Euobserver.com

The EU is ready to offer extra support to Cyprus as the Mediterranean island faces a sharp increase in refugees arriving from Lebanon, a spokesperson for the EU executive told reporters on Thursday (4 April).

Belgian, Czech, and Polish spies are chasing down MEPs who took Russian money ahead of EU elections, as those linked to one pro-Russia website hire lawyers and cry "slander".

Thinking of populism and authoritarianism in less absolute terms might be key to dealing with the 'hybrid democracies' and 'soft authoritarians' popping up across Europe.

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

Shell is battling to persuade judges in The Hague to reverse a court ruling ordering significant reductions in climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

Talking through Sparkasse's freeze of an anti-Zionist peace organisation, Turkey's election, German weed and Schengen neophytes.

Pro-transparency groups are demanding scrutiny into conflict of interests allegations of Markus Ferber, a centre-right MEP from Germany.

With 15 votes in favour, nine against and no abstentions, MEPs agreed to introduce concrete sanctions for any elected office-holder who fails to complete mandatory anti-harassment training within the first six months of their mandate.

Elected on a tide of youth and radicalism, Senegal's new president Bassirou Diomaye Faye has promised to take the country out of the West African CFA franc — a currency viewed by many as a relic of French colonialism.

The EU lacks the influence and joint strategy to become a big player in Lebanon, despite its extensive involvement in Lebanese politics and society, recent months have shown.

The EU is equipping itself to face down threats coming from Belarus and Russia, following fresh comments that Minsk wants no conflict but is still preparing for war.

On 1 April, an Israeli air strike killed seven aid workers from the US-based charity World Central Kitchen, the organisation said after immediately pausing its operations in the region — while the EU Commission calls Israeli authorities for clarification.

The new splinter party BSW could outpoll the leftist Die Linke and the liberal FDP in the European elections. But it is not clear whether they want to join The Left or instead fish for votes on the right.

The EU's easing of green agricultural policy conditions as a response to farmers' protests has sparked controversy. Critics fear that short-term quick fixes are not a solution for the sector, while others cite a CAP-Green Deal gap.

Just eight people got off the EU blacklist in the past two years, most of them in out-of-court deals involving friends in high places or EU passports.

Again we heaer cries that Moscow will invade Europe and that Brussels, Paris, Berlin and London are Russian targets. The question is whether fear is a good counsellor — and whether war rhetoric achieves what we want, writes Koert Debeuf.

Up to 1,700 individuals who held temporary residence permits in Ukraine before the war started and fled to the Netherlands risk deportation to their country of origin, after a decision by the Dutch government and a court ruling.

Hungary is more isolated than ever in Europe due to Orbán's close ties to Russia on top of democratic backsliding, EU values commissioner Věra Jourová has said.

Kenyan textiles traders have reacted angrily to a proposed EU ban on second-hand clothes exports following the first discussions at an EU environment ministers meeting in Brussels earlier this week.

Judges at the European General Court are demanding absurd levels of evidence for asylum seekers wanting justice over alleged abuses, says a lawyer suing the EU's border agency Frontex.