Euobserver.com

Britain will not name a new candidate for the EU Commission at least until a new government is formed after elections on 12 December, British officials said Thursday. The move is a snub to the EU, which hoped that the new commission can take office on 1 December. Under EU rules all member states need to nominate a commissioner. Britain is due to leave the EU on 31 January.

"If evil is not defeated, it tends to expand", Natalia Magnitsky, the widow of a Russian anti-corruption activist, has said, as EU diplomats discuss human rights sanctions 10 years after his death.

US president Donald Trump is expected to announce this week that he is delaying for six months a decision on putting tariffs on cars and auto parts imported from the EU, Reuters reported. Washigton has a Thursday deadline on deciding to impose 'national security' tariffs of 25 percent. EU officials expect the tariff threat will remain for the US to use as leverage in trade talks with the EU.

The UK will lose influence in international affairs and become a "second-rate player" after it exits the EU, European Council president Donald Tusk warned on Wednesday. "Only as part of a united Europe can the UK play a global role, only together can we confront, without any complexes, the greatest powers of this world," Tusk said. Brexiteers claim the UK needs to leave the EU to become a global power.

Police on Wednesday managed to reopen the road linking Spain and France after more than 48 hours of intermittent blockages organised by Catalan separatist group Democratic Tsunami. Although French and Spanish police unblocked the motorway on Tuesday, protesters moved some 65km south, where the motorway passes through the city of Girona. According to the Catalan regional police, protesters torched barricades and hurled stones at security forces.

Polish authorities arrested two people accused of planning violent attacks against Muslims inspired by Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik and suspected white supremacist Brenton Tarrant in New Zealand, the security forces said on Wednesday. "The arrests are the result of information collected earlier by the Internal Security Agency (ABW) about an extremist group whose aim was to intimidate Muslims living in Poland," the statement said.

A total of 48 MEPs from GUE/NGL, the Greens and the Socialists have demanded the EU to comply with the democracy clause of the EU-Chile agreement to ensure that Chile respects fundamental rights.

The controversial name of the commission portfolio "protecting our European way of life" (previously "migration") will be changed to "promoting our European way of life", the Socialist and Democrats group in the European parliament said. Commission president-elect Ursula von der Leyen also agreed on Wednesday to change two other portfolio names, group leader Iratxe Garcia MEP confirmed. The concessions come ahead of crucial hearings Thursday of the new commissioner-designates.

Deadline shortly to expire for appeals against a Danish permit for Russia to drop concrete and steel in a Baltic Sea zone likely to contain old chemical weapons.

Marta Keil knows firsthand the pressure on culture from Poland's ruling Law and Justice party. Her overview begins at the Polski theatre in the city of Wrocław, and describes an epic clash as the Polish museum sector is steadily hollowed-out.

European Commission president-elect Ursula von der Leyen had broken with recent practice by not creating a commissionership with culture in its job title.

Spanish pro-independence party the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) announced on Tuesday that it will help socialist caretaker prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, to unblock the deadlock if negotiations about the Catalan issue start. The Socialist PSOE and the leftist party Unidas Podemos agreed a coalition this week, although they still need the support of smaller parties. The ERC's 13 seats would be essential to pass a government.

A Russian court has sentenced six Crimean Tatar activists to jail terms between seven and 19 years on charges of organising terrorist activities and plotting a violent overthrow of the Russian government, the Moscow Times reports. "This decision brings to a close what can only be described as a sham trial," Amnesty International said. Moscow said it was preventing terrorist activities by the Muslim Tatar minority living in Crimea.

The Italian city of Venice is being hit by flooding as high waters peaked up to 1.87 meters. Since records began in 1923 the water crept higher only once, in 1966. Venice's mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, said he would declare a state of emergency, blaming climate change for the flood. One 78-year old citizen died of electric shocks after flood waters poured into his house.

Despite the guarantee of free movement of people within the 26 countries of the Schengen area, some countries have introduced permanent border controls since 2015, Yves Pascouau, a senior adviser at the European Policy Centre (EPC) notes in a new study. Although border controls within Schengen cannot exceed a duration of two years, four-year old controls are now into place in Germany, Austria, France, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

The Dutch government has agreed to reduce the speed limit on highways from 130km/h to 100km/h in order to cut emissions, NRC Handelsblad writes. The reduced limit would only be in place during the day, while cars can still drive at up to 130km/h from 1900 to 0600. In a compromise between the four coalition parties, there would also be a reduction of protected nature reserves.

A letter to the president of the French Republic, from British Green MEP Magid Magid, following a visit to the refugee camps of Menton and Ventimiglia on the French/Italian border.

Spain's socialist caretaker prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, and the leader of the leftist party Unidas Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, reached an agreement to form a coalition government on Tuesday, after they lost together a total of 10 deputies in Sunday's election. This coalition government will need the support of smaller and regional parties, as they only have 155 seats in the congress - not an absolute majority (176 seats).

In a boost for the cause of three Catalan MEPs, the advocate general of the EU Court of Justice has recognised their mandate as elected MEPs -but it is up to the parliament if they should enjoy immunity.

Wine or food made by Israeli settlers on occupied land must be so labelled in European shops so people can avoid buying it if they want to, the EU court has ruled.