European Union

On the 500th anniversary of Spain's conquest of Mexico, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has called on Spain, the Spanish king Felipe VI, and the Vatican to apologise for the subjugation of indigenous populations in the region. Not all commentators agree with the demand.

Portugal is making headlines with the lowest budget deficit in 45 years, strong growth and a radically reduced unemployment rate. The driving force behind this positive trend is finance minister and Eurogroup chief Mário Centeno. But recent strikes reflect widespread discontent among the population. The press's elation over the good financial data is not unclouded.

The European Commission admitted on Thursday that the EU is "off track" to reach the aim of halving the number of road deaths by next year. In 2018, some 25,100 people died on EU roads, a decrease of less than 1 percent compared to 2017, when 25,300 people died. In 2010 there were 31,500 fatalities. The goal is to have no more than 15,750 road deaths in 2020.

Germany restated its commitment to higher defence spending on Wednesday (3 April), seeking to defuse tensions between Berlin and Washington after a storm of criticism from the Trump administration over Germany's shortfalls in NATO contributions.

Plenary and committee meetings, Brussels

Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Turkey and Germany have defended their arms and energy deals with Russia following strident criticism by the US at a Nato event in Washington.

The EU will immediately introduce customs checks and collect import duties in the event of Britain leaving the bloc without a withdrawal agreement on 12 April.

British MPs approved on Wednesday night a bill forcing prime minister Theresa May to ask for an extension to the Article 50 process beyond 12 April. The bill was tabled by Labour's Yvette Cooper and passed by a majority of just one vote, 313 votes to 312. To become binding law it must also be approved by the Lords, while the EU would decide whether to eventually grant an extension.

UK prime minister Theresa May will continue talks with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Thursday as options to find a negotiated agreement on Brexit are running out. Corbyn reportedly told May that Labour want a customs union with the EU and access to its single market. Meanwhile, Labour MPs urged Corbyn to not accept any Brexit deal without submitting it to a second referendum.

The French government's social media campaign #Ouijevote urging people to register and vote in May's European Parliament elections has been blocked on Twitter under a new French law to combat anonymous political messages and clarify funding. While some thought it was an April Fool's joke, interior minister Christophe Castanter said Twitter's priority ought not be to fight "campaigns to register on the electoral lists of a democratic republic".

Lithuania's prime minister, Saulius Skvernelis, on Wednesday appointed Kestutis Mazeika as the new environment minister, making his cabinet the only all-male EU government. "This is scandalous," liberal opposition leader Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen told AFP. Skvernelis will run for president in a two-round election in May, to replace Lithuania's current president Dalia Grybauskaite, one of the few female leaders in Europe. After two terms Grybauskaite cannot stand again.