European Union

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker ought to "apologise" for comments he made on a recent visit to the Belgian seaside, Jean-Marie Dedecker, the mayor of Middelkerke, has said. The mayor of Ostend, Bart Tommelein, called Juncker's comments "strange". Juncker had said he now spoke German in the region instead of French, as he did 30 years ago, because "tolerance" of French speakers had declined. Belgium has three native language groups.

The EU needs to do more to strengthen workers’ rights. Otherwise workers’ voice in Europe will be in jeopardy.

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Hungary was quizzed by EU ministers over its domestic crackdown on media, judges, academia and NGOs. Hungary's minister responded by saying the country had defended "the European way of life" for centuries, and it should be respected.

An "ideological" tug-of-war has broken out over the European Commission's recent pledge to "protect our European way of life" - a line seen by some as a far-right slogan. The words might be "loaded, politicised" to some, but they had "triggered" a positive debate, the new commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, told European newspapers. "It confirms our ideological victory," French far-right leader Marine Le Pen had earlier said.

The British Supreme Court has started hearings on the legality of a government suspension of parliament in the run-up to Brexit on 31 October, with a verdict due on Thursday or Friday. He would "wait and see what judges say" before deciding whether to recall MPs, UK prime minister Boris Johnson told the BBC on Monday amid concern he might use dirty tricks to force a no-deal exit.

Nato was "extremely concerned about a risk of escalation" in Gulf tensions after the US accused Iran of drone attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities, the Western military alliance's secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, told the AFP news agency on Monday. Stoltenberg did not blame Iran, as the EU also has declined to so far, but did complain that Iran was "supporting different terrorist groups" and "destabilising the whole region".

There was "Tory anger" over Luxembourg's belittling of UK prime minister Boris Johnson on Monday, British newspaper The Times reported, referring to the ruling Conservative party. Johnson was "ridiculed" in an "extraordinary break with protocol," The Times said after Luxembourg's leader, Xavier Bettel, held an empty-chair press conference following their meeting. Luxembourg was "staggeringly rude", The Sun, Britain's top tabloid, said. Street protesters also chanted anti-Johnson slogans on his visit.

According to an opinion poll, 58 percent of Belgians are against excluding the far-right party Vlaams Belang from the Flemish government. The same percentage is also against a federal coalition government that includes the Francophone socialist party PS and the Flemish nationalist party NVA. Two-in-three Belgians say they are against new elections. In the same poll Vlaams Belang became the largest party in Belgium.

The Capitals brings you the latest news from across Europe, through on-the-ground reporting by EURACTIV’s media network. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. ***Correction: In yesterday’s edition of The Capitals, we wrote that Commission vice-presidents were questioned in 2014 by...

Greece's minister for migration, Giorgos Koumoutsakos, has said the EU Mediterranean countries are in a better position to convince other countries to cope with migrant arrivals, Ekathimerini reported. He added that it was helpful that migration was a priority of the new European commission. According to Koumoutsakos, this month 4,500 to 5,000 migrants came to Europe via the eastern Mediterranean route, nearly four times more than any other route.

Pastors and plutocrats are sponsoring an ultra-conservative agenda in Europe. Many of them have links to Donald Trump.

The Brexit drama switches venues from Brussels to the UK Supreme Court on Tuesday (17 September) for hearings on Boris Johnson’s explosive decision to suspend parliament for over a month. The British prime minister’s first talks Monday with European Commission...

Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, Blackrock, and Vanguard collectively own more than $1.1bn in debt in the three largest soy, and the three largest cattle companies, and own $6bn worth of shares in these companies.

The European parliament debates on Tuesday the fires in the Amazon region. "It goes without saying that, in light of the gravity of the situation, Europe will need to renegotiate the Mercosur agreement", writes MEP Kathleen Van Brempt.

Apple embarks on an epic court battle with the EU on Tuesday (17 September), fighting the commission's landmark order that the iPhone-maker reimburse Ireland €13 billion ($14 billion) in back taxes.

The European Commission has dangled the prospect of limiting its public subsidies to the US administration in an attempt to avoid further tariffs from Washington that could come as early as next month in the context of the Airbus-Boeing dispute.

Polish Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska will relinquish the reins of EU industrial policy to France's Sylvie Goulard on 31 October. Ahead of the changeover, she looked back on her time in office and discussed the challenges facing her successor, including her beefed-up portfolio.