European Union

‘We’ve run out of money’ is the message influential central bankers are passing on to government leaders.

The EU's border and coastguard agency Frontex on Wednesday said the number of irregular border crossings by migrants detected on the European Union's external borders fell to its lowest level since 2013. The agency said preliminary 2019 data showed a six percent fall in irregular border crossings along the EU's external borders to just over 139,000. "This is 92 percent below the record number set in 2015," it said.

Libya's embattled prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj met separately in Brussels on Wednesday with European Council president Charles Michel and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. Both meetings discussed the spiralling conflict in Libya amid a recent military push by Turkey into the country. Michel told al-Sarraj the EU opposed the Turkey-Libya delimitation of maritime jurisdictions in the Mediterranean Sea, highlighting violations on sovereign rights and the law of the sea.

Thousands of European troops are in Iraq as part of an anti-ISIS coalition effort. Many are now being either pulled out or scaling down, amid demands by Iraq they leave. Meanwhile, Iran has pummelled coalition bases with a dozen missiles.

The UK and the EU will not be able to agree on every single aspect of their future relationship before the end of the year, and will either have to focus on priority areas or agree an extension period, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday (8 January).

EU leaders met the head of Libya's UN-recognised government on Wednesday (8 January) as they scramble to contain the escalating crisis on their southern flank amid concerns about illegal migration and terrorism.

British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Wednesday that tech giants Facebook and eBay committed to better tackle fake and misleading reviews, according to Reuters. "Millions of people base their shopping decisions on reviews, and if these are misleading or untrue, then shoppers could end up being misled into buying something that isn't right for them," said CMA chief executive Andrea Coscelli.

The transition to net-zero emissions by 2050 is a massive challenge, but also a huge opportunity – a chance to design a socially inclusive, clean future, argue Sharan Burrow, Paul Polman and Laurence Tubiana.

The concentration of the French dairy industry, which is at the origin of the impoverishment of milk producers, paradoxically ranks the sector above its global competitors, according to a study by France Agrimer. EURACTIV France reports.

After months of wrangling the Spanish parliament elected the leader of the Socialists Pedro Sánchez as head of government by a razor-thin majority on Tuesday. He will now govern the country together with the left-wing alliance Unidas Podemos in what looks set to be a minority government. Europe's press discusses whether this means a return to normality or the start of real trouble.

Iran has attacked US positions in Iraq in retaliation to the killing of high-ranking Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad. Tehran said the move was a slap in the face for the US, in response to which US president Donald Trump tweeted: "all is well". Europe's press discusses the motives for Trump's actions against Iran as well as the potential consequences.