Euractiv.com

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, known for his long-term opposition to sending aid to Ukraine, blocked the adoption of a common position on the provision of military aid to Kyiv at the Bucharest Nine forum in Riga on Tuesday. 

As Europe prepares itself for a long conflict – frozen or not – on the shores of the Black Sea, it should commit to optimising the Danube River transport corridor to ensure the Black Sea remains free and open, write Kaush Arha, Ben Hodges, and George Scutaru.

The US government plans on Wednesday (12 June) to announce wider sanctions on the sale of semiconductor chips and other goods to Russia, with the goal of targeting third-party sellers in China, sources familiar with the plans said.

The Czech Freedom and Direct Democracy (ID) party will convene a committee within the next two weeks to analyse its disappointing performance in the recent European elections, party leader Tomio Okamura announced on Tuesday.

Sirens blared across Poland during the funeral of a soldier who died last week after being stabbed by a migrant at the border with Belarus - serving as another example of hybrid activities taking place all across NATO, according to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

As the summer recess of the Slovak parliament approaches, the ruling coalition announced on Tuesday that it will postpone until September the controversial laws on foreign agents and environmental impact assessment, as well as the dispute over the new speaker of parliament, which the coalition parties are contesting.

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said Portugal’s official position on the Palestinian question is changing, reminding protesting students that Portugal had recently adopted an official position in favour of Palestine's entry into the UN as a full member.

Spain's controversial amnesty law, pardoning Catalan separatists responsible for illegal actions between 2011 and 2023, officially came into force on Tuesday, but the expected return of former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont to Spain remains uncertain, as on the same day a Spanish judge announced that an arrest warrant for the separatist leader remains in force.

Euractiv’s agri-food hub has identified all incoming lawmakers likely to influence agricultural policy over the 2024-2029 mandate.

The outcome of the European election results in Italy could be a signal of moderation for the ruling right-wing alliance led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, according to the political analyst Lorenzo Pregliasco.

Some of the world's largest aircraft lessors faced off against their insurers in a Dublin courtroom on Tuesday (11 June) at the start of a months-long battle over around €2.5 billion of insurance claims related to jets stranded in Russia.

Post elections, the EU’s climate advocacy space is forced to contend with an awkward reality: Contrary to its doom-laden warnings, the centre held, the far right is not in power, and progress remains possible.

After Hungary requested exemption from military support to Ukraine in return for unblocking key alliance decisions, all eyes are on NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg who is set to visit Budapest on Wednesday (12 June).

The company car market, which is ideally positioned to move towards electric-vehicles, is lagging behind the private market for the third year in a row, a new report by green group Transport & Environment (T&E) finds.

A Ukrainian delegation aimed to convince hesitant businesses on Tuesday (11 June) that the war-torn country is safe for investments despite Russia’s ongoing war, as the EU is hoping to boost its efforts with new business guarantees. 

A union of far-right movements in France, including renegades from the conservatives Les Républicains, was tentatively being put together in the hope to beat Emmanuel Macron, in a scenario many would have dreamt of at the EU level – before it backfired.

Despite a series of recent scandals, Germany's far-right AfD party achieved its best national result in history in the European elections on Sunday (9 June). But its internal situation is not so rosy.

The EU's increased defence spending priorities must not come at the expense of development aid, as this could risk isolating the continent geopolitically, the Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen warned in an interview.

While Les Républicains leader Éric Ciotti has begun to forge closer ties with the Rassemblement National (RN), the party's head of list François-Xavier Bellamy has no intention of doing so, sticking to the EPP line.

With the EU expected to announce preliminary tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles on Wednesday (12 June), most European industry representatives look forward to the move, except the car industry itself.