European Commission

EU Needs Own Intelligence Agency, Says Finland’s Niinistö

As part of a sweeping review of the bloc’s readiness for war and crisis issued Wednesday, ex-Finnish President Sauli Niinistö reckons the EU needs its own intelligence agency to help…

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EU and Britain agree on cooperation in antitrust investigations

The European Commission on Tuesday said it had finalised discussions with Britain on an agreement that would allow both sides to cooperate directly in antitrust investigations. The agreement is the…

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European Parliament sets out time limits, evaluation process ahead of commissioner hearings

The European Parliament has divided up the 180 minutes available for each European commissioner hearing among the Parliament's various political factions based on the size of each respective group, according to documents…

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Ursula von der Leyen Updates Hiring Guidelines for Commissioners

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen set new hiring rules for incoming commissioners as they form their top teams. The rules aim to ensure diversity in nationality, gender and…

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European Commission rolls out its own ChatGPT-like tool

The European Commission is known more for regulating artificial intelligence tools than deploying them — until now. The Commission's IT department, DG DIGIT, has rolled out an AI pilot project…

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Only 3 of 26 EU Commissioners Pass Financial Health Checks

Only three of the 26 incoming European commissioners who had backgrounds checks conducted by MEPs Thursday were given a clean bill of financial health in what was described as a…

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EU sues Spain, Cyprus, Poland, Portugal for failing to implement corporate tax

The EU Commission sued Spain, Cyprus, Poland and Portugal for failing to implement rules aimed at ensuring a global minimum level of taxation for multinational companies, it said on Thursday.…

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European commissioner hearings confirmed for November

The hearings for European commissioners will be held from Nov. 4 to Nov. 12, senior members of the European Parliament decided Wednesday. Holding the hearings in November means the earliest…

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EU warns of ‘dangerous regional war’

Iran's overnight attack on Israel could spiral into a far wider conflict, the EU has warned, as the two countries face off in an escalating exchange that threatens to engulf…

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Over 100 companies first to sign EU’s AI Pact

Over one hundred companies have become the first to sign the EU Pact on Artificial Intelligence, the European Commission announced in a note.The signatories include European multinationals and small and…

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Who’s who in top picks for European Commission

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday nominated her candidates for posts in the EU executive. Each of the EU's 27 member states gets a seat at the…

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Ursula von der Leyen reveals her new European Commission

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday handed out the top jobs in her team. There are now only two layers of command: executive vice presidents and commissioners. The previous third…

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Von der Leyen ‘hopes’ to announce top team on Tuesday

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen still hopes to present her new College of Commissioners in Strasbourg as planned, despite significant setbacks. According to her spokesperson, Arianna Podestà, von…

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Stéphane Séjourné replaces Thierry Breton as France’s nominee for European commissioner

Outgoing French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné will replace Thierry Breton as France’s nominee for European Commissioner, according to a statement by the Elysée. Séjourné, a close ally of President Emmanuel…

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Thierry Breton resigns as EU Commissioner over rift with Ursula von der Leyen

French European Commissioner Thierry Breton on Monday said he would step down as a member of the EU executive body over a rift with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,…

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Hungary ready to sue EU executive over border protection costs, PM aide says

Hungary is ready to sue the European Commission to reimburse the costs of protecting the European Union's external border, which Budapest says has cost it some 2 billion euros ($2.20…

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Von der Leyen delays unveiling of new European Commission until next week

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has delayed her 26 commissioner nominees’ portfolios until next week, according to three officials with knowledge of the decision. Initially, von der Leyen’s…

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Google loses fight against $2.7 billion EU antitrust fine

Alphabet's Google on Tuesday lost its fight against a 2.42 billion euro ($2.7 billion) fine levied by EU antitrust regulators seven years ago, one of a trio of hefty fines…

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Slovenia chooses new commissioner nominee

Slovenia confirmed Marta Kos as its next European commissioner nominee after the previous candidate withdrew his candidacy amid Ursula von der Leyen’s search for more women on her top team,…

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EU outlines €1.3m initiative to make nursing more attractive

The EU executive has unveiled a new initiative aimed at making the nursing profession more attractive to counter an ongoing nurse shortage across Europe. The initiative is a joint effort…

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Start date of the new European Commission is likely to be delayed

The start date of the new Commission is likely to be delayed until the beginning of December, eight EU lawmakers, parliamentary officials and European diplomats told POLITICO. The complicated inner…

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Von der Leyen pressures EU countries to swap women in as commissioner picks

Ursula von der Leyen is piling pressure on EU countries to nominate women for the next European Commission as she seeks to stave off the potential humiliation of presenting a…

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Belgium appoints FM Hadja Lahbib as EU commissioner

Belgium is set to appoint Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib as its pick for the next European Commission, said the president of the Francophone center-right liberal Reformist Movement (MR) — dealing…

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Romania changes EU commissioner pick, puts forward a woman

Romania has nominated MEP Roxana Mînzatu as its next European commissioner, after originally putting forward a man for the role. Romanian media reported that Mînzatu, a Socialist, will be the…

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Portugal nominates ex-Finance Minister Albuquerque for European Commission

