European Union

UK transport minister Chris Grayling has defended a decision to award a €15m contract to charter extra ferries to a firm which has never previously operated a similar service, as part of no-deal Brexit preparations. "It's a new start-up business, government is supporting new British business and there is nothing wrong with that," he told the BBC. The company plans to run freight ferries between Ramsgate and Ostend.

Decades of mismanagement appear to have caught up with Italy's Carige bank as the European Central Bank takes control in a move to stave off another banking crisis.

With the Brexit deal awaiting a vote in the British parliament, Theresa May is seeking further assurances from EU leaders - and Irish minister talks of emergency aid for Dublin to deal with a no-deal scenario.

The European Commission is pushing ahead with plans to end unanimity on tax, asking member states to respond before 17 January to a consultation on producing a plan of action in the first quarter of 2019, reports the Irish Times. EU countries have so far failed to agree on a joint digital sales tax on multinational internet giants, as individual states plan national taxes on such companies.

European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, chartered private jets for 21 out of 43 official trips between January and November 2018, a Daily Mail analysis has found. Travel costs for a 13-strong delegation one-night trip to Tunisia amounted to €36,000 and a dinner with world leaders in Finland before the European People's Party conference cost €26,000. 'Air taxis' should only be used when no suitable commercial flights can be found.

In case the trade war between Europe and the US intensifies and President Trump treats Europe as an enemy, then the latter will have no choice but to defend its industry, centre-right Spitzenkandidat Manfred Weber said.

The year 2018 saw a new record in Spain for migrant arrivals by sea, at more than 57,000 - representing around half of all undocumented migrants making the Mediterranean crossing last year. According to the IOM, 113,145 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea last year (up to 19 December). Spanish coastguards rescued 401 migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean over the first two days of the new year.

Danish police confirmed on Thursday morning that eight people were killed and 16 injured in the worst train accident in 30 years in the country. The accident happened on the Great Belt Bridge when debris from a freight train operated by DB Cargo, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, hit a commuter train during a heavy storm. Identification of the dead was still ongoing more than 24 hours after the accident.

Estonians spent most on alcohol per household in the EU (5.2 percent), followed by the other Baltic member states, Latvia (4.9 percent) and Lithuania (4.0 percent), according to 2017 figures from Eurostat. Spain (0.8 percent), Greece and Italy (both 0.9 percent) spent the least. In total, Europeans spent €130bn on alcohol, equivalent to 0.9 percent of EU GDP or over €300 per EU inhabitant.

A wave of protectionism and obstacles to free trade hit the global economy in 2018, and threaten economic growth in 2019. Although more disputes are expected, there is some cause for hope too. 

Nearly three out of four members of the British Labour Party want their leader, Jeremy Corbyn, to back a second referendum on Brexit, a new survey has found.

As China's growth seems to be slowing, some observers see the country amid what the New York Times called a "severe downturn". As they mistake China's secular deceleration with cyclical fluctuations, they miss the rapid increase in Chinese living standards.

Supervisors at the European Central Bank (ECB) said on Wednesday (2 January) they had ordered temporary administrators to take over floundering Italian lender Banca Carige after most of its board resigned.

An eventful year has begun for Europe: Britain is planning to leave the EU in March and a new European Parliament will be elected in May. Commentators offer their predictions and describe 2019 as a year that could decide the fate of the European Union.

On New Year's Day Romania took over the EU presidency from Austria. Bucharest has been under fire since introducing controversial legal reforms several months ago. Most recently, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker voiced doubts about the country in an interview. What does the presidency mean for problem child Romania?