European Union

The European Commission played down fears that the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) could succumb to a Donald Trump presidency as pressure on high-level officials from both sides increased ahead of their meeting in Leuven, Belgium, on Thursday (4 April).

With two months until June’s EU election, the Parliament has gone into alert mode as pressure piles up to respond to a new cash-for-influence scandal rocking the institution, with new reforms back on the table. 

Veteran European ombudsman Emily O'Reilly has cautioned about the risks of tobacco lobbying's influence on the European Commission.

Portuguese Justice Minister Rita Júdice has been tasked with drawing up a package of anti-corruption measures requiring her to hold talks with all parties, including members of parliament, justice sector workers and civil society, the government decided on Wednesday. 

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party is set for a heavy defeat at a national election expected this year, according to a seat projection published on Wednesday (3 April) which showed the opposition Labour Party winning more than 400 seats.

Finland's president on Wednesday (3 April) signed a 10-year security deal with Ukraine in Kyiv where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he believed Russia planned to mobilise 300,000 new troops for its war by June.

The G7 price cap on Russian oil shipments is cutting the revenue that Moscow has available to support its invasion of Ukraine, and the mechanism's effectiveness is helped by the recent actions of Indian refiners, US officials will say.

The European Union condemned on Wednesday (3 April) the attack on an Iranian diplomatic installation in Damascus on 1 April, as well as the reported casualties.

In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about Polish farmers being dissatisfied after occupying the Agriculture Ministry, Romania possibly set to soon deploy troops to protect citizens abroad, and so much more.

Trade unions increasingly shared the necessity to improve conditions for businesses, Markus Beyrer, Director General of BusinessEurope, told Euractiv in an interview, as job losses in manufacturing spread across Europe.

To move ahead on the path to replace animal tests for ensuring safety of chemicals, we need progress in science, better knowledge and close collaboration between scientists, regulators, industry and other stakeholders.

Romania could soon deploy troops to safeguard Romanian citizens beyond its borders, according to draft provisions, which, if adopted, would amend the national defence law.

Protesting Polish farmers left the Agriculture Ministry building which they had occupied since Tuesday, frustrated that the government had not responded adequately to their demands, including the halting of Ukrainian grain and sugar transit through Poland.

More funding is needed to get the Czech initiative to purchase ammunition for Ukraine, which was launched in February and has so far been joined by both EU and non-EU countries off the ground, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský (Pirates, Greens/EFA) said on Wednesday. 

Italy will undoubtedly trigger the EU’s excessive deficit procedure (EDP), Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Wednesday as he ruled out taking up the post of commissioner following June’s EU elections.

In the complex and protracted negotiations on the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, “the ball is in the court” of the 27 member states, Paraguay’s Industry and Trade Minister Javier Giménez told Euractiv’s partner EFE in an interview, pointing to Europe’s strict environmental rules as the main obstacle to a swift agreement.

Petr Bystron, a senior member of Germany’s far-right AfD party and a top contender for a seat in the European Parliament after June’s elections, has been accused of receiving money from Russia, with his own party leaders now calling on him to clarify the allegations.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Wednesday (3 April) on Azerbaijan's leader to ease tensions that have flared again with Armenia, ahead of a US-EU bid to support Yerevan economically.

On the latest episode of our daily podcast Today in the EU, we’re looking at today’s NATO meeting in Brussels.