European Union

On Monday (11 February), many MEPs at the European Parliament criticised the amount and severity of injuries suffered during the demonstrations by the French ‘yellow vest’ movement. The fisheries commissioner, who was dispatched on to represent the Commission, did not answer any questions. EURACTIV France reports.

A Twitter clash has broken out between Slovenian Commissioner Violeta Bulc and European Parliament President Antonio Tajani over the latter's involvement, together with Lega leader Matteo Salvini, in a commemoration perceived as a fascist gathering.

British prime minister Theresa May told MPs Wednesday to give her more time to renegotiate the Brexit divorce deal with Brussels, despite EU warnings that the deal is not open for tweaks. Parliament was expected to vote on Thursday, but May urged lawmakers to "hold their nerve", telling them that they would get another chance to influence the process on 27 February, if she had not secured changes.

EU finance ministers expressed "clearly diverging" views on the European Commission's plan to decide certain tax issues by a qualified majority of member states, rather than unanimity. Euro commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said Tuesday that the executive wants to move "step-by-step" and combatting tax fraud should be the first issue decided by majority only. Despite several ministers opposing the idea, the Romanian presidency plans to hold further discussions on the topic.

A large majority of EU governments opposed on Tuesday (12 February) the European Commission’s proposal to end the unanimity required to pass legislation on taxation, saying they want to protect national sovereignty and avoid having decisions forced on reluctant countries.

The Bruges-based College of Europe is setting up private meetings with the EU institutions for seven ambassadors plus seven high-level officials from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

For new CDU party chair Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, reforming migration policy represents an opportunity to distance herself from Chancellor Angela Merkel. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Transport is widely accepted as a very difficult sector to decarbonise but one of the leading experts on all things freight and transport explained to EURACTIV.com how and why it needs to be done.

The European Parliament voted on Tuesday in favour of an EU trade deal with Morocco that will include fishing rights off the disputed coast of the Western Sahara. Some 415 MEPs voted in favour of deal with 189 against and 49 abstentions. Human Rights Watch had earlier advised MEPs to first take the matter to the European Court of Justice.

If the European project of the Directive on Copyright Law in the Digital Single Market becomes reality in its current shape, the Internet will no longer remain a place of free access to information and democratic debate, writes Michal Kanownik.

The trial of twelve Catalan separatists began on Tuesday in Madrid. Spain's public prosecutor wants them to receive sentences of up to 25 years in prison for rebellion, insurgency and misuse of public funds in connection with the 2017 independence referendum. Commentators discuss the role of the judiciary and the media.

The trial of twelve Catalan separatists - most of whom were members of the regional government in 2017 - begins today at the Supreme Court in Madrid. Spain's public prosecutor is charging them with rebellion, insurgency and misuse of public funds for their role in the independence referendum held on 1 October 2017. Is the court the right place to resolve the Catalan independence issue?