European Union

The Estonian daily Postimees has published a "Vote Compass" aimed at helping the citizens decide how to vote in the run-up to the parliamentary elections on March 3. Politicians were interviewed in advance about the questions contained in the compass. But according to other Estonian media outlets there can be no talk of this being an unbiased tool for voters.

Dimitris Avramopoulos, the EU's migration commissioner, made a statement on 23 January opposing the historic name change deal between Athens and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM),  the so-called Prespa Agreement, due to be ratified in the Greek parliament.

The EU's Digital Commissioner Mariya Gabriel has upped the ante in the fight against fake news, saying on Wednesday (23 January) that "new technologies are advancing extremely rapidly" and that as a result, the EU needs to "double its efforts."

MEPs have updated consumer protection rules, bringing greater transparency in how online offers are ranked and, particularly, in reviews left by customers about products. EURACTIV France reports.

Digitalisation, the transition towards a greener economy, demographic changes… have increased the skills gap. As workers and companies struggle to deal with it, the European economy suffers. The EU is working to reduce it.

The proceeds of the carbon tax, which triggered the 'yellow vest' movement in France, should be allocated to the energy transition if the French people are going to accept it. But the government seems reluctant to acknowledge this. EURACTIV France reports.

The European Parliament will focus on Germany's biggest bank, Deutsche Bank's, role in the money-laundering scandal that saw Danske Bank's Estonia branch handle around €130bn of "suspicious" cash - the biggest such scandal in EU history. Members of the parliament's special committee on financial crimes have invited Stephan Wilken, Deutsche Bank's head of anti-financial crime, to testify in a special hearing on 4 February, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported.

A narrow majority in the Greek parliament is expected to approve ratification of the agreement reached last June, re-naming the Former Yugolsav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) as North Macedonia, in a move that could help the country join Nato and the EU. Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras narrowly survived a confidence vote last week and needs backing from at least 151 MPs in the 300-member parliament to ratify the deal.

The European Commission says the fate of EU's naval operation Sophia has yet to be determined - amid a row on where to disembark rescued migrants.

Several Dutch and Belgian media outlets have cut ties with a Dutch freelance journalist, Peter Blasic, accusing him for plagiarising and for citing sources who could not be traced. Dutch magazine, HP/De Tijd, said seven of 302 articles by Blasic published between 2014 and 2017 were "copied in whole or in part" from the EUobserver website without crediting the site.

Cyprus is to host a summit between seven southern European Union countries on 29 January, Cypriot foreign minister Nicos Christodoulides said on Wednesday. Leaders of Greece, Italy, Malta, France, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus would discuss immigration, Brexit and the EU's multi-annual financial framework for 2021-2017 as well as the upcoming EU-Arab League meeting at the summit, which would be the fifth of its kind.

The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said that the “backstop” provision in the agreement for Britain’s withdrawal from the bloc could not be time-limited, since that would defeat its purpose of guaranteeing no hard Irish border.

From global warming to over- and illegal fishing, the ocean on which Arctic communities are so heavily dependent is under threat like never before, delegates heard at the Arctic conference in Tromsø, Norway.

A group of 'Yellow Vest' protesters announced on Wednesday it would run candidates in the upcoming European Parliament elections, with 31-year old Normandy health worker, Ingrid Levavasseur, to top the list. It could take around 13 percent of the vote in May, according to an Elabe poll, behind president Emmanuel Macron's party (22.5 percent) and Marine Le Pen's party (17.5 percent). Additional candidates will to be chosen by mid-February.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday (23 January) after which the Russian leader said the two men had discussed how they planned to stabilize the situation in Syria’s Idlib province.

The European Union said Wednesday (23 January) that the voice of the Venezuelan people "cannot be ignored" and called for "free and credible elections" after the South American country's parliament leader declared himself interim president on Wednesday (23 January).

The new Franco-German co-operation treaty might strengthen the axis of the EU's two most powerful countries, but that might not be helpful for the rest of the bloc, writes Sofia Vasilopoulou.