As Ireland prepares to assume the presidency of the Council of the EU on July 1, the nation faces mounting criticism from allies over its minimal defense spending. While detractors label the country a weak link in Europe’s security architecture, Dublin’s proponents argue that its soft power and commitment to international law offer a vital alternative.
Giorgia Meloni has defied expectations, evolving from a firebrand outsider into a pillar of stability for Italy’s business elite. As her three-year tenure stabilizes, the question arises whether this pragmatic shift provides a viable roadmap for the National Rally in France or if the Italian experiment remains a unique local phenomenon.
As Ukraine, Moldova, and Western Balkan nations accelerate their path toward European Union membership, watchdog groups warn that a rush to adopt legislative directives is masking a dangerous decline in transparency, public consultation, and genuine anti-corruption progress across the candidate countries.
EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič enters high-stakes negotiations with Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao this Monday, but his hand is weakened by deep-seated indecision among member states. While Brussels officials push for protective measures against Chinese overcapacity, national capitals remain split on how to confront the manufacturing giant.
The European Commission has refused to release 17 documents detailing infrastructure funding in Gaza, asserting there is no overriding public interest in the disclosure. This decision, signed by acting Middle East department head Michael Karnitschnig, arrived on the same day the UN human rights office identified signs of genocide in the enclave.
As temperatures across Western Europe topped 40C this week, causing dozens of deaths, EU environment ministers gathered in Luxembourg to debate weakening the bloc’s core climate regulations. Despite the immediate evidence of a warming planet, the agenda focused on softening CO2 standards and diluting industrial carbon-pricing systems.
After a doctor returning from a humanitarian mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo tested positive for Ebola, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has ordered member states to strengthen their preparedness, marking the first confirmed case of the virus within the European Union.
EU Home Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner spent Thursday fending off comparisons between the bloc’s police agency and an American-style federal force. Despite his repeated denials, new legislative proposals grant Europol the authority to pressure member states into opening specific criminal investigations, creating a friction point between Brussels and national capitals.
As Moscow pushes to secure a strategic victory in Kostyantynivka to offset domestic fuel shortages, the battle has devolved into a grueling urban grind. Russian infantry are bypassing traditional defensive lines by crawling between buildings, forcing Ukrainian units into a precarious struggle to hold the city's central and western districts.
A proposed European Union ban on Russian fish imports faces stiff resistance from four member states, threatening to undermine the 21st round of sanctions against Moscow. Diplomats indicate that Germany and France, both seeing surging demand for Russian cod, are among those hesitant to disrupt established supply chains.
Rainbow flags fly over Budapest this Saturday, signaling a historic shift in government attitude toward the Pride march. Yet, the celebratory atmosphere masks a stark legal reality: the restrictive laws and biometric surveillance infrastructure enacted under the previous administration remain fully operational, casting a long shadow over fundamental rights.
As heatwaves force European authorities to open churches and close schools, a critical gap emerges in the continent's climate strategy. While the European Union pours massive funding into decarbonization to meet 2050 targets, the structural adaptation of public buildings to withstand extreme, rising temperatures remains a secondary, underfunded priority.
Ukrainian forces have effectively neutralized nearly 30 percent of Russia’s oil processing capacity through a systematic campaign of long-range drone strikes. According to foreign policy expert Alexander Duleba, this technological shift has exposed the fragility of the Kremlin’s economy, forcing fuel rationing across 53 federal regions.
Thirty years after apartheid, South Africa faces a violent wave of xenophobia as the 'March and March' movement targets undocumented migrants. Led by influencer Jacinta Ngobese Zuma, the campaign has weaponized economic frustration, setting a June 30 deadline for foreigners to leave while gangs carry out deadly attacks.
Iftach Cohen, a lawyer for the civil society group Front-lex, says his team was blocked from speaking at a closed-door Brussels meeting titled “Saving Lives at Sea.” The session, scheduled for June 25, is jointly hosted by the EU border agency Frontex and the UN human rights office.
