Qatargate accused Marc Tarabella goes back to work
Qatargate accused Marc Tarabella will go back to work as soon as he is released from prison under electronic surveillance, Belgian press reports today.
Category
Politics
Latest reporting and analysis on politics.
Schengen still not functioning despite end of Covid
Europe's border-control-free zone, Schengen, collapsed during the Covid pandemic as national governments retrenched within more comfortable confines in the belief…
Is Macron just being a Gaullist?
Although France’s influence on the world stage has shrunk, French Presidents have a habit of still taking on larger-than-reality personas
Police raid shines unwelcome light on European Parliament financing
Belgian police, accompanied by German police, “raided” the European People’s Party (EPP) headquarters in Brussels on April 4 though the party itself said agents…
Brussels: nest of spies
A spy, according to the New Oxford American Dictionary, is “a person who secretly collects and reports information on the activities, movements and plans of an…
Kosovo-Serbia tensions flare again despite EU-mediated deal
Car number plates might seem a flimsy pretext for a geopolitical standoff but a renewed rise in tensions in Kosovo have been triggered by a dispute about where cars…
EC President von der Leyen links China trade deal with Ukraine war as tensions escalate
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hinted at rewriting the EU’s market access agreement with China on March 30 in the latest sign of a shift towards…
Can the booze industry kill off EU warning labels for a second time?
The wine and beer industries successfully killed off the first European Commission attempt to slap warning labels on their products – back in 2007 – and the…
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…
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.
Do personalities make EU politics?
What weight do personalities have in the design and implementation of European Union policies?
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.