Monday, 17 August 2026Europe · Analysis
Independent · Brussels & Berlin
Topic · Organization
The European Parliament is the European Union's directly elected chamber. It amends and votes on most EU legislation jointly with the Council, and its political groups decide what survives.
European Council president begins August 25 trip through Central Europe and Baltics as frugal and cohesion camps remain deadlocked on seven-year spending plan.
The Pact on Migration and Asylum took effect in June alongside a tougher returns law, yet no mechanism exists to measure when migration flows exceed a member state's ability to integrate newcomers.
Lawmakers wanted the company's policy chief but received a recently hired technical employee who admitted he could not answer political questions about Mythos and Fable.
The Council of the European Union has adopted reforms that simplify compensation procedures while keeping existing payout thresholds intact. Rules take effect in mid-2027.
European Parliament backs mandate for talks with member states on legal framework; ECB aims for citizen access in 2029 after pilot in mid-2027, with €3,000 holding limit proposed to calm bank deposit fears.
A French appeals court rules Tuesday on whether the National Rally leader's embezzlement conviction and five-year ban on public office will stand, potentially ending her fourth bid for the Élysée.
Negotiators face four critical choices on holding limits, distribution, funding and privacy that will determine whether the currency serves the public or protects bank margins.
The economic and monetary affairs committee approved the legislative framework after three years of negotiation, clearing a path for a 2029 launch if member states and the full parliament agree by year end.
Economic and monetary affairs committee votes to advance legislation after years of deadlock, with MEPs framing the project as a geopolitical necessity rather than a purely monetary one.
The European Parliament's economic committee approved the legal framework for a central bank digital currency, setting up a plenary vote next month and a potential 2029 launch.
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's pro-EU coalition collapsed after 281 MPs backed a motion tabled by the Social Democrats and the far-right AUR, leaving Bucharest scrambling to form a new administration before an August deadline for €10bn in EU recovery funds.
Thirty parliamentarians from six groups demand urgent reform after Anthropic's model outperforms humans in finding vulnerabilities, while the company declines to appear before a parliamentary hearing.
The European Parliament has voted to raise the proposed 2028-2035 spending ceiling above the Commission's €1.76 trillion, but Germany and the Netherlands are pushing back while net recipients demand more. Negotiations resume in June with concrete figures.
Negotiators missed an informal end-of-April deadline to postpone high-risk AI rules until December 2027, leaving an August implementation date that industry warns will create legal chaos.
PSD's vote with AUR to topple the centrist government exposes a gap between the centre-left's European rhetoric and national coalition realities, with Greens and liberals demanding clarity on where the red line now lies.
MEPs voted 389 to 206 to advance legislation allowing rejected asylum seekers to be sent to centres in third countries, with penalties for those who refuse relocation.
Senior MEPs tell Washington the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act are settled law, not bargaining chips, as Parliament prepares to vote on transatlantic trade deal Thursday.
Ursula von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas issued competing statements within minutes as Tehran came under attack, exposing a long-running power struggle between the Commission and the External Action Service.
ECB president says workplace adoption of existing AI tools is delivering comparable productivity increases across the Atlantic, even as US venture capital dwarfs European funding for frontier model development.
Emergency meeting of trade committee puts legislative work on hold as 15% universal levy throws Turnberry agreement into doubt
Messages from 2018 and 2019 show Trump's former strategist asked Jeffrey Epstein to bankroll Marine Le Pen and Matteo Salvini ahead of European elections, while Italian and French politicians demand transparency.
Lawmakers voted 334 to 324 to ask the Court of Justice whether the agreement with four South American nations complies with EU policy, delaying ratification by up to two years.
Eurozone finance ministers defied parliament and frontrunner expectations to back the Croatian central bank governor, reshaping the race for the ECB's top jobs over the next two years.
Brussels says polls cannot be free or fair amid civil war and mass detention, but Myanmar retains duty-free access to the European market under the Everything But Arms scheme.
Interior ministers backed plans for offshore centres to hold rejected asylum seekers, longer detention powers and returns to third countries deemed safe, despite legal doubts from France and Spain.
Nathan Gill sentenced to 10 and a half years after admitting eight bribery counts linked to oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk and alleged FSB operative Oleg Voloshyn.
MEPs voted 318 to 309 against the compromise on sustainability reporting rules, delaying Ursula von der Leyen's deregulation agenda and exposing fractures in the centrist coalition.
Dan Jørgensen says Brussels must act on affordable housing or cede ground to populists, as rents outpace inflation across member states
The European Commission wants to push back the EU Deforestation Regulation by another year, citing IT system readiness, while green groups accuse the executive of bowing to agricultural lobbyists and trade partners.
Brussels plans to scrap the 2009 e-Privacy Directive that spawned ubiquitous pop-up banners, but privacy advocates warn the move could weaken protections against surveillance advertising.
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