After the corruption scandal involving the deposed Vice-President of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, became public, Parliament President Roberta Metsola set up an anti-corruption agenda. The implementation of her 14-point plan has begun, but is proving slow. This is because changes to the rules of procedure are also necessary. To do this, a legislative text […]
The European Parliament is looking for a solution for the voluntary pension fund for MEPs, which is facing insolvency. The fund, which has not accepted members since 2009, still had €50 to €55 million at the end of 2022. Payment obligations total €363 million and are not expected to end until after 2070. The fund […]
Olaf Scholz must have noticed how disappointed many members of parliament were with his speech. At the end of the hour-long debate that followed, in which he was criticized across party lines for lacking courage and initiative, the chancellor took the floor once again. He seemed transformed. Whereas in his actual speech he had read […]
The Commission intends to adopt the proposal for an overarching ethics authority for the institutions before the end of May. According to information from Table.Media, the concept envisages that the ethics authority will primarily serve the technical exchange on the respective standards, rules and codes of conduct in all EU institutions, including the European Parliament, […]
The final report of the “Conference on the Future of Europe,” which ended last year with a ceremony in the Strasbourg plenum on May 9 – Europe Day – contained 49 points. In the meantime, it has become clear that the Future Conference did not trigger any real reform momentum. “One year later, there are […]
Former members of the European Parliament must go to the “cooling basin” for six months before they take up lobbying activities or carry out “representative activities at the European Parliament”. If they take up lobbying activities or perform “representative activities at the European Parliament” after six months, they must first register in the transparency register […]
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s current mandate is informally entitled “ensuring that Europe meets its climate target of minus 55 percent CO2 by 2030″. Parliament and member states are still wrangling over the details of individual dossiers, while other projects in the Fit for 55 package have already been ticked off. But the authority […]
Rely on Europe and you are …: The EU has solemnly promised Ukraine one million artillery shells. But instead of delivering, some in the Union prefer to talk about “strategic autonomy” and discuss the origin of fuses. A commentary. MoreTop economists call for free migration to wage jobs: That might please Christian Lindner and Hubertus […]
The European elections will most likely take place from June 6-9, 2024. This is the date that the European Parliament has reportedly proposed to the member states. The Council, the body of member states, still has to formally approve the date. If this is the case, the European elections in Germany will fall on Sunday, […]
The parties are already preparing to draw up lists for the European elections. Germany is entitled to 96 of the 705 seats in the Strasbourg plenum. The rule of thumb applies: For one percent of the votes, each party in Germany gets one mandate in the Strasbourg plenum. It is likely that the next European […]