Euobserver.com

EU negotiators will ask Britain for the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg to settle disputes arising from a post-Brexit agreement on trade, fisheries, and security, according to an internal EU document seen by British newspaper The Times. But Downing Street said it would not accept the idea, which is a red rag to Brexiteers, on grounds the EU tribunal was "by very definition not a neutral arbiter".

The EU's chief negotiator warned in Dublin that time is very short to agree on a future trade deal, and that a "cliff-edge" scenario at the of 2020 is still a clear risk.

Belgian intelligence services, responsible for protecting the EU and Nato, have launched a major clear-up amid fears of Russian and other infiltration.

British ministers are expected to allow Huawei limited access to the UK's 5G networks at the National Security Council on Tuesday, amid concerns over the firm's links to China's intelligence services.

Slovakia's far-right party is at a historic high, as the murder trial of a journalist and his partner reveals corruption at the highest state level and lead to general disillusionment among the voting public.

As someone who has been personally targeted by Benjamin Netanyahu's incitement against Arabs and Palestinians, Christians, Muslims and Druze, I still believe that peace is possible. But Donald Trump's 'plan' will be a gift to Netanyahu's campaign.

Slovenian prime minister Marjan Sarec on Monday resigned and called for an early election after his government failed to push through key legislation. Slovenian president Borut Pahor is now negotiating with parties to see if a new coalition can be formed. However, Janez Jansa, leader of the opposition, populist, Slovenian Democratic Party, said that an early election was "by far the most likely option".

German chancellor Angela Merkel is pushing the European Union to start accession talks for Albania and North Macedonia. "Above all, we want to reach an agreement at the next European Council in March to start accession negotiations with Albania, and also with North Macedonia," she told reporters in Berlin on Monday.

German foreign minister Heiko Maas said on Monday the UN should pass a sanctions resolution against continuing military attacks in Libya and violations of arms embargo. The UN Security Council should agree "this would not remain without consequences," Maas said. Libya's UN-backed government said earlier that forces of renegade commander Khalifa Haftar have launched attacks despite his earlier promises to respect the ceasefire at a Berlin peace conference in January.

Hundreds of explosions and bursts of small arms fire were reported on the contact line in east Ukraine, as France prepares to host the first peace summit on the war in three years.

Over 250 civil society organisations and trade unions say that the Energy Charter Treaty is incompatible with the Paris Climate Agreement and the new Green Deal - becoming an obstacle to the clean-energy transition.

Luxembourg's foreign minister Jean Asselborn is trying to convince his EU counterparts to recognise Palestine, Axios reports. In a letter to his colleagues and to EU high representative Josep Borrell he writes: "it is time to start a debate within the European Union on the opportunity of a recognition of the state of Palestine by all its member states," adding "in no way would it be directed against Israel."

Brussels' minister for the promotion of multilingualism, Sven Gatz, presents a plan at the Brussels regional parliament on Monday to ensure everyone graduating from school at 18 in Brussels speaks French, Dutch and English. "The Brussels government has made of multilingualism a priority to make better function the cosmopolitan city, to stimulate social cohesion between its citizens and prepare them better for the labour market, Gatz said.

French president Emmanuel Macron and prime minister Edouard Philippe decided to go ahead with their pension reforms plans despite four-day long protests and strikes that brought national transport to a standstill. The government wants to unite 42 different pension plans into one plan and give financial incentives to work longer without changing the retirement age of 62. The three railway unions called for another general strike and protests on Tuesday.

Sanna Marin, Finland's current transport minister, has become the country's next prime minister. Selected by the Social Democrats, she will be the youngest prime minister in Finland's history, and the third female prime minister. At 34 years she is possibly the youngest prime minister in the world. The previous Finnish prime minister lost the confidence from his coalition partners following his handling of a postal strike.

Two Danish ministers - for environment, and for food and fisheries - call on the EU to reconsider the unintended consequences of zoning rules and income support in the Common Agricultural Policy.

The French liberal MEP Pascal Canfin, who is chairing the European Parliament's committee on environment, public health, and food safety, is adamant to deliver the Green Deal quickly - because "we cannot afford to waste time".

Right-wing Czech MEP Jan Zahradil is leading European Parliament negotiations on a trade deal with Vietnam. As rapporteur, he is supposed to be neutral but has neglected to declare his involvement in a group with ties to the Communist party.

A report from NGO Oxfam and the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) found that people who seek protection in Greece are regularly denied access to a "fair and efficient asylum process" due to a lack of lawyers and access to information in the overcrowded camps on the Greek islands. "The Greek government is weakening fundamental safeguards of the reception and asylum systems," said Maria Papamina from GCR.

The Arctic future conference kicked off with optimistic presentations by ministers and officials of the Russian government — but also a burst of scepticism from representatives of those actually living in Russia's Arctic and Far East regions.