatant showcase of corporate capture and an attempt to shift the political agenda in a profit-minded direction.

Hungary has stopped fellow EU foreign ministers from formally asking Israel not to attack Rafah, even as Czech backing for Israel melts away.

The French government announced €10bn in further spending cuts. However, defence spending is set to increase significantly, up to €413bn from €295bn, while €400m was cut from a fund meant for renovating schools, carpooling infrastructure, and other environmental projects.

EU banks still operating in Russia are squirming to show they're abandoning their ever-more toxic client — but actions speak louder than words.

Fabrice Leggeri, the ex-Frontex boss who has now joined the French far-right National Rally, is a product of the internal contradictions at the EU: the competing interests among EU states and a European Commission too weak to manage their demands.

The clock is ticking and MEPs want to agree new rules to update the EU's social security coordination, but the file has been left unfinished under 12 EU presidencies — and the Belgian presidency won't be the exception.

It's an astonishing proposition rooted in political interest rather than facts, with potentially dire consequences for all road users — especially for people who walk and cycle, warns the European Cycling Federation.

German conservative Ursula von der Leyen is seeking reappointment as European Commission president after the June elections. However, her leadership over the past years has triggered internal frustrations that cast uncertainty on her reelection.

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk last week revealed the Pegasus spyware had been used not only to monitor PiS's political opponents —but also PiS members of the party's leadership suspected of disloyalty.

EU foreign affairs ministers launch the bloc's new Red Sea naval mission, plus hold talks on new sanctions against Russia — amid Hungarian objections — on Monday. Plus a home for the EU's new anti-money laundering authority will be picked.

The death of Russia's best-known dissident, Alexei Navalny, caused little surprise in EU circles, but saw Putin branded "evil" as top diplomats gathered at the Munich Security Conference.

It happened. The Kremlin has finally managed to kill Alexei Navalny, the major political opponent of the regime run by Vladimir Putin for the last quarter of the century. Yet another dramatic watershed in the history of his country.

Another provisional agreement on improving working conditions for platform workers fall apart on Friday, as four member states decided not to support it — making the chances of a directive before the June European elections unlikely.

The EU launched its first probe under foreign-subsidies rules on Friday. The company under investigation is Chinese train manufacturer CRRC Qingdao Sifang Locomotive.

The African Union's credibility will be in the spotlight at its annual leaders' summit, which starts in Addis Ababa on Saturday (17 February) as it faces up to another political crisis in a key member state — Senegal.

Italy's offer to mobilise €5.5bn over the next years, overwhelmingly in already-allocated loans and guarantees, pales in comparison to the financing challenges faced by Africa. Only an EU-wide coordinated financial offer can credibly respond to African needs.

Brussels Dispatches analyses the changing geopolitical landscape, what this means for the EU's humanitarian aid policies and how a vote in the upcoming EU elections can affect EU humanitarian assistance.

Few things interest politicians more than the way they are elected. But finding a system that most can agree on continues to elude MEPs.

Only 15 EU countries allow same-sex marriage, preventing equal rights for 'rainbow families', but Greece just became the first Orthodox Christian country to break the tabu.

A so-called Rwanda clause slipped into the overhaul of EU asylum law will undermine the UN refugee convention, say critics.