European Union

Committee and political group meetings, Brussels

Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Poland and Italy's right-wing rulers are to cement their "special relations" at a meeting in Warsaw, which could make Matteo Salvini's new anti-EU league a major force in the next EU parliament.

Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev slammed on Sunday (6 January) the government of Boyko Borissov for having “perverted” the procedure for the acquisition of new fighter jets.

A majority (54 percent) of Britons would back remaining in the EU against 46 percent if a second Brexit referendum was held, a YouGov survey for the People's Vote campaign showed on Sunday. By comparison, a majority of 52 to 48 percent voted for Brexit in 2016. Just 22 percent approve Theresa May's Brexit deal and support for Labour would crash if it helps the government enable Brexit.

Has America used the Kurds in Syria only now to dump them? Observers who believe in moral debt, rather than the cold logic of realpolitik, understandably are concerned about the implications for the Kurds of an immediate US withdrawal from Syria, writes Ömer Taşpınar.

Swiss president Ueli Maurer on Sunday urged the European Union to renegotiate a deal governing future ties between the two sides, telling Swiss TV station Tele Zuri that Swiss voters would not agree to the proposed version if it comes to a referendum. "As things stand today, the framework agreement would not be accepted. So we would still have to make substantial renegotiations," he said.

France will deploy its navy and use drones to tackle an increase in the number of migrants trying to reach the UK in small boats, a statement from French interior minister Christophe Castaner said. UK home office figures showed that 539 migrants attempted to travel to the UK on small boats in 2018, with 80 percent of these making their attempts in the last quarter of the year.

Thousands of people took to the streets of the Serbian capital Belgrade for the fifth consecutive week on Saturday to protest against the government of president Aleksandar Vucic and his ruling Serbian Progressive Party. The protests first began in response to the beating-up of opposition politician Borko Stefanovic but now include demands for media freedoms, and an end to attacks on journalists and opposition politicians.

A week ahead of a crucial vote in Parliament, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday (6 January) that “the danger there is actually we end up with no Brexit at all”.

US tech giant Apple will open its first data centre outside the US in 2019 in a tiny Danish village. Cheap electricity, plus stable societies, are the two main reasons for global high-tech companies to locate in the Nordic region.

Pope Francis on Sunday (6 January) urged EU leaders to show "concrete solidarity" with 49 migrants stranded on NGO ships off the coast of Malta who have been refused permission to land.

The President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev has re-shuffled the cabinet, appointed a new foreign minister and given this ministry new powers and responsibilities, especially for attracting new foreign investment. 

The ALDE Manifesto for the European elections of 2019 was adopted on 10 November at the ALDE Congress in Madrid, Spain.

The spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians worldwide on Sunday (6 January) presented the head of the Ukrainian church with a decree granting it independence from Moscow, a historic split strongly opposed by Russia.

Britain will begin rehearsals for the possible chaos of a no-deal Brexit on Monday (7 January) by testing how the road network copes with a tailback of around 150 lorries caused by disruption at its most important trading gateway to continental Europe.

The single currency, which was officially launched on 1 January 1999, has performed its role of shielding against crises and stabilising prices. However, the insufficient convergence of the eurozone’s economies shows the fragility of this incomplete construction. EURACTIV France’s media partner La Tribune reports.

On 31 December, the day after the presidential election, the Congolese government cut off internet access. The European Union has called for the situation to normalise while the preliminary results are still awaited, one week after the poll was held. EURACTIV France reports.

On 27 December, the Congress of New Caledonia voted to do away with most single-use plastic objects by 2020. EURACTIV France’s media partner the Journal de l’environnement reports.

Fighting inequality and global warming will be key objectives of the French G7 Presidency in 2019. The aim of developing closer relations with Africa, in the interests of multilateralism, is also highlighted by France. EURACTIV France reports.

Romania will officially take over the EU's presidency this week, with commissioners and senior EU officials kicking off the testing next six-month period with meetings in Bucharest.