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The number of countries opposing the EU mobility package grew from six to nine on Tuesday (18 February) when the transport ministers of Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Cyprus, Malta and Estonia made their positions clear in Brussels.

Turkey's civil society swung from hope to despair Tuesday (18 February) after counter-terror police detained leading rights defender Osman Kavala just hours after a court ordered his release from jail.

In today's edition of The Capitals, find out more about how the EU member states reacted to European Council President Charles Michel's more 'flexible' EU budget proposal.

Thuringia’s Christian Democrats (CDU) rejected leftist Bodo Ramelow’s plan to set up a transition government under CDU leadership. The state’s CDU rejected the proposal of Thuringia’s former Minister-President Ramelow’s of Die Linke to create a 70-day transition government under the...

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov was in Brussels on 5 and 6 February to discuss the MFF with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President Charles Michel. Speaking to journalists, he provided some insight of Bulgaria’s expectations from...

Bucharest is unimpressed with the EU budget proposal, saying, however, that it remains a good basis for the negotiations to be held during the extraordinary summit scheduled for Thursday (20 February). In addition to the country’s hope that rebates are...

Charles Michel’s compromise plan has in no way affected the main priorities of the Slovak government on the 2021-2027 EU budget. The Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs František Ružička, who participated in the Monday General affairs council (GAC), made no...

“The European Union needs a budget in the spirit of solidarity. We want Europe as a global player”, wrote Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in an article published on Tuesday (18 February) in Die Welt. However, as European Affairs Minister Konrad...

Several leading farm lobbies in Ireland have hit out at the proposed cuts to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), saying that the country’s farmers could be some of the worst-hit from the funding...

Finland is now adopting the role as mediator between the so-called ‘frugal group’, which wants the budget to be set at 1% of member state’s gross national income (GNI), and the ‘Friends of Cohesion’ who want the wealthier countries to...

Green MEP Karima Delli has latched out at football clubs for their contribution to climate change as big teams prefer flying for short distances instead of using alternative, more sustainable modes of transport.

The proposal put forward by European Council President Charles Michel “goes into the right direction”, said Austrian EU minister Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP). Austria still demands that its budget contributions benefit from rebates, “as compensation for the fact that we, as...

Proposals to allocate 20% of revenues from carbon trading to the EU budget, combined with a new tax on plastic waste, could help plug the hole left by Britain’s departure from the European Union, as leaders meet tomorrow to agree on the bloc's first post-Brexit budget.

The Spanish Council of Ministers approved on Tuesday (18 February) a national digital services tax known as the "Google tax", as well as financial transactions tax, EURACTIV’s partner EuroEFE reported.

The tight calendar, the urgent priorities awaiting the EU and the risk of post-Brexit talks affecting the negotiations are adding pressure on EU leaders to reach an agreement within days on the bloc’s long-term budget. Otherwise, a senior EU official warned, Europe risks facing a “horror scenario” in January next year.

Viktor Orbán, Hungary's strongman and prime minister, called for an “internal debate on the future mission of the EPP" in a memorandum sent to the leadership of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), whose dominance has receded following the May European elections.

Despite recent rapprochement between Ukraine and Russia, the full implementation of the Minsk agreements is still "miles away" and there is still a risk that the separatist regions could turn into another "frozen conflict", OSCE Secretary-General, Thomas Greminger, said in an interview with EURACTIV.

Corruption is deeply embedded in Hungary, with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán shielded by a cluster of wealthy bosses with close personal and political ties to the leader, writes Szabolcs Panyi.

Circularity presents a real opportunity for our generation. We have already done a lot, but we recognise there is still much to be done to make our businesses more sustainable – and we are up for the challenge.

Anna Wieslander offers her reflections on the Munich Security Conference, held last weekend against a backdrop of European confusion about its role in the world.