European Union

The daily newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza has published a recording in which the leader of Poland's ruling PiS party, Jarosław Kaczyński, apparently discusses the failure of plans for a skyscraper in Warsaw which was to be constructed by a company with which he has ties. Is Poland's government unbiased in its economic policy-making?

Various MEPs and civic groups gathered in the European Parliament on Tuesday (29 January) to promote an initiative for 'Europe Day' as a holiday across the bloc aimed at boosting a positive European sentiment, with MEP Maite Pagazaurtundua saying it would "most probably be passed” in the February plenary session.

Planta Tabak
Freedom of establishment
The prohibition in stages at EU level of cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco containing flavourings is valid

The public image of Poland’s political mastermind Jarosław Kaczyński and his ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party was shattered by revelations published by the Gazeta Wyborcza daily on Tuesday (29 January). Piotr Kaczyński (unrelated to the PiS leader) looks into the fallout.

British prime minister Theresa May is asking the EU to reopen negotiations on Ireland and Brexit despite Europe's refusal.

The 36-member state OECD confirmed on Tuesday that it is working on plans for a minimum corporate tax rate, as part of a global revision of tax rules for digital commerce. While the European Union is struggling to agree common tax-rules, some member states have moved ahead with their own plans while other are waiting for broader OECD rules.

Several European parties have selected more than one lead candidates for the EU elections - thereby defeating the entire notion of 'electing the European commission president'.

An Austrian businessman, Gerald Birgfellner, has taken the head of Poland's right-wing ruling PiS party Jaroslaw Kaczynski to court for allegedly failing to pay him for work on a real estate project in Warsaw. "Our client feels that he's been wronged. He hasn't been paid," Birgfellner's lawyer Jacek Dubois told AFP. Kaczynski "made the decisions and gave guarantees that the payment would be made".

New wind, solar and biomass power generation displaced hard coal last year – especially in Germany, France and the UK – according to a 2018 review of European electricity statistics by two leading energy policy think tanks.

Seven EU Mediterranean countries met in Cyprus on Tuesday for the fifth Med7 summit. Leaders of France, Portugal, Malta, Italy, Greece and Cyprus participated, while Spain sent its foreign minister. In a summit declaration the seven said the "Republic of Cyprus is and will remain a member of the European Union following reunification, and EU membership is the best safeguard for a reunited Cyprus".

European Commission Security Chief Julian King criticised the "patchy, opaque and self-selecting" reporting provided by Facebook and other tech giants following their bids to comply with the EU's code of practice against disinformation on Tuesday (29 January).

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday said Italy must provide medical assistance, food and drink to 47 migrants aboard the NGO-operated Sea Watch 3 rescue vessel as soon as possible. The ship is currently waiting off the cost of Sicily. Germany, France, Portugal, Romania and Malta are ready to accept the migrants, Italy's prime minister Giuseppe Conte was reported saying at the Med7 summit in Cyprus.