It was a rare chance to see all the leading candidates from Europe’s main political parties go head-to-head in a presidential-style debate to become the next head of the European Commission. With just over a month to go until the European Parliament election, eight politicians met in the Dutch city of Maastricht and spent an … Read more
“It’s because of you that Europe acted on the Green Deal,” said Eickhout, imploring the young audience to vote in June. Then he rounded on von der Leyen, accusing her of dumping her mission halfway through. “We are now at the crossroad of continuing the Green Deal or going back to a fossil standstill.” For … Read more
Since the 2019 election this European Parliament has had to deal with various challenges, from Brexit and Covid-19 to the war in Ukraine and scandals such as Qatargate. At the same time it has managed to legislate on key issues such as climate change, AI and migration. In this episode we look back at the … Read more
In this episode we unpack the EU’s new buzzword and the main point of discussion at this week’s European Council summit: competitiveness. We also bring you another new buzzword from Brussels this week: Bolshewokism. Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO’s chief Brussels correspondent, Barbara Moens, to recap the leaders’ summit and their attempt to … Read more
Leading the country’s ideological assault is the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (commonly referred to as MCC), an Orbán-backed think tank. The government-affiliated organization opened a branch in Brussels in 2022, offering an unapologetically conservative take on EU affairs as it seeks to disrupt the Brussels think tank circuit. The Brussels branch, with a staff of about … Read more
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron’s pick to lead his party during June’s European election said she was “proud” of the bloc’s Green Deal despite the ire it has provoked among farmers across the continent. Speaking to POLITICO at an event in Paris, Valérie Hayer also said she was “appalled” by far-right rival Jordan Bardella’s … Read more
But in an interview with De Zondag, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said the bill “may sound good, but it is a bad law.” He added: “I am not against a law that protects our nature, on the contrary. I am against bad legislation. … This needs to go back to the drawing board. … Read more
BRUSSELS — Guess who’s back! Farmers arrived in Brussels’ European Quarter Tuesday morning, in a new demonstration against policies which they say are whacking their business. A ring of tractors circled Place du Luxembourg outside the European Parliament, where farmers milled around a blazing fire while “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees blared from loudspeakers. … Read more
Over the past few years, the EU has been at the forefront of the fight against climate change and pushing for sustainability across all its policies. As president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen set the tone by presenting in her political guidelines for 2019-2024 the main pillar of the EU’s work during … Read more
According to an online tool set up by the Commission, only 14.9 million trees have been planted so far. Belgium tops the list with more than 5 million, followed by the Czech Republic with roughly 3 million and France with just over 2 million trees planted. To meet the target, the EU would have needed … Read more
