The European Commission officially withdrew the Article 7 procedure against Poland after concluding that the country no longer violates the rule of law, the EU’s executive branch announced on Wednesday.

Bulgaria's pro-Russian far-right party Vazrazhdane is calling on Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD), which was recently kicked out of the Identity for Democracy (ID) group in the EU Parliament, to join it in a "truly conservative and sovereignist" group, the leader of the Bulgarian formation, Kostadin Kostadinov, announced on social media.

How will Europe remove millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to keep on track for its climate commitments – that’s a key question facing the next European Commission and Parliament. Kasia Wilk from Drax explains how the Green Claims Directive can help.

China could arrange a peace conference in which Russia and Ukraine would participate, the RIA news agency cited Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Thursday (30 May).

Portugal understands the use of weapons by Ukraine for defensive purposes against military targets on Russian territory, Defence Minister Nuno Melo said on Wednesday, adding that his view is personal and in no way commits the government of which he is a member.

Italian opposition parties, the Five Star Movement, the Democratic Party, and the Green and Left Alliance, are putting increasing pressure on the Italian government to follow the lead of Norway, Spain, and Ireland in officially recognising the state of Palestine.

German interior minister Nancy Faeser (SPD, S&D) has extended controversial checks at the border with Czechia, Poland, and Switzerland on Wednesday for the first time since introducing them last year while praising their effectiveness.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Thursday (30 May) for a peace conference on the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas as he addressed Arab leaders and diplomats at a forum in Beijing.

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An alliance between the hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament and Marine Le Pen’s far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) group or the Alternative for Germany (AfD) is “very difficult”, Jorge Buxadé, the leading candidate of the far-right VOX party, said on Wednesday.

Associations of European startups called for more integration of the EU's single market to better support innovators in a political declaration.

The current EU Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Luxembourg's Nicolas Schmit, is touring EU member states to rally support for national socialist parties and strengthen his party's standing ahead of June's EU elections.

The public debate in Sweden is dominated by a far-right troll factory scandal, while the centre-right coalition is trying to dilute its cooperation with the far-right in a broader collaboration with the Social Democrats in the European Parliament.

Europe must create high-road debate around competitiveness and improve workers’ conditions rather than just discussing cutting costs, says Judith Kirton-Darling, General Secretary at trade union IndustriAll Europe.

Accidents in Europe’s leather sector have decreased in recent years, while new methodologies to assess its lifecycle carbon footprint is helping the industry in its green transition.

Belgium and the Netherlands are pushing for a need-driven research model prioritising society's requirements, with an emphasis on addressing unmet medical needs, Belgium is viewed as setting the stage for future presidencies.

Bulgaria’s updated position paper on the revision of the EU's pharmaceutical legislation underlines the importance of national competence and focuses on access to new medicines for citizens of poorer countries.

EU socialists' lead candidate Nicolas Schmit could be open to outsourcing asylum procedures outside the EU if these are “under European control”, he told Euractiv in an interview, while criticising Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen for not involving all her commissioners in the EU's third-country migration deals. 

The reduction of the maximum level allowed for mycotoxins in cereals, substances produced by fungi that can harm human health if consumed in sufficient quantities, could cost European cereal producers dearly, warned French European Parliament (MEP) Anne Sander.

UK politician Nigel Farage has claimed that immigration would decide the UK election. Polling has the relatively pro-immigration Labour party far ahead, but recent YouGov data appears to back him up.