Euractiv.com

EU leaders are expected to nominate on Thursday (27 June) incumbent European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as part of a top jobs deal, but some lingering resistance is still expected to be part of the negotiations.

João Cotrim de Figueiredo, a newly elected member of the European Parliament for Portugal's Liberal Initiative (IL), has been selected as one of the eight vice-presidents of Renew Europe, the assembly's liberal caucus, which now has 75 members, including two from Portugal, it was announced on Wednesday. 

The EU should establish a jointly funded ground defence line on Europe’s eastern border, according to a call from Poland and the three Baltic states, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. “Extraordinary measures need to be employed as the EU’s external border...

The parliament spokesman of Spain’s centre-right Partido Popular (PP/EPP), Miguel Tellado, on Wednesday accused the ruling Socialist Party's (PSOE/S&D) lead candidate and Minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, of having committed an alleged “fraud” by not taking her seat as an MEP.

After Julian Assange was released by a court on the remote US Pacific territory of Saipan on Wednesday, ending a 14-year legal battle, the WikiLeaks founder's lawyer first thanked Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for making the outcome possible.

A Brussels court rejected on Wednesday a Belgian lobbyist’s arguments opposing Ursula von der Leyen’s reappointment as head of the European Commission against the backdrop of accusations related to the controversial COVID vaccines contract negotiation with Pfizer.

Doubts on the European Commission's claim of an investment gap of at least €174 billion to meet Europe's 2030 connectivity targets have been shed in a document shared with Euractiv by lobby association CCIA Europe, representing Amazon, Google and Meta, among others.

Diplomatic relations between Prague and Bratislava face turbulence after Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS, ECR) said the resumption of intergovernmental consultations with Slovakia “is not currently a topic”, with the Slovaks calling the statement disrespectful ahead of a state visit.

Bolivian armed forces pulled back from the presidential palace in La Paz on Wednesday (26 June) evening and a general was arrested after President Luis Arce slammed a "coup" attempt against the government and called for international support.

EU leaders are gathering in Brussels on Thursday and Friday for the last meeting of this mandate to seal the deal on the distribution of the bloc's top jobs following the European elections in early June.

A European Union bid to breathe new life into stalled negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo fell through Wednesday (26 June), with Serbia's president and the Kosovo prime minister failing to meet as planned.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, seeking a second term at the helm, has told EU leaders she is ready to boost the external dimension of the EU's migration policy by considering outsourcing procedures and developing economic partnerships with neighbouring countries, according to a letter seen by Euractiv.  

In a bid to cast the upcoming EU space law in a favourable light, Commission officials pitched it as a competitiveness driver for the continent's industry during the European Space Forum in Brussels.

The EU should draw up possible responses against Russia's growing hybrid and physical attacks inside its territory, Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabrelius Landsbergis told Euractiv, advocating a more pro-active approach to security.

Some empires take centuries to die. Others fall in a matter of days, like overripe fruit. President Emmanuel Macron is neither a tsar nor a sultan, but he has ruled France unchallenged since 2017 and his time is now running out.

The EU’s flagship CO2 price is significantly influenced by whether industry considers politicians' climate commitments as credible, according to new modelling by researchers. 

Many of the proposals put forward by the Rassemblement National (RN, ID) and its allies for the French legislative elections clash with the European greenhouse gas reduction targets set out in the European Green deal.  

EU leaders cannot afford a delay and must nominate incumbent European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for a second term this summit, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged on Wednesday (26 June).

Diederik Samsom, former right-hand man of Green Deal Chief Frans Timmermans, will assume the chairmanship of the supervisory board of Gasunie, the government-owned Dutch gas giant, on 1 July.

EU countries reached a common position on Wednesday (26 June) on the bloc's first legislation on the welfare of cats and dogs.