Do EU officials really have cushy jobs?
European Union officials, and those of the European Commission in particular, reputedly have cushy jobs.
European Commission swivels in attempt to arm Ukraine without using the EU budget
The European Union is by law prohibited from arming Ukraine, though anyone watching the manoeuvrings of the Brussels institutions would be forgiven for thinking otherwise.
Should the EU give lectures on morality to the rest of the world?
There used to be an EU official whose sole job consisted of trying to convince non-EU countries to drop the death penalty.
Europe’s migrant reception system ‘on brink of failure’
Europe is struggling to cope with the influx of migrants and the existing system for housing them is close to collapse, according to a group of Euro MPs.
Do personalities make EU politics?
What weight do personalities have in the design and implementation of European Union policies?
Migration: Europe’s southern border looks grim
From a European immigration perspective, the situation in the Maghreb countries of northern Africa looks grim.
People will revolt against a European superstate, Polish PM warns
People will revolt against any attempt to turn the European Union into a superstate, the Polish Prime Minister warned on March 20.
EU joint purchasing push would concentrate power in hands of EC
Joint purchasing can seem an efficient solution to many problems facing EU Member States and their citizens.
Macron ‘weakened’ by pension reform rebellion
Whatever the outcome of the battle by French President Emmanuel Macron to push through an increase in his country’s pensionable age, he is likely to emerge weaker, the Economist speculated…
United but fragile: Europe and Ukraine
Wars do not end in peace negotiations but at the ballot box, argues the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) in the introduction to its latest Ukraine war sentiment…
Qatargate: former European Parliament human rights committee chair surfaces
The former chairwoman of the European Parliament sub-committe on Human Rights, Marie Arena, has gone public for the first time to defend her actions with regard to the Qatargate…
War: Brussels in desperate search for 155 mm shells
The war in Ukraine could be won or lost by the European Union’s ability to ship one specific type of ammunition to the front, to judge by a March 10 press briefing.
Minting it: Euro MPs pad out salaries with ‘side jobs’
Law-abiding Euro MPs must be furious with the Qatargate suspects, who have brought unwelcome attention to less-than-totally-ethical European Parliament practices that were…
Europe is the ‘Wild West of the lobbying industry’
The Qatargate scandal, now three months young, has revealed the seedy underbelly of the European Parliament: an assembly where Euro MPs – allegedly – accept suitcases…
Qatargate: EC official who accepted free flights conducted his own conflict of interest assessment
The European Commission official facing pressure over his free trips to Qatar conducted his own conflict of interest assessment, the Brussels executive admitted on March 6.
Qatargate: European Parliament ‘already back-peddling on reform promises’
The European Parliament is already back-peddling on reform promises made when the Qatargate scandal broke just three months ago, according to a transparency campaigner.
Stealing from Brussels ‘considered patriotic in parts of the EU’
Stealing from Brussels is considered “patriotic” in parts of the European Union, according to the bloc’s chief public prosecutor.
Ukraine War, migrant surge accelerate plans for ‘Fortress Europe’
Faced with a Ukraine War of uncertain outcome and an ongoing surge in migrant arrivals, Europe has decided to fence itself off from the rest of the world.
Brexit: EU, UK in final push to get deal over the line
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen travelled by Eurostar to London on February 27 to meet UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of what is expected to be the…
Is Europe losing the Ukraine propaganda war?
A majority of those surveyed in India, China, and Turkey see Russia as a “partner” or an “ally”, according to the European Council on Foreign Relations.
Qatargate: more trouble for accused as leaks continue
Evidence leaked to the press continues to trouble the accused in the Qatargate corruption scandal, which has now implicated a mysterious “Dutch woman” in what appears…
Russia sanctions evasion ‘massive’
Western sanctions against Russia have triggered large-scale evasion, according to Wopke Hoekstra, the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Are cracks showing in EU Ukraine policy?
EU Russia sanctions have been agreed unanimously among the bloc’s Member States amid widespread public support for Ukraine, though a year from the war’s outset a number…
Qatargate suspects fail to make bail, ‘new charge levelled against Kaili’
Qatargate suspects were remanded in custody on February 16 despite desperate pleas by their lawyers.
Behind closed doors: hearing on EU’s Covid vaccine procurement procedure
The European Parliament has decided to hold a hearing on the EU’s Covid vaccine procurement negotiations behind closed doors.
More Socialists named in Qatargate scandal
Two more Socialist Euro MPs were on February 16 named as being allegedly connected to the growing Qatargate scandal.
EU officials ‘do not do drugs’
A claim that EU officials routinely do drugs was slammed as “unacceptable” by European Council President Charles Michel on February 15.
New drubbing for Europe’s centre-left, this time in Italy
The decline of centre-left parties across Europe has been confirmed via another electoral drubbing, this time in Italy.
EU leaders’ body language and illegal immigrant crackdown
Body language can be just as important as words or even deeds in Brussels, and EU-watchers have been combing through the gestures made by leaders who attended the February…
European Parliament tries to cauterise Qatargate damage with reforms
The European Parliament is racing to cauterise damage caused by the Qatargate scandal, which has left an unseemly smell of corruption hanging over the Strasbourg-based assembly.