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Internal regulations of the EP Civil liberties, justice & home affairs Constitutional and inter-institutional affairs Economic & monetary affairs Employment & social affairs Environment & public health Industry, research & energy Internal market & consumer protection Internal regulations of the EP
While political environments are often being described as ‘bubbles’ that are detached from the rest of society, they are far from being immune to the most dramatic international developments. After facing significant disruption due to the wave of terrorist attacks in 2015 – 2016, the EU political life is now sliding towards a standstill due to the ongoing Corona Virus pandemic. Continue Reading
Today, a majority of MEPs decided to give the green-light to the new von der Leyen Commission. About 65% of MEPs backed the new College of Commissioners, whereas only 22% of Parliamentarians voted against von der Leyen. This means that, after a difficult process, the new legislative cycle can finally start. However, if you think von der Leyen’s life will be any easier after clearing this major hurdle, you might want to reconsider: the biggest challenges are yet to come, as the latest trends show that coalition building on EU policy initiatives is going to be more difficult than ever. Continue Reading
A few months into the new EP term, we are already getting a clearer picture as to where different MEPs stand on the most important issues that the EU is dealing with. VoteWatch Europe is keeping track of how each MEP voted on all the issues decided in the European Parliament. We looked closely at all the votes cast so far on 3 of the hottest topics at the moment, namely migration, EU enlargement and employment/social affairs, in order to assess how different political players are positioning themselves. Continue Reading
While preparing to decide the fate of von der Leyen’s Commission next month, last week the EU Parliamentarians engaged in the most hectic EP plenary since the EU elections, as the different EU political families formed and changed ad-hoc coalitions in order to provide political impetus to their proposals on the future policy direction of the EU.
Due to the ever shifting coalition arrangements, there was no overall winner or loser, since those who were on the winning side on some of the topics ended up being defeated on other matters. Continue Reading
During the first round of votes in the European Parliament, MEPs focused on foreign relations, while the legislative debate will resume after the summer. In particular, MEPs cast their votes on the EU’s approach towards the Venezuela crisis, an European Magnitisky Act and the crisis on the US-Mexico border. Notably, the side advocating for a tougher approach vis-à-vis all three seemed to get the upper hand. Continue Reading
Round-up of the elections: Liberal-Conservative turn for the Netherlands
Despite losing some seats, the current PM and leader of the People’s Party for Progress and Freedom (VVD), Mark Rutte, comes out as the clear winner of the consultation. While this is mostly good news for Europe and the liberal order, a closer look at the results and how we’ve got here is needed to understand the likely policy of the next Dutch government. Continue Reading
Despite the frequent clashes among both the political groups and the different national delegations in the European Parliament on how to respond to the unprecedented migratory flows, a compromise for the establishment of a European Border and Coast Guard has been supported by 68% of the MEPs. Continue Reading
After a passionate two-day scrutiny, Alexander Van Der Bellen (supported by the Greens) narrowly defeated his far-right wing opponent, Norbert Hofer (Freedom Party of Austria), therefore becoming the new Austrian President (50,3% vs 49,7%). Notably, the ecologist candidate only managed to win thanks to the postal votes counted today, whereas yesterday night the anti-EU Hofer was leading by some 144.000 votes. Continue Reading
25.04.2016
Radio interview of our Director Doru Frantescu about the dramatic result of the elections in Austria, where the far-right anti-EU candidate came 1st in presidential elections. None of the candidates of the pro-EU mainstream parties made it to the “final”, a situation he predicted and drew attention to in a report 2 weeks ago. Continue Reading
A political earthquake shook Austria yesterday evening, when the far-right anti-EU candidate Norbert Hofer received about 36% of the votes, trumping every other candidate by more than 10 points. Coming just 2 weeks after the referendum in the Netherlands that rejected the EU-Ukraine agreement, this is likely to impact on the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and other trade agreements, at a time when President Obama, Angela Merkel and other European leaders are trying to build a favourable momentum in Hannover. Continue Reading
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