POLITICO EU Influence – The Commission is expected to present a new EU strategy on the rights of the child next week, along with a proposal for a Council recommendation on a European child guarantee.
OPEN DEMOCRACY – Is the push for a vaccine certificate driven by an economic desire to boost travel and tourism rather than the safety of all Europeans?
CNBC – Europe’s coronavirus vaccine rollout has been thrust into the spotlight once again after the Italian government blocked a shipment of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines to Australia.
EURONEWS – Several EU countries are moving to reinstate border checks and travel restrictions over a troubling surge in coronavirus variants.
Financial Times – Working trips between the EU and UK will still be possible — but with more planning and paperwork.
EURONEWS – The European Commission has adopted a regulation to control the export of coronavirus vaccines manufactured in the EU, amid a row with vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca, and warnings of a brewing vaccine war with the UK.
The loss of the freedom to settle, work and travel on the continent has smashed the amount of rights associated with UK citizenship.
Financial Times – EU’s planned Conference on the Future of Europe delayed over who should run it
BLOOMBERG – Gloomy visions of an inoculated elite lording it over everyone else won’t get needles in arms any faster.
POLITICO – EU chief’s participation in a Croatian election campaign video sparked criticism.
CNBC – The latest political dispute is coming at a particularly painful moment.
EU OBSERVER – The troubled Conference on the Future of Europe, intended to reconnect the European project with its citizens, remains in deadlock due to an ongoing institutional dispute over who will chair it.
FINANCIAL TIMES – Budget stand-off over rule of law ends in neither victory nor defeat for Hungary and Poland.
POLITICO – Under fire in battles over EU values, Commission VP shoots from the lip.
EU OBSERVER – Stunning animals before slaughter and avoiding unnecessary suffering is surely the least we owe these fellow sentient beings.
EURACTIV – Almost 30 years after the first transnational European party was formed, the European Parliament has proposed that in the 2024 European elections, all voters should be able to vote, in addition to their national representatives, for a second set of representatives, elected in a single European college.
POLITICO – Irishman’s exit shows the Commission president won’t tolerate the impression that her top team can act with impunity.
EURONEWS – “This certainly will become a headache for Von der Leyen and the new [European] Commission because this will lead to a reshuffle of her college – this is very likely.” Alberto Alemanno, EU Analyst.
POLITICO – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s soundbite for a Croatian political campaign video lasted all of two seconds. But the repercussions have already lasted much longer and won’t be over anytime soon.
THE GUARDIAN – Millions of us built our lives on the promise of free movement. Under cover of coronavirus, that dream is disappearing…
THE GUARDIAN – France and Netherlands at odds on finance ministers’ €500bn compromise
CNBC – The travel ban comes at a time when the number of cases is rising in both the Europe and the United States. The two countries agreed in January to improve their trade links, by negotiating a deal before the end of the year.
THE GUARDIAN – Europe needs a new mechanism for involving citizens, not another talking shop chaired by the polarising Guy Verhofstadt.
BLOOMBERG – Parliament has been building its authority lately. Accepting the Council’s decision for Commission President reverses that.
CNBC – Ahead of this year’s EU elections, Macron finds himself fighting the nationalist and Euroskeptic party of Marine Le Pen once again. In Italy, the elections will be a test on the anti-establishment coalition government, which has been in power for roughly a year.
THE GUARDIAN – Those of us who reside in another member state live more ‘European’ lives than anyone. Yet we feel disenfranchised.
EU OBSERVER – Amid frantic negotiations, the EU-27 leaders ultimately conceded a further extension to the UK to ratify the withdrawal agreement by 31 October 31.
THE ECONOMIST – In European politics, the big divide is not open v closed but innovator v conservative
CARNEGIE EUROPE – A new wave of pan-European parties and movements could profoundly shake up and further polarize EU politics ahead of the 2019 European Parliament elections.
BLOOMBERG – The public may cheer a whistleblower, but it’s not easy to be one. While they expose fraud and abuse that otherwise would remain veiled, whistleblowers in Europe often face retaliation by their employers and other repercussions. A new proposed European Union directive seeks to change that; it might also prove useful in countering the erosion of democratic values in the bloc’s east.
BLOOMBERG – The Soros-funded university in Hungary isn’t the only non-governmental organization under attack in Europe.
The debate on the European Union confirmed the antithetical views of the two candidates, underlining their irreconcilable understanding of the European project.
In our highly-polarized nations, an electoral victory no longer ensures, nor translates, into societal acceptance and popular support for change.