European Union

Rumours on the Internet that the border to Northern Macedonia was open prompted 2,000 refugees in Greece to travel to the north of the country on Thursday and Friday in the hope of crossing the boundary. But the border to Central Europe remained closed and violent clashes broke out between the refugees and police. On Sunday most of the migrants were brought back to their shelters. For Greek media the incident highlights the dramatic situation in the region.

European Aluminium’s 2018 achievements and 2019 priorities when it comes to trade, circular economy, energy and climate, sustainability and innovation.

EU institutions have put their cyber systems to the test in a bid to assess the efficiency of responses to attacks against critical network infrastructure ahead of European elections in May.

Danish, Finnish, German, and Italian far-right political figures will discuss plans for an EU alliance in Milan on Monday, prior to a larger congress in May.

EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini will seek a united front on Libya at a foreign ministers' meeting Monday, as forces loyal to general Khalifa Haftar launched an attack against the UN-backed government in Tripoli over the weekend. The bloodshed could trigger a new refugee exodus towards Europe, but some in Europe believe a Haftar victory could stabilise the country, while others fear his Russia ties could be a menace.

James Watson is now secretary general of Eurogas, after more than four years at the helm of SolarPower Europe. "I don't feel there is any inconsistency with what I've done before and what I'm doing now," he tells EUobserver.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini sends texts with smileys to French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and posts selfies with Austrian far-right politician Heinz-Christian Strache.

"If we are forced to remain in [the EU] we must be the most difficult member possible," Jacob Rees-Mogg, leading eurosceptic Conservative lawmaker in the UK told Sky News on Sunday. He said the UK should use the "opportunity to veto the budget and to be really very difficult". Rees-Moog also hinted that he would support Boris Johnson as a future leader of the party.

Former MEP Kaja Kallas' liberal opposition party, Reform, came top in Estonia's election last month, but a deal between the liberal Centre party, conservative EKRE and the Fatherland party has now paved the way for liberal leader Juri Ratas to continue as the Baltic state's prime minister. Under the deal EKRE would have interior, environment, rural, trade and IT portfolios, while Fatherland would control defence, justice, foreign affairs and culture.

Former Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, has confirmed that he will stand in the EU elections if the UK has not left the bloc but told Sky News that he was "not happy" about it. "I'm not going to, after 25 years of endeavour, watch British politicians roll us over," he said. Farage's new Brexit Party plans to run candidates in all UK areas apart from the three Northern Ireland seats.

The French and Dutch governments have both penned national pacts that go beyond what EU rules on plastic waste stipulate. On Friday (5 April), they kicked off a process they hope will culminate in a European Plastics Summit in 2020.

Norway’s $1tn oil fund, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, is to plunge billions of dollars into wind and solar power projects. The decision follows Saudi Arabia’s oil fund selling off its last oil and gas assets. EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian, reports.

Austria has announced a six-month extension of border checks with Hungary and Slovenia to at least November. In a letter, interior minister Herbert Kickl from the far-right Freedom Party cited a persistently high number of illegal migrants and a latent threat of terrorism from returning Islamic State fighters as reasons for the decision. "We will send the letter to the European Commission next week," he told Austrian media.

The Capitals brings you the latest news from across Europe, through on-the-ground reporting by EURACTIV’s media network. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. >>Read The Capitals in Greek, Czech, French, German. /// The election of Zuzana Čaputová as Slovakia’s first female president...

Austria will extend its border controls for fellow EU members Hungary and Slovenia until at least November, Austrian news agency APA reported on Sunday (7 April), citing a letter from the country's interior minister to the European Commission.

Fiat Chrysler (FCA) confirmed Sunday (7 April) that it is to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to Tesla, the zero-emissions electric carmakers, to avoid getting hit by European Commission fines.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's AK Party is seeking a full recount of all votes cast in local elections in Istanbul, a senior party official said on Sunday (7 April), a week after initial results showed a narrow victory for Turkey's main opposition party.

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday (7 April) conceded that concluding a Brexit deal with the main opposition will need “compromise on both sides” as she faced criticism for being inflexible. The embattled leader opened negotiations last week with...