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The magnitude of the economic upheaval in the European Union triggered by the international financial crisis, and the calls for financing and guarantees from recently flourishing industry and service sectors [...]

NATO foreign ministers agreed, on 4 December, to put Montenegro on track to join the military alliance, but Bosnia-Herzegovina was told it must wait in a further blow to its [...]

The EU Council of Ministers approved, on 30 November, the signature and provisional entry into force of the Open Sky agreement concluded by the EU and Canada in December 2008. [...]

While there is no real danger of a second financial bubble bursting in Europe at present, it is "highly likely" that a new bubble is developing in China, a European [...]

On 30 November, the EU Council of Ministers adopted decisions approving the conclusion of EU aviation agreements with Azerbaijan and Mongolia. The agreements were signed in July and April 2009, [...]

The Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF), the financial instrument intended to support investment in the EU's neighbours with which it has signed action plans, will benefit from a 70 million contribution [...]

The European Parliament's Regional Development Committee (REGI), which held its constitutive meeting in Brussels, on 20 July, has a president of some weight: Danuta Hubner (EPP, Poland), who until just [...]

On 16 July, the European Commission authorised a Greek aid scheme that will provide, until the end of 2010, support of up to 500,000 per firm to businesses facing funding [...]

The Socialists have had a change of heart and are now refusing to vote in September on the reappointment of Jose Manuel Barroso, preferring to wait until after the Irish [...]

The Conference of Group Chairmen of the European Parliament has issued its verdict on the composition of the leadership of the different EP committees. The members selected as chairmen and [...]

Nine member states (Portugal, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg and France) that have failed to notify national measures to transpose Directive 2005/47/EC on working conditions in the international [...]

The Conference of European Parliament Group Chairmen, set for 25 June in Stockholm in connection with the launch of the Swedish EU Presidency, has been postponed until 6 July. The [...]

The government reshuffling in France has produced a surprise or two. Bruno Le Maire, appointed six months ago at the end of the French EU Presidency, will give up the [...]

The Arab countries plan to take up the banner of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), which has been a non-priority since the war in Gaza. 'The entire Arab group [...]

High level, intense diplomatic engagement by the US administration of European and Eurasian countries to secure Europe's energy supply can be expected from President Barack Obama. 'Europe is our partner [...]

The EU and Africa plan to boost their cooperation in the field of transport. The European Commission adopted, on 24 June, a communication setting out the core areas of what [...]

The European Commission proposed, on 24 June, bringing together the various European systems for the exchange of security information within a single Community agency. According to the legislative proposal, the [...]

The time has come to revise old EU climate change targets, said Professor Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, vice-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a scientific body set up [...]

Cecilia Malmstrom and Carl Bildt were in Brussels, on 22 June, to present the priorities of the upcoming Swedish EU Presidency (www.se2009.eu). The ministers for European affairs and foreign affairs [...]

The solar thermal industry is looking confidently toward the future following a strong performance in 2008, when the European market grew by 60%, according to the European Solar Thermal Industry [...]

The participants in last week's European Council meeting invited the European Commission to present an EU strategy for the Danube river region before the end of 2010. The strategy should [...]

First it was a promise, now it is a reality: the formation of the Eurosceptic group, launched by the British Conservatives, was officially announced, on 22 June. It takes the [...]

The United States and the European Union have agreed on the conditions for the transfer of former Guantanamo inmates, the Czech EU Presidency announced on 12 June. The joint declaration [...]

The primary mission of the EU's Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) Atalanta operation is to escort World Food Programme (WFP) ships delivering humanitarian aid to Somalia. Before Atalanta, this task was carried [...]

The European People's Party will hold an extraordinary congress in preparation for the June European elections, on 29 and 30 April in Warsaw, Poland. On the agenda: adoption of the [...]

Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn is 'confident' that an 'early' solution will be found to the border dispute between Croatia and Slovenia. The Union's foreign ministers, meeting on 27 April in [...]

Supporting the rule of law in Somalia was the main concern at the international donors' conference for Somalia, organised on 23 April in Brussels by the United Nations, the African [...]

The European Liberal Democrats (ELDR) finally agreed, on 16 April, to add the Irish party Fianna Fail to its ranks. The secretary-general of Fianna Fail, Sean Dorgan, received the definitive [...]

With just 1.79 billion, ie 1.5% of the total 115.77 billion, the 2008 budget surplus remained very limited, as per the last two years, but contrary to previous years, including [...]

The European Investment Bank's Governing Council approved, on 3 April, a 67 billion capital increase to fund the bank's increased activity during the financial crisis (see Europolitics 3729). Here, the [...]

The EuroMed-News project will provide 'news' and not 'communication' on EU neighbourhood policies with the southern countries, say its partners. The project, launched on 15 April in Brussels with the [...]

Turkey may soon be taking part in the European Union mission to train police in the Palestinian Territories (EUPOL COPPS). The Political and Security Committee (PSC) has just approved Ankara's [...]

The EU's Czech Presidency has secured a general approach' on its draft framework decision aiming to remove jurisdictional conflicts' in criminal proceedings, when the same person is pursued for similar [...]

EULEX, the EU's rule of law mission in Kosovo, has reached its total operating capacity and is virtually fully staffed. A ceremony was held, on 6 April, at EULEX headquarters [...]

Two months after taking office amidst a US recession, a global financial and economic crisis and conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East, Barack Obama has come to Europe. [...]

The European Union's Water Framework Directive (WFD), and more specifically the concept of river basin management that it advocates, is considered as a model, even outside the EU, the European [...]

Istanbul will host the Fifth World Water Forum, from 15 to 22 March, which will revolve around the overarching themes of 'Bridging divides for water'. The meeting aims to promote [...]

The EU signed, on 6 March, a joint declaration on multilingualism with India, represented by Minister of State Daggubati Purandeswari. 'I believe that the EU and India can learn from [...]

Following a request from the United Nations, the European Commission is organising a meeting, on 26 and 27 February in Brussels, of the International Contact Group (ICG) on Somalia, which [...]

The EU and Pakistan signed, on 24 February, a horizontal aviation agreement that will bring into line with Community law the bilateral agreements between this country and 18 EU member [...]

According to the European Commission, most member states are happy with the new list of energy projects presented by the Commission to the Energy Council, on 19 February. The list [...]

The member states have made extensive use of the possibility of prolonging closing dates for programmes co-financed by the European Structural Funds under the 2000-2006 programming period. These programmes should [...]

The paper analyses the South Caucasus corridor as an alternative route to Europe. Kazakhstan has slowly but surely worked to develop this westbound route for its oil exports. It has [...]

The European Commission's plans for channelling 3.5 billion into energy projects, unveiled on 28 January, have been strongly criticised by those two countries most affected by the gas dispute between [...]

'I think it is time to make the development of transport between Europe and Africa a more visible and stronger priority,' said Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani, speaking in Addis Ababa [...]

Only a few more trade issues still need to be resolved to pave the way for the creation of a free trade area between the EU and Central America(1), in [...]

Visiting Japan from 14 to 16 January, EU Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani announced that an agreement had been concluded with the Japanese authorities in the field of air transport. This [...]

The Czech EU Presidency and the European Commission stated, on 15 January, that they could take part in high-level talks with Russia and Ukraine, to be organised over the weekend [...]

During an official visit to Croatia at the invitation of Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, Joseph Daul, chairman of the EPP-ED group in the European Parliament, expressed his confidence that Zagreb [...]

Croatia welcomed the Czech EU Presidency's call to refer the prolonged Croatian-Slovenian border issue, which is hindering Zagreb's EU bid, to an international court. 'It is the best way to [...]