European Union

OTP Bank and OTP Faktoring
Environment and consumers
The unfairness of an unclear contractual term which places the exchange rate risk on the borrower and does not reflect statutory provisions may be subject to judicial review

Oeuvre d’assistance aux bêtes d’abattoirs
Agriculture and fisheries
Advocate General Wahl proposes that the Court find that products from animals that have been the subject of ritual slaughter without prior stunning can be issued the European ‘organic farming’ label

Leaders ate Wiener schnitzel and discussed EU fragmentation on migrants, Brexit, and rule of law in the Salzburg theatre in Austria.

Greece is planning to move some 2,000 asylum-seekers from the overcrowded Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos by the end of September, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos announced - ahead of migration talks at an informal EU summit in Austria. The Moria camp currently houses 9,000 people in a facility built for 3,100. Those being moved will be sent to the mainland to have their asylum claims examined.

US sales of soybeans to the EU grew 133 percent in the 12 weeks to mid-September, compared with the same period last year, EU data seen by Reuters showed. The change in trade patterns follows Beijing tariffs on US soybeans introduced in retaliation for US tariffs on Chinese goods and a July pledge by Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker of Europe buying more US soy to avoid tariffs on EU cars.

Animals sometimes have to wait inside hot trucks for six hours at the Bulgarian-Turkish border.

The EU Commission presented on Wednesday a plan to improve transport, energy and digital infrastructure links with Asia, seen as a European response to China's Belt and Road Initiative. Asia requires an estimated €1.3 trillion per year for infrastructure investment in the coming decades while the Trans-European network for transport is estimated to require €1.5 trillion in the period 2021-2030, providing significant opportunities for EU companies, the commission said.

Bulgaria will support Hungary in its rule of law battle with the European Union, defence minister Krasimir Karakachanov told reporters on Wednesday after a cabinet meeting unanimously agreed to oppose any sanctions against Hungary. "Today it is Hungary, tomorrow it could be Poland, and one day it could be Bulgaria in the dock. Central and eastern European countries should act in solidarity and help each other," he said.

Spanish foreign minister Josep Borrell told attendees at a lunch in Madrid this week that US president Donald Trump seriously suggested the Spanish government build a wall across the Sahara desert to stop migration to Europe. Trump is thought to have made his comment when Borrell accompanied King Felipe and Queen Letizia to the White House in June.

Russian oil producer Surgutneftegaz is pushing buyers to agree to pay for oil in euros instead of dollars if the need arises, apparently as insurance against possible tougher US sanctions, traders who deal with the firm told Reuters.

Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Finland…. The EU's Budget Commissioner Günter Oettinger did not hesitate to point the finger at countries reluctant to increase their contributions to the EU's next seven-year budget during a speech on Wednesday (19 September).

First Vice President Frans Timmermans on Wednesday (19 September) was expected to ask the College of Commissioners to refer the Polish Supreme Court law to the EU’s top court, the European Court of Justice.

The United States has supplanted Brazil as the European Union’s top supplier of soybeans since a deal in July with President Donald Trump to avert a trade war, according to EU data seen by Reuters on Thursday (20 September).

Hungary's foreign minister lashed out at what he called "biased, pro-migration" UN human rights experts on Wednesday (19 September), accusing them of spreading lies about his country and saying Budapest had the right to keep out illegal migrants.

Three former allies of the leader of Romania’s ruling Social Democrats called on him to resign on Wednesday, saying his criminal convictions have become the party’s largest vulnerability ahead of elections in 2019 and 2020.

Europe must stop selling new petrol, diesel and conventional hybrid cars by 2028 in order to stand a better chance of honouring the Paris Agreement’s most ambitious target, according to a new study.

The Bishops of Latin America are concerned that the EU is more prompt in negotiating new trade deals than ensuring the respect of basic human rights, when violated by companies who have their headquarters in Europe, writes Cardinal Pedro Barreto.

At a vote on the agriculture and food law, French MPs again refused to enter the banning of glyphosate within the next three years into legislation. EURACTIV France reports.

Prime Minister Theresa May appealed directly to fellow European Union leaders on Wednesday (19 September) to drop "unacceptable" Brexit demands that she said could rip Britain apart, urging the bloc to respond in kind to her "serious and workable" plan.