Euobserver.com

The Nordic countries' success in promoting gender equality is a result of targeted government policies and strong civil societies. It has proven not only to be the right thing to do but also the smart thing to do.

Despite the escalating bloodshed in Idlib, the EU had made no evident plans to continue funding Syrian refugees in Turkey with the impending expiration of the so-called EU-Turkey statement.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said a meeting with Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday evening will aim to restart talks with Anakara. "Tonight is the restart of a dialogue, the rekindle of speaking together. This is the beginning of having the dialogue and developing at best a common roadmap," she said. The meeting follows Greek-Turkish border tensions over migrants.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said part of the solution on the Greek-Turkish border tension must include a right to seek asylum. "There is the obligation to protect the border, there is EU law, but there is the obligation to guarantee fundamental rights, including the rights to ask for asylum, so this is in the charter and this is what we need as a solution," she said.

Nato on Monday confirmed that one staff member working at the headquarters in Brussels has tested positive for coronavirus, after being on holiday in northern Italy. The person is currently at home in self-isolation. Nato has already taken preventative measures to prevent the spread of the virus, such as the temporary suspension of certain staff travel, encouraging staff to work from home, and the temporary suspension of group visits.

Over 3,600 scientists - from all EU countries and beyond - said on Monday the European Commission's proposal for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post-2020 must be "drastically improved" to stop harming the environment. They proposed 10 points to reform the CAP. The scientists said that EU authorities are diluting the environmental ambitions of the CAP "to defend the interests of a few at the expense of the many".

Several delegations, including from Finland, Israel, and Sweden are to skip a meeting in Rotterdam, a Dutch city, Monday to prepare for the Eurovision song contest to be held there in May due to coronavirus contagion fears, the organisers said. The show's own chief, Jon Ola Sand from the Swiss-based European Broadcasting Union, is also to skip the event and the contest itself may need to be postponed.

The price of crude oil has plunged by almost 27 percent after Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, said it would step up production from next month, the Guardian writes. The shock decision by state oil company Aramco over the weekend came in response to Russia's refusal to join an Opec plan to cut supplies. Aramco will boost its crude output significantly above 10m barrels per day.

Three Russians and a man from eastern Ukraine go on trial in absentia in The Netherlands Monday accused by Dutch prosecutors of downing flight MH17 in Ukraine in 2014, killing 298 mostly Dutch people. "The start of the criminal trial ... marks an important milestone towards establishing the truth, and achieving justice," the EU foreign service said on Saturday. It also urged Russia "to cooperate fully" with an ongoing investigation.

A coalition of EU states has offered to relocate up to 1,500 migrant children from Greek islands on a "voluntary" basis, Germany said Sunday without naming the members of the group. "At the European level, negotiations are taking place these days on a humanitarian solution with the aim of organising the care of these children," the German government said. The move comes after Turkey recently let refugees come to Europe.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is coming to Brussels on Monday amid an ongoing emergency on the Greek border.

Rule of law in Poland could be gravely harmed on 20 March unless the EU takes action, a Polish judge who faces prison for his verdicts has told EUobserver.

EU health ministers voiced concerns about the possible shortage of protective equipment and medicines in some member states, after Germany, France, and the Czech Republic blocked the export of anti-virus gear.

EU health ministers voiced concerns about the possible shortage of protective equipment and medicines in some member states, after Germany, France, and the Czech Republic blocked the export of anti-virus gear.

The European Commission is set to unveil the EU-Africa and the circular economy strategy this week. Additionally, MEPs will hold the plenary session in Brussels after the president David Sassoli cancelled the plenary in Strasbourg due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Former EUobserver investigations editor Peter Teffer has written a new book about how lobbying in the EU works. The EU's focus on the internal market offers corporate lobbyists a perfect means to forward their interests.

Romanian policy makers should see Green Deal as helpful, not a hindrance, in pursuit of energy and economic transformation.

Interview with Mrs. Cai Xiaoli, spouse of the Chinese Ambassador to the EU on the effect of the coronavirus outbreak in China and the celebration of Women's day in China and Europe.

Differences over Fidesz - Edina Tóth's, MEP for Fidesz, responds to the EUobserver op-ed from Katalin Cseh, and MEP from Hungary's Momentum ('Dear EPP, please, please expel Orban), last week.

By refusing to respond to questions on human rights, the European Commission has given the far-right a carte blanche on asylum and migration.