A Brussels court rejected on Wednesday a Belgian lobbyist’s arguments opposing Ursula von der Leyen’s reappointment as head of the European Commission against the backdrop of accusations related to the controversial COVID vaccines contract negotiation with Pfizer.

Doubts on the European Commission's claim of an investment gap of at least €174 billion to meet Europe's 2030 connectivity targets have been shed in a document shared with Euractiv by lobby association CCIA Europe, representing Amazon, Google and Meta, among others.

Diplomatic relations between Prague and Bratislava face turbulence after Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS, ECR) said the resumption of intergovernmental consultations with Slovakia “is not currently a topic”, with the Slovaks calling the statement disrespectful ahead of a state visit.

EU leaders are expected to nominate on Thursday (27 June) incumbent European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as part of a top jobs deal, but some lingering resistance is still expected to be part of the negotiations.

Bolivian armed forces pulled back from the presidential palace in La Paz on Wednesday (26 June) evening and a general was arrested after President Luis Arce slammed a "coup" attempt against the government and called for international support.

EU leaders are gathering in Brussels on Thursday and Friday for the last meeting of this mandate to seal the deal on the distribution of the bloc's top jobs following the European elections in early June.

A European Union bid to breathe new life into stalled negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo fell through Wednesday (26 June), with Serbia's president and the Kosovo prime minister failing to meet as planned.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, seeking a second term at the helm, has told EU leaders she is ready to boost the external dimension of the EU's migration policy by considering outsourcing procedures and developing economic partnerships with neighbouring countries, according to a letter seen by Euractiv.  

In a bid to cast the upcoming EU space law in a favourable light, Commission officials pitched it as a competitiveness driver for the continent's industry during the European Space Forum in Brussels.

The EU should draw up possible responses against Russia's growing hybrid and physical attacks inside its territory, Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabrelius Landsbergis told Euractiv, advocating a more pro-active approach to security.

Some empires take centuries to die. Others fall in a matter of days, like overripe fruit. President Emmanuel Macron is neither a tsar nor a sultan, but he has ruled France unchallenged since 2017 and his time is now running out.

The EU’s flagship CO2 price is significantly influenced by whether industry considers politicians' climate commitments as credible, according to new modelling by researchers. 

Many of the proposals put forward by the Rassemblement National (RN, ID) and its allies for the French legislative elections clash with the European greenhouse gas reduction targets set out in the European Green deal.  

EU leaders cannot afford a delay and must nominate incumbent European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for a second term this summit, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged on Wednesday (26 June).

Diederik Samsom, former right-hand man of Green Deal Chief Frans Timmermans, will assume the chairmanship of the supervisory board of Gasunie, the government-owned Dutch gas giant, on 1 July.

EU countries reached a common position on the bloc’s first legislation for the welfare of cats and dogs, on Wednesday (26 June).

Brussels, Belgium, June 26, 2024 (AFP) - EU countries on Wednesday agreed new sanctions on Belarus over the Ukraine war to align them more closely with measures targeting Russia, in a bid to curb evasion of the penalties, officials said.

"EU Ambassadors agreed in principle on a new package of sanctions targeting Belarus," announced Belgium, which holds the EU's rotating presidency.

"This package will strengthen our measures in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including combating circumvention of sanctions," it said.

The European Union has gone after the government of Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, the Kremlin's closest ally, for allowing his country to be used as a staging post for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Bringing the sanctions on Belarus more into line with those on Moscow is seen as vital for stemming the flow to Russia of banned goods, such as microchips, that can be used on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Officials say Belarus has acted as a backdoor to get sanctioned products from the EU into Russia, as they could be officially exported to Belarus before heading on to its giant neighbour.

"Belarus must no longer serve as a route to circumvent our sanctions against Russia. With this package we increase the pressure on both countries and make our sanctions against Russia even more effective," EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on X.

The push to strengthen the sanctions on Belarus, which is in a customs union with Russia, was stalled for over a year as efforts to relax restrictions on its lucrative fertiliser exports were blocked by Lithuania.

Some EU states argued that fertiliser exports should be allowed to help alleviate problems with food supplies in developing nations.

But the Baltic state argued that third countries had already moved to obtain supplies from elsewhere, and that removing restrictions on Belarus would see revenues worth billions of dollars flow to Belarusian authorities.

EU diplomats said no exemptions had been granted for fertiliser exports.

Before Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the EU had already targeted Lukashenko's government with repeated rounds of sanctions over its crackdown on protests.

The 27-nation bloc has hit Russia with an unprecedented 14 packages of sanctions over its war on Ukraine.

Slovak MP Peter Kotlár is accused of bringing “international disgrace” on Slovakia following his pandemic denial and Slovakia’s rejection of a deal to revise the International Health Regulations (IHR) at the World Health Assembly in Geneva.

EU leaders should support the cross-border merger of banks to bolster the resilience of the Banking Union, European Commissioner for Financial Services Mairead McGuinness said on Tuesday (25 June), warning recent amendments to draft deposit insurance rules risk weakening the very bases of the union.

On the eve of the European Council meeting, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni sharply criticized the agreement reached by the majority on the top jobs.