Additional US tariffs on steel and aluminium are a lose-lose for both sides of the Atlantic, says Europe’s business community. So says BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer. His organisation is the representative body for the business community at the EU level. He was reacting to President Trump’s recent announcements on tariffs. Beyrer said, “It is…
Photo by Cas Holmes on Unsplash European leaders met today for the European Council summit in Brussels to discuss the global security situation and Ukraine. This comes against a backdrop of reduced support for Ukraine from the U.S, including the suspension of intelligence sharing. Ahead of the summit on Thursday, some MEPs have been…
Photo by Mihaela Holhos on Unsplash Poland has taken over the rotating six-month Council Presidency, the first since the appointment of the new Commission. It comes at a turbulent time in world history, with multiple wars being fought, a global cost of living crisis and uncertainty about a second Trump presidency. In a parliamentary plenary…
Photo by Lukas S on Unsplash President of the EU Council Antonio Costa says now is the time to strengthen Ukraine for all scenarios. He was speaking at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday, the last such summit of the year. His comments come with the bitter war in Ukraine grinding on…
Photo by Maksym Harbar on Unsplash Poland has outlined the political direction of the rotating presidency the country will hold from January to June 2025. Details were unveiled by the Polish Undersecretary of State, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka. The central theme of the presidency is ‘security’, structured around seven key pillars: external, energy, economic, food, climate, health and information. This comprehensive…
An expert on European Union affairs says Hungary’s EU presidency programme has “little weight.” Zsuzsanna Vegh, an expert on the politics of Central and Eastern Europe and programme officer at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said that, instead, it highlights the extent to which the prime minister and his European allies are…
Photo by Akshat Jhingran on Unsplash On 29 August an informal meeting of European Union foreign ministers took place in Brussels, focusing on key issues of supporting Ukraine amidst the ongoing Russian aggression. One of the central topics was Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons to strike legitimate military targets on Russian territory, which…
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash EU member states have rubberstamped a new round of restrictive measures against four persons and two entities under the European Union’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime. The listed individuals and entities are responsible for serious human rights abuses worldwide, including torture and systematic and widespread sexual and gender-based violence. The EU says the new listings include the…
A decision on the next president of the EU commission will take place in Strasbourg next week. In the run-up to the recent European elections, the EPP Group elected Ursula von der Leyen as its Spitzenkandidat to become the next President of the European Commission. She is also the EU Member States’ candidate for this…
Photo by Dan Freeman on Unsplash Hungary has taken up the rotating presidency at a sensitive time for Europe, a time of political transition within the institutions and extraordinary challenges for the Union. Serious concern has been voiced in some quarters about its suitability for the post at such a time. This is due to the repeated issues the…
