The rule of law in the EU is in better shape than it was just a few years ago. This is the conclusion reached by the EU Commission in its fifth Rule of Law Report, which it presented in Brussels on Wednesday. Two-thirds of the recommendations from the previous year have been fully or partially […]
The EU foreign ministers have long been struggling over the right way to deal with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his unilateral actions and blockades in Ukraine policy. Now the dispute has escalated: At the last meeting before the summer break in Brussels, the European chief diplomats were unable to agree on a joint […]
In terms of asylum and migration policy, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced a massive expansion of the EU border protection agency Frontex. Frontex staff are to be tripled – to 30,000 border and coast guards. It remains unclear how long this will take. So far, the expansion has repeatedly been slowed down […]
It is now official: The right-wing populist mayor of Antwerp, Bart De Wever, is to form the next federal government in Belgium. This was announced by King Philippe on Wednesday after a brief meeting with De Wever at the Royal Palace in Brussels. The Flemish nationalist should have completed his explorations by July 24 and […]
The new legislative period begins today with the first regular EU summit since the European elections. The 27 heads of state and government want to adopt a personnel package for the three top jobs in Brussels and a strategic agenda with the political priorities for the next five years.However, this is proving more difficult than […]
Germany is piling on the pressure: the EU must be ready to accept new member states in five years’ time, said European Minister of State Anna Lührmann (Greens) at the official start of accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova in Luxembourg on Tuesday. Even if the two candidate countries need more time to join the […]
Against Hungary’s declared will, the EU foreign ministers decided on new arms aid for Ukraine in Luxembourg on Monday. Around €1.4 billion are to flow as early as July, said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. A second tranche will follow a few months later.The aid will be financed with interest income from frozen assets […]
The formation of a new Belgian government is making progress – at least on paper. On Wednesday, King Philippe received the Flemish nationalist Bart De Wever at the Royal Palace in Brussels to receive an interim report on the exploratory talks.No details of the content were revealed. However, De Wever has apparently come closer to […]
Following the Belgian parliamentary elections in 2019, it took almost 500 days to finally establish a new federal government. This time, things might move significantly faster: King Philippe has tasked Bart De Wever, the Flemish nationalist, with leading the exploratory talks for a subsequent government formation. De Wever is also considered a favorite for the […]
Belgium has been leading the EU through crises, wars and geopolitical turmoil for five months – so far with success. From the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) to the controversial supply chain law, the Belgian Presidency has pulled some hot potatoes out of the fire and kept the 27 EU states together.But […]