European Union

Agressive Russian behaviour in the Baltic Sea has again sparked discussion on the Åland Island’s strategic importance. The demilitarised and neutral status of the autonomous Åland Islands, belonging to Finland at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia has been...

Consumer prices rose 3.1% in 2021, according to numbers from the Ifo institute in Munich, and German government bonds have returned to positive yields following an inflation anxiety-fueled purchasing spree. After record low inflation numbers in 2020, price increases have...

Contrary to estimates from other parts of the world that we are facing our last battle with the pandemic with Omicron, Europe takes a more cautious approach. According to EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides, who spoke to a small group...

Finland does not plan to join NATO in the near future but is ready to stand with its European allies and the United States by imposing tough sanctions on Russia if it attacks Ukraine, Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Wednesday.

Poland's Supreme Court has said that a ban on media access to the border with Belarus is "incompatible" with the law, a ruling that could allow journalists to challenge the restriction.

A United Nations report into the forced diversion of a Ryanair jetliner last year has found that a bomb threat that drew the plane to Minsk was "deliberately false" and that Belarus withheld crucial information from its fact-finding team.

European Parliament President David Sassoli passed away on 11 January. The Parliament will honour his memory in a ceremony on Monday in Strasbourg.

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

The Germany of today is inherently a pacifist country. This truth is often lost amid the big news, but political observers of the party landscape in Berlin and beyond will agree.

President Emmanuel Macron presented the programme of France's six-month EU Council presidency before very agitated MEPs in Strasbourg on Wednesday (19 January), but it quickly turned into a sparring match with the French opposition.

Six new Rafale fighter jets flew low over the Acropolis in central Athens on Wednesday (19 January), the first planes purchased under a defence deal with France that has further stirred tensions with Greece's historic rival and NATO partner Turkey.

After the German government initially refused to supply Ukraine with defensive weaponry, German politicians are pushing to reconsider the position. The biggest EU country has already hinted it might now support exports of certain weaponry to Ukraine via NATO, which it has previously blocked.

French President Macron outlined to MEPs on Wednesday the main goals and the political strategy for France’s semester steering the EU.

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

The European Union must hold a "frank dialogue" with Russia and seek a political solution to the tensions over Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron told the European Parliament on Wednesday (19 January).

The French Presidency of the Council of the European Union began on 1 January 2022. For six months, France will be setting the pace for the legislative agenda and negotiations at the heart of the European institutions.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, presidential candidate of radical left party La France Insoumise, hopes to push member countries to break away from EU treaties "that block us" if he wins the election in April.

As relations between France and Mali sour rapidly, Paris is wondering whether it is time to stop providing military backup to a country run by a junta that has defied the international community.

France took over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU on 1 January. Learn more about French MEPs’ expectations for the next six months.

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

During the next meeting, the Committee on Foreign Affairs will elect its Chair and Vice-Chairs for the second half of the 9th legislative term. Members will also hold an exchange of views with HR/VP Borrell on the Strategic Compass for Security and Defence and his visit to Latin America at the end of 2021.
The priorities of the French Presidency will be presented by Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of France. The MEPs will also discuss the draft report on the implementation of the EU Association Agreement with Moldova and the situation in Libya and Kazakhstan.
Draft Agenda - 24-25 January 2022
Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

On 24 January, the Committee on Foreign Affairs will hold a hearing on multilateralism. MEPs will discuss with leading experts and practitioners the role which the EU should play in promoting a rules-based, networked and effective multilateralism, as well as those policy tools which could make the EU more effective in this role.
Draft programme
Poster
Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

The European Union's border and coast guard agency need to make its operational plans more transparent and carry out more rigorous migrant screening procedures, especially for minors, according to a report published by the EU ombudsman's office on Wednesday (19 January).