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No punishment, but no cherry picking – France on Brexit
You can forget any cherry-picking when it comes to Brexit. That from France’s foreign minister, who has also said the upcoming EU divorce talks will not be aimed at punishing the UK. “I say it clearly here, there will be no cherry...
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Serbia, Kosovo set for EU-backed talks
Senior officials from Serbia and Kosovo will hold talks in Brussels on Tuesday. The EU-backed meeting is part of a long-term effort to normalise ties between the two. Relations became strained once more when an ex-Kosovo premier was...
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Schulz eyes bid to become German Chancellor
Former European parliament president Martin Schulz looks set to be the Social Democrat candidate for German Chancellor. The SPD’s current leader, economy minister Sigmar Gabriel, says he will not stand against Angela Merkel. He has long...
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Catalan leader in Brussels
Carles Puigdemont is the head of Spain’s Catalonia region. He was elected in January last year on a platform of delivering independence. Carles Puigdemont plan a referendum on that issue by September 2017 at the latest. During a visit to...
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EU’s Mogherini tells Kosovo, Serbia to end blame game
The EU’s foreign policy chief has called on Kosovo and Serbia to do more to repair relations after weeks of risen tension between the two. The leaders of both governments were in Brussels to take part in EU-backed talks. “I hope that in...
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EU officials propose extension of border checks
EU officials say Schengen border checks should be extended by three months when they expire next month. They were brought back after an influx of refugees and migrants in 2015. Schengen is a passport free travel area that includes twenty...
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Five Star Failure: Liberal MEPs reject Verhofstadt deal with Italian ‘populists’
Liberal MEPs on Monday rebuffed a planned alliance with Italian opposition party, the Five Star Movement. Members of Five Star, led by Italian comedian Beppe Grillo, voted online to quit the Eurosceptic bloc in the European Parliament...
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EP Presidency: the outsiders
There are many other candidates also in the running for the presidency of the European Parliament. Smaller groups will have some sway over who will be the next holder of the post. Belgian MEP Helga Stevens is the name in the frame for...
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EP presidency: the frontrunners
There are three main candidates seen as the frontrunners in the race to be European Parliament president The favourite is Italy’s Antonio Tajani: a former EU commissioner and someone who is close to ex-Italian prime minister Silvio...
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Oettinger faces more questions from MEPs
Germany’s Gunter Oettinger faced a grilling from MEPs earlier as he tries to convince them he is suitable for the post of budget and human resources commissioner But the centre right politician is still dogged by criticism over...
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EP president race hots up
Next week, MEPs will vote on who will replace Germany’s Martin Schulz as the head of the European Parliament. The role is largely ceremonial and has traditionally been shared between the centre right and the Socialist groups over the...
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Britain’s man in Brussels bows out ahead of Brexit talks
Britain’s ambassador to the EU has resigned, just months before crucial Brexit talks are set to begin. The government said Sir Ivan Rogers was leaving to allow those negotiations to start smoothly, pointing out that he had been to set to...
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Fallout continues after UK envoy quits
Brussels is still reeling from the British ambassador’s to the EU’s shock resignation on Tuesday. Sir Ivan Rogers, who was appointed by former PM David Cameron, quit amid differences with Downing Street over the country’s Brexit...
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Norway frets over ‘very hard’ Brexit
Britain lacks experience in international negotiations, according to Norway’s Prime Minister, which means it could complicate its Brexit talks. Erna Solberg, the leader of the non-EU country since 2013, told Reuters she fears the UK will...
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Verhofstadt enters parliament race
Former Belgian Prime MInister Guy Verhofstadt says he wants the top job the European Parliament. The Liberal MEP is entering the race to take over as Martin Schulz as the parliament’s speaker. He faces stiff competition. Centre-right MEP...
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Malta’s EU presidency in-tray
Malta took up the six-month presidency of the EU on New Year’s Day. And the tiny island nation will have an overflowing in-tray during its time at the helm of the bloc. Many EU officials spent the US election campaign mocking Donald...
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EU migrant relocation scheme still way off target
The EU is still struggling to meet its targets on relocation refugees and migrants from Greece and Italy. In September last year, governments agreed to move one hundred and sixty thousand from both countries to other EU nations. The deal...
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EU set to open new ‘320m’ HQ as governments tighten belts
The EU district of Brussels is, like the weather, grey and dreary. So what better to spruce it up than a colourful new building? Except this new meeting place for EU leaders comes at a price; a whopping 320 million euros. Commissioned in...
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LuxLeaks tax whistleblowers appear in court to appeal convictions
Dozens of campaigners are in Luxembourg to call for the protection of whistleblowers. It comes as the men who exposed the LuxLeaks scandal, appear in court to appeal against their convictions earlier this year for violating...
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EU, Cuba move to mend ties after Fidel Castro’s death
The EU and Cuba agreed a deal on Monday to normalise ties as Brussels softened its stance on human rights in the Latin American country following the death of long-time leader Fidel Castro. EU governments decided last week to scrap a...
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EU rejects calls for ‘freeze’ in Turkey talks
EU foreign ministers said on Tuesday the bloc would not push ahead with membership talks with Turkey but rejected calls by Austria and European lawmakers to freeze the process because of Ankara’s security crackdown. What many perceive as...
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EU’s Schulz set to bow out as candidates line up to replace him
Outgoing European parliament president Martin Schulz has hit out at so-called populist parties as he prepares to run in Germany’s federal elections. Schulz will stand down next month so he can be a candidate for the Social Democrats in...
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Migration, Turkey, Syria war and Brexit dominate EU summit
EU leaders have been getting down to business in Brussels – with the migration crisis, Turkey, Russia and Syria among the pressing issues on the agenda of their last summit of the year. Commenting on the unfolding developments in Aleppo,...
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EU summit: Russia sanctions to stay, Dutch Ukraine deal
EU leaders have agreed to extend sanctions against Russia over Ukraine for a further six months. The decision, at a summit in Brussels, was expected and the formal process to extend the sanctions on defence, energy and financial sectors...