Ukrainian forces are escalating a high-precision campaign against Russian supply lines, striking 21 bridges across the Isthmus and Crimea in less than three weeks. By systematically targeting railway and road infrastructure, Kyiv is forcing Russian logistics into vulnerable bottlenecks while simultaneously crippling the domestic industrial base supporting Moscow’s missile production.
The European Commission recently migrated its official social media presence to W Social, a private for-profit platform. While officials framed the move as a push for European digital sovereignty, the decision effectively hands control of the institution's identity and signing keys to a centralized, third-party commercial entity.
A sweeping European Commission proposal aims to streamline corporate tax rules, potentially saving businesses €8 billion annually. While Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis frames the reform as a catalyst for investment and innovation, the plan faces a grueling eight-year implementation timeline to win over skeptical member states reliant on existing revenue streams.
Ten years after the referendum, 57 percent of British citizens now describe Brexit as a mistake. With political leadership in London currently in flux and figures like Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham signaling a desire for closer ties, the question of whether the United Kingdom could formally rejoin the European Union has resurfaced.
The European Union’s founding promise of open governance is fraying as the European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen increasingly shields its operations from public view. By narrowing the definition of official documents and withholding critical files, the institution is effectively insulating its decision-making processes from necessary scrutiny by journalists and citizens.
Thunder cracked over Brussels on the night of June 23, 2016, mirroring the atmospheric tension inside The Funky Monkey. As the 'BritPack' of London-based correspondents confidently toasted a predicted victory for Remain, the local Euractiv correspondent stood alone in his conviction that the Leave campaign was destined to prevail.
Fifteen European Union member states convened in Brussels this Tuesday to navigate the sensitive logistics of deporting Afghan nationals. While the European Commission framed the session as a strategy to remove individuals posing security threats, internal signals suggest the policy scope may extend to failed asylum seekers without criminal records.
Former EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos secured formal approval from the European Commission to accept a paid role at Fight Impunity, an NGO now identified by Belgian authorities as the focal point of a major corruption scandal involving illicit influence from Qatar and Morocco.
The European External Action Service, established by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, is buckling under the weight of an impossible mandate. Three distinct roles—chair of the foreign ministers council, Commission vice president, and head of a diplomatic institution—have combined into a single, chronically overstretched position that consistently underperforms.
European lawmakers have cleared a pivotal hurdle for the digital euro, framing the project as a vital defense against external control. With Visa and Mastercard processing nearly two-thirds of eurozone card transactions, the European Parliament’s economic committee voted Tuesday to advance legislation aimed at reclaiming sovereignty over regional digital payments.
Ninety percent of passengers demand that hand luggage be included in ticket prices, fueling a legislative overhaul that finally addresses outdated air travel protections. After years of industry lobbying, the European Union has reached a deal to standardize carry-on policies and solidify existing compensation rights for flight delays.
Half of the occupied Crimean peninsula plunged into darkness Tuesday following targeted Ukrainian strikes against regional energy infrastructure. The assault, which crippled power grids in Yevpatoria, Dzhankoy, and surrounding districts, intensifies a broader campaign to isolate the territory by severing fuel supply lines and rendering the peninsula unsustainable for Russian occupation.
Ten years after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union on June 23, 2016, the political landscape remains scarred by the same disconnect that fueled the decision. The shock of the result exposed a profound chasm between a remote Westminster establishment and a public demanding genuine accountability.
For years, the European political landscape was defined by the dual pressures of uncontrolled migration and climate policy. Today, those issues are receding into the background as a relentless cost-of-living crisis forces a fundamental recalibration of priorities among voters across the continent, moving economic survival to the center of public debate.
The European Union’s May decision to block Brazilian meat imports over hormone use and weak antimicrobial safeguards marks a rare instance of trade accountability. While the move earned broad support, it highlights a persistent systemic failure: the continued reliance on imported goods that violate the bloc’s own environmental and safety regulations.
