Euractiv.com

As Europe is nearing the end of an extremely turbulent mandate, the bloc is starting to realise just how much ground has been lost in preparing for a brave new economic world.

The European election campaign will see French Green Party representative Pascal Durand joining forces with President Macron’s La République En Marche (LREM), a party not exactly known for its ecological sensitivity. EURACTIV France reports.

Germany and Belgium put forward on Tuesday (19 March) a joint proposal for a rule of law peer review in all EU member states. The new mechanism is meant to be applied in parallel to the already existing Article 7 procedure enshrined in the treaties.

Kazakhstan's first and only president so far, Nursultan Nazarbayev, surprisingly resigned on Tuesday (19 March) and announced that the Speaker of the Senate, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, will serve as interim leader before the next presidential election.

The European Parliament’s transport committee quizzed the head of the EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on Monday (18 March) about the ongoing investigation into a crash that prompted agencies around the world to ground Boeing MAX aircraft.

Without the prospect of joining NATO, the North Macedonia name change deal with Greece (Prespa Agreement) would have been dead because the EU side has not been delivering on its promises, North Macedonian deputy PM and defence minister, Radmila Šekerinska, has said.

Slovenia was the first Balkan country to join the EU, during 2004’s big enlargement round, after this was supported by a double referendum on both EU and NATO membership, which were supported by 89.6% and 66% respectively.

Russia has decided to deploy nuclear-capable Tupolev Tu-22M3 strategic bombers to the Crimean peninsula in response to the US rolling out missile defense systems in Romania, the RIA news agency cited a senior Russian lawmaker as saying on Monday (18 March).

Some EU ministers raised concerns about external market disturbances in the meat sector coming from Ukraine and Brexit during a meeting on Monday (18 March) but Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan pledged to fight fire with fire.

According to a joint report by Europe's intellectual property office and the OECD released on Monday (18 March), 6.8% of EU imports are counterfeit and pirated goods. That accounts for €121 billion.

EU’s foreign affairs ministers expressed their “full support”on Monday (18 March) to the EU’s new stance toward China, described as “systemic rival”, as the bloc seeks to rebalance its economic and trade relationship with Beijing.

European Union leaders could hold off making any final decision on any Brexit delay when they meet in Brussels later this week, senior diplomats in the bloc said, depending on what exactly British Prime Minister Theresa May asks them for.

The European Commission announced on Monday (18 March) new changes to the European Innovation Council and a budget increase to €2 billion, to improve and encourage entrepreneurs and innovation in Europe.

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. /// “In every normal country, Theresa May would have already resigned a long time ago,” former...

French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said on Monday (18 March) that Europe was concerned about the United States’ long-term commitment to NATO and implicitly criticised US President Donald Trump’s approach toward the military alliance.

Companies will support EU law on human rights due diligence, but want assurances that it will not expose them to increased risk of lawsuits, argues Virginie Mahin.

Norway says it has electronic proof that Russian forces disrupted GPS signals during recent NATO exercises, and has demanded an explanation from its eastern neighbour, the Nordic country’s defense minister said on Monday (18 March).

German police are investigating the Bonn office of Axel Voss, the MEP leading the controversial copyright directive through the European Parliament, after he was the subject of a bomb threat last week, German media are reporting.

Russian President Vladimir Putin flew into Crimea on Monday (18 March) to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Moscow's annexation of the strategic peninsula from Ukraine which was condemned by the West but remains popular among Russians.

British Prime Minister Theresa May's bid to get her EU divorce deal through parliament was hit Monday (18 March) with a bombshell announcement by the speaker, ruling MPs could not vote again on the same proposal they had already rejected.