European Parliament

Euro hits lowest since June against dollar, US tariff may hurt EU economy

Market participants flagged that the sensitivity of the euro to the threat of higher U.S. import tariffs was evident late Friday.

EU leader praises Serbia for EU membership progress despite Russian impact

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday praised the Serbian president for meeting her and other European Union leaders instead of attending a Russia-organized summit of developing economies held earlier this week. Serbia has close ties to Russia and has refused to join international sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. In a telephone conversation Sunday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, populist Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said EU candidate Serbia would maintain its stance on sanctions, notwithstanding EU and other Western pressure. However, despite Putin's invitation, Vucic did not attend a three-day summit of the BRICS group of nations, led by Russia and China, which took place in the Russian city of Kazan earlier this week. Leaders or representatives of 36 countries took part in the summit, highlighting the failure of US-led efforts to isolate Russia over its actions in Ukraine. Vucic sent a high-level delegation to the meeting, but .

Venezuelan Opposition leaders awarded EU's freedom of thought prize

The Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought award is considered the European Union's highest human rights honour

EU chief Von der Leyen to unveil her new team after long and bumpy road

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen is expected to unveil the members of her new team for the next five-year tenure at the head of the bloc on Tuesday. But it has been a tumultuous ride to get it ready for office the search for the 26 members of her college was chaotic and scandal-ridden even before the parliament is to start hearings on whether to accept each proposed candidate. French heavyweight Thierry Breton resigned and openly criticised von der Leyen for allegedly questionable governance on Monday and accused her of backroom machinations to oust him. Many saw his shock resignation more as a removal by von der Leyen of one of her most open internal critics after exerting pressure on French authorities. Compounding such problems was the defiance of many of the 27 member states as von der Leyen struggled to get anywhere close to gender parity on her Commission team they staunchly refused to give her a choice between a male and a female candidate. After days of secret t

Germany's expansion of border controls testing European Union's unity

The German government says it is cracking down on irregular migration and crime following recent extremist attacks, and plans to extend temporary border controls to all nine of its frontiers next week. Last month, a deadly knife attack by a Syrian asylum-seeker in Soligen killed three people. The perpetrator claimed to be inspired by the Islamic State group. In June, a knife attack by an Afghan immigrant left a police officer dead and four other people wounded. The border closures are set to last six months and are threatening to test European unity. Most of Germany's neighbours are fellow members of the European Union, a 27-country bloc based on the principles of free trade and travel. And Germany the EU's economic motor in the heart of Europe shares more borders with other countries than any other member state. The Polish prime minister on Tuesday denounced the closures as unacceptable and Austria said it won't accept migrants rejected by Germany. Here's a look at some of the .

EU putting new pressure on Hungary's Orban over his outreach to Russia

Hungary won't be allowed to host a strategic EU meeting next month because of Prime Minister Viktor Orbn's self-proclaimed peace mission trips to Moscow and Beijing this month aimed at brokering an end to the war in Ukraine, which EU partners overwhelmingly saw as undermining their support for Kyiv. We have to send a signal, even if it is a symbolic signal, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said Monday in Brussels, explaining why he had decided that the upcoming foreign and defense ministers' meeting would take place in Brussels instead of Budapest. Hungary currently holds the rotating EU presidency, and as such had expected to host the annual late August gathering known as the Gymnich in late August. This gathering should now be held in the EU capital in September, Borrell announced. Orbn is seen as having the warmest relationship with Russia in the EU and is largely politically isolated in his stance on the Ukraine war. His government has held up sanctions on Moscow and huge

European Commission President Leyen faces vote for second 5-year term bid

Ursula von der Leyen pledged to be a strong leader for Europe in a time of crisis and polarization as she made her final leadership pitch Thursday in a speech to lawmakers at the European Parliament ahead of a vote on whether to grant her a second five-year term as president of the European Union's executive commission. The secret ballot at the 720-seat parliament comes hot on the heels of strong gains by the far right in last month's election for the European Parliament. I will never let the extreme polarization of our societies become accepted. I will never accept that demagogues and extremists destroy our European way of life. And I stand here today ready to lead the fight with all the Democratic forces in this house, von der Leyen said. If a majority of the lawmakers reject her candidacy, it would leave leaders of the 27-nation bloc scrambling to find a replacement as Europe grapples with crises ranging from the war in Ukraine to climate change. In her speech to the parliament,

France's elections end with no clear majority. What happens next?

