Euobserver.com

The EU has entered a "golden age" of relations with Egypt, says the European Commission — as it deepens cooperation with a repressive state known for widespread human rights abuses.

The significance of Germany's nationwide anti-fascist mobilisation cannot be overstated. Authoritarian parties have gained office in many countries by stealth, pretending to be conservative, democratic parties. When they show their authoritarian face, people start to protest — often too late.

What will happen to Ukrainian refugees if they want to stay permanently in the EU countries in which they have been given refuge? Are they free to choose?

The EU aims to launch new Middle East peace talks with Arab states, but doubts remain about how realistic the EU's proposal is, with some observers labelling it "bizarre".

European foreign ministers met with leaders from Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt to discuss the ripple effects of the war in Gaza and the disruption of Red Sea trade.

Russia may launch attacks against Baltic nations and other eastern flank states if it is not stopped in Ukraine, says Lithuania.

Member states are worried about the domestic costs of investigating forced-labour abuses, whilst two major omissions in the council's latest draft risk making the regulation toothless: no reference to remediation for victims, and no reference to state-imposed forced labour.

Europe can no longer sit on the fence on Taiwan, hiding behind obfuscating tweets designed not to designate William Lai as president-elect, or to recognise that these were presidential elections at all.

The attention given to the Red Sea Houthi attacks has come at a price. Decision-makers in Brussels have not yet noted that another problem in this region has returned. The pirates of Somalia are also back in action.

Spain faces criticism for buying and supplying weapons to Israel while publicly condemning its military operation in Gaza, with thousands of demonstrators expected to take to the streets this weekend under the call "stop the arms trade with Israel".

EU foreign ministers will discuss Gaza and Israeli sanctions on Monday, as well as frozen assets and Russian sanctions. Nato will launch military exercises. Meanwhile, migration talks with Egypt and the future of agriculture are also planned for this week.

In the rush to finalise the controversial EU-Mercosur trade deal before the European elections in June of this year, its promoters appear willing to shake hands with Argentina's new far-right president, Javier Milei — a known climate change denier.

"Inciting or publicly provoking acts of serious violence" against Israel "in support of Hamas" to be made illegal in EU, alongside a new blacklist of Hamas money-men in Lebanon and beyond.

Hungary is ratcheting up its rhetoric against migrants and LGBTi rights amid an on-going standoff with the EU over frozen funds following an acrimonious debate in the European Parliament on stripping Budapest of its EU voting rights.

Journalists covering Gaza from afar face limited access, contested facts, lobby pressure and a power imbalance. But when they let these distort their coverage, it ceases to reflect reality and start to shape it, in unintended ways.

The EU's new due diligence laws, designed to address deforestation and human rights abuses in supply chains, risk having an uneven effect on African economies and farming, as governments and industry scramble to prepare compliance regimes.

EU countries are preparing new sanctions against extremist Israeli settlers as well as Palestinian group Hamas.

The Socialists & Democrats have named Luxembourg's EU commissioner for jobs and social rights Nicolas Schmit as their lead candidate — or so-called Spitzenkandidat — for the June European elections.

Geothermal energy is heat generated in earth's crust and is used mainly for electricity generation, district heating and industrial processes and could be Europe's next big thing in renewable energy.

Restoring the rule of law in Poland to unlock EU funds after the Law and Justice era marks a major challenge for Donald Tusk's new government, as EU justice commissioner Didier Reynders will see during a Warsaw visit on Friday