Schulz told POLITICO’s EU Election Playbook allowing that to happen was “in my eyes a mistake.” “That would have been a contribution to deepen the feeling that Europe is … democratic … and not a construction where everything is at the end decided behind closed doors,” he said. Five years later, von der Leyen wants … Read more
After years of weathering crises and pushing ambitious climate legislation, von der Leyen is gunning for a second five-year term steering the European Union’s powerful executive arm, with a new focus on security, industry and making climate ambitions more palatable to big business. But to get there she will need the approval of a majority … Read more
A conservative Estonian activist made history last fall by proposing to his girlfriend in the European Parliament. Yet while Kuldar Lepp, 26, and Marta Schönberg, 18, were the first to get engaged in such a manner, they are hardly the first love story to begin in the house of European democracy. Lawmakers, assistants, lawyers, and … Read more
In Belgium, the land of chocolate, waffles and exorbitant rates of taxation, the expat tax dream is over. This month, the country’s special expatriate tax regime — available to people hired from abroad and which was introduced in 1983 — came to an end. From now on, only those earning over €75,000 gross (the exception is people … Read more
BRUSSELS — Ursula von der Leyen is readying plans for a second five-year term as European Commission president and her party is pressing her to launch the official campaign as soon as possible, according to two officials informed about her thinking. The timing of a potential announcement, not confirmed by people close to von der Leyen, … Read more
BRUSSELS — The Brits are making a comeback in the EU capital. Exhibit A: Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s international policy shop is wrapping up a hiring spree in Brussels. In just a year, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) went from virtually non-existent in the Brussels bubble to recruiting some half-dozen … Read more
Imagine if Brussels was hosting the 2024 Olympics. Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? But believe it or not, while the EU’s capital might not have the necessary infrastructure to hold the world’s largest sporting showpiece, there are some events that it would be ideally placed to host. We took a look at nine of the best. Kicking … Read more
<p><strong><span style=”color: rgb(0, 0, 0)”>Which of these European commissioners did not step away from Ursula von der Leyen’s top team this year?</span></strong></p> Jutta Urpilainen Ylva Johansson Mariya Gabriel <p><strong><span style=”color: rgb(0, 0, 0)”>Von der Leyen joined Mark Rutte and Giorgia Meloni on a trip to which country to strike a deal to limit migrant departures?</span></strong></p> … Read more