Election results show French voters have chosen to give a broad leftist coalition the most parliamentary seats in pivotal legislative elections, keeping the far right away from power. Yet no party won an outright majority, putting France in an uncertain, unprecedented situation. President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance arrived in second position and the far right in third still drastically increasing the number of seats it holds in the National Assembly, France's lower house of parliament. No clear figure has emerged as a possible future prime minister. Macron says he will wait to decide his next steps, and heads to Washington this week for a NATO summit. The new legislators can start work in parliament on Monday, and their first new session starts July 18. A hung parliament? Three major political blocs emerged from the elections yet none of them is close to the majority of at least 289 seats out of 577. The National Assembly is the most important of France's two houses of

With French Parliament shifting to 'Left', risk of policy paralysis looms

The result delivered a stinging blow to President Emmanuel Macron and leaves the euro zone's second largest economy in limbo, heralding a period of political instability

Europe holds breath for France polls; Macron's role in EU to get diluted

The big fear for the EU's traditional political mainstream is an outright RN victory, forcing Macron to 'co-habit' with a government hostile to his vision of European sovereignty

French voters give strong lead to far-right in first-round of elections

French voters propelled the far-right National Rally to a strong lead in first-round legislative elections on Sunday and plunged the country into political uncertainty, according to polling projections. French President Emmanuel Macron, who called the surprise elections just three weeks ago, urged voters to rally against the far right in the second round of balloting. French far-right leader Marine Le Pen called on voters to give the National Rally an absolute majority at parliament. She said a National Rally majority would enable the far right to form a new government with party President Jordan Bardella as prime minister in order to work on France's recovery. Projections by polling agencies suggest the National Rally stands a good chance of winning a majority in the lower house of parliament for the first time, with an estimated one-third of the first-round vote, nearly double their 18 per cent in the first round in 2022. The party is building on its success in European elections

Ukraine set for symbolic start of EU membership talks, alongside Moldova

The two countries will have to navigate not just technical and legal obstacles to membership but also political hurdles

Costly election pledges in France may push country deeper into debt

The promises are appealing - and expensive. Vying to oust the centrist government of President Emmanuel Macron in an upcoming two-round parliamentary election June 30 and July 7, French political parties of both the far right and far left are vowing to cut gasoline taxes, let workers retire earlier and raise wages. Their campaign pledges threaten to bust an already-swollen government budget, push up French interest rates and strain France's relations with the European Union. The snap election could well replace Macron's limping centrist government with one led by parties whose campaigns have abandoned any pretence of fiscal discipline,' economist Brigitte Granville of Queen Mary University of London wrote Thursday on the Project Syndicate website. The turbulence began June 9 when voters handed Macron a defeat at the hands of Marine Le Pen's hard right National Rally party in EU parliamentary elections. Macron promptly and surprisingly called a snap parliamentary election, convince

European Union leaders break off talks over top job nominees without result

Leaders of European Union countries reached no final agreement on candidates for the bloc's top jobs Monday, but several praised the record of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and she appeared on track to secure their endorsement later this month for a second term in office. "There is no agreement tonight at this stage," EU Council President Charles Michel said after chairing an informal dinner summit in Brussels. The 27 leaders were weighing the fallout from the recent European elections and how to take those results into account as they nominate candidates for the top posts. "This conversation was today a useful step to prepare the next European Council," Michel said, referring to the next meeting of EU presidents and prime ministers June 27-28. He refused to be drawn out on the chances of von der Leyen and others, saying only: "It will be clarified next week." The June 6-9 elections saw the European Parliament shift to the right and dealt major blows to ...

EU leaders to discuss top jobs, policies goals at Brussels meeting

The leaders are to discuss who should be the next presidents of the European Commission and European Council, and the foreign policy chief, but their minds seem already made up

Reforms in customs duties, GST, commerce to push India's growth: GTRI

Implementation of key strategic reforms such as simplification of customs duty structure, GST, and not incentivising low value-added electric vehicles would help India ensure its sustainable development and inclusive growth, GTRI said on Thursday. Economic think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) also said that India is standing on the cusp of a transformative era and there is an urgent need for comprehensive economic reforms. "From simplifying the convoluted customs duty structure to pioneering regulatory sandboxes for cryptocurrencies, and from boosting the MSME sector through GST (Goods and Services Tax) reforms to fortifying our energy security, this agenda lays the foundation for a robust, resilient, and globally competitive India," it said. It said that the current basic customs duty structure, which affects USD 680 billion worth of imports, has not been reviewed in 20 years, leading to over 27 different duty rates and over 100 specific or mixed duty slabs. Currentl

Europe's destiny

Right's electoral gains point to deepening instability

Asia stocks trade in narrow range as European politics adds new risks

S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures both eased 0.1 per cent in Asian trading, after edging higher on Monday

Major fights, issues in the ongoing European Parliament election

Despite a series of recent setbacks, far-right parties are aiming for electoral gains that could bring migration to the top of the political agenda and complicate progress on the EU's climate goals

EU elections: Huge voter turnout expected; surveys predict shift to right

Voters are heading to the polls for the European Union's election super Sunday amid concern that a likely shift to the political right will undermine the ability of the world's biggest trading bloc to take decisions as war rages in Ukraine and anti-migrant sentiment mounts. Citizens in 20 countries, from the Alpine nation of Austria to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, will cast ballots to elect 720 members of the European Parliament. Seats in the assembly are allocated based on population, ranging from six in Malta or Luxembourg to 96 in Germany. Official results of the elections, which are held every five years and began in the Netherlands on Thursday, cannot be published before the last polling stations in the 27 EU nations close those in Italy at 11 p.m. (2100 GMT). Unofficial estimates are due to trickle in from 1615 GMT. An unofficial exit poll on Thursday suggested that Geert Wilders' anti-migrant hard right party should make important gains in the Netherlands, even thoug