Portugal nominated former finance minister Maria Luís Albuquerque as its next European commissioner. "She has extraordinary qualities and skills that will certainly enrich the European Commission and give prestige to…

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Denmark nominates centre-left Jorgensen for EU commissioner post

Denmark on Wednesday nominated Dan Jorgensen, a centre-left minister for development cooperation and global climate policy, for a post on the new European Commission following EU parliamentary elections earlier this…

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Von der Leyen set to miss gender-balance target for EU top jobs

Ursula von der Leyen is set to miss her target of a gender-balanced top team at the European Commission, after EU governments snubbed her request to propose male and female…

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EU rules out mpox border controls and common vaccination plan

European health authorities discard any further bloc-wide measure against the new mpox variant situation as risk it poses for wider population is still considered 'low'. There is no need to…

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Luxembourg picks Christophe Hansen for next EU Commission

Luxembourg's pick for the next European Commission is Christophe Hansen, Prime Minister Luc Frieden said Thursday. Frieden wrote on X that he had "an excellent discussion on the future EU…

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EU probes into Chinese subsidies and imports

The European Commission on Tuesday proposed final duties of up to 36.3% on imported electric vehicles made in China, as part of the highest profile EU probe of alleged Chinese…

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Greece nominates Tzitzikostas as EU commissioner, Croatia’s Dubravka Šuica renominated

Greece wants Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the governor of Central Macedonia, as its next European commissioner, Greece announced Thursday. Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has already informed European Commission President Ursula von…

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Austria nominates Finance Minister Brunner as European Commissioner

Austria's conservative-led coalition government is nominating conservative Finance Minister Magnus Brunner as its next European Commissioner, Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on social media platform X on Wednesday. "Magnus Brunner is…

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Emmanuel Macron nominates Thierry Breton for another term at European Commission

French President Emmanuel Macron has officially nominated Thierry Breton for a second term as France's European commissioner, according to a letter to Ursula von der Leyen dated July 25. "Thierry…

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Hungary nominates Olivér Várhelyi for second term as EU commissioner

Viktor Orbán will surely have annoyed Ursula von der Leyen with his pick for the next European Commission. The Hungarian prime minister announced Monday that he wants Olivér Várhelyi to…

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EU sues Germany, Italy for alleged discrimination against mobile workers

The European Commission said on Thursday it had decided to refer Germany and Italy to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over practices it said discriminated against mobile workers. In…

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Cypriot President Christodoulides Strives for EU Mediterranean Role

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides is interested in gaining control over a new role in the European Commission running EU policy on the Mediterranean. Cyprus has a lot to offer on…

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Von der Leyen gets second term as EU Commission boss. What happens now?

Ursula von der Leyen was approved by the European Parliament on Thursday for a second five-year term as president of the European Commission, the EU's powerful executive body. EU lawmakers…

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EU court criticises EU Commission’s handling of COVID-19 contracts

Europe's second-top court on Wednesday said the European Commission did not give the public sufficient access to the purchase agreements for COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic, upholding a challenge brought…

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Von der Leyen, Costa and Kallas bag EU top jobs: What happens next

EU leaders on Thursday endorsed a second five-year term for Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission president. Now the German center-right politician faces a knife-edge vote in the European…

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Scholz confirms EU top jobs deal with von der Leyen as Commission chief

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed on Wednesday that the European Parliament's three main centrist groups would back Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as Commission president, in a…

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Italy’s Meloni says EU top jobs deal ignores voters’ wishes

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticised on Wednesday plans to share out the top jobs in EU institutions, saying they ignored the wishes voters had expressed during elections earlier this…

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Von der Leyen lined up for second term under EU top jobs deal

European political groups on Tuesday agreed to a deal on top European Union posts, selecting Germany's Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as head of the European Commission,…

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European Commission proposes disciplinary budget steps for Malta, others

The European Commission on Wednesday proposed disciplinary steps against France and six other EU countries over running excessive budget deficits, but will announce deadlines for their reduction only in November.…

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EU top jobs field narrows, von der Leyen set for second term

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appears on course for a second five-year term and Estonia's prime minister and Portugual's former premier are also in line for top jobs,…

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Euro-sceptic gains in EU election complicate von der Leyen’s Commission bid

The rise of euro-sceptic nationalist parties in the European election is likely to complicate Ursula von der Leyen's bid to get a second term as president of the powerful European…

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France’s Macron wants EU top job for Draghi

French President Emmanuel Macron wants a top job in Brussels for Italy's former Prime Minister Mario Draghi — it's just a matter of figuring out the right role. One of…

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European Commission Post: Politico’s Pick for Malta’s Candidate

Miriam Dalli has been named by the influential international news outlet Politico as Malta’s favoured candidate for a European Commission post when top European jobs will be up for grabs…

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EU allocates €125 million in humanitarian aid for most vulnerable in Yemen

The European Commission is providing €125 million in new EU humanitarian funding to address the most pressing needs of people in Yemen amidst the ongoing crisis and escalating tensions in…

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Politico reports MEPs doubt on Malta’s Commission nominee Fearne over criminal charges

Members of the European Parliament’s health committeehave questioned the nomination of Maltese Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne for the post of European commissioner after it emerged he will face criminal…

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Metsola seen as favourite to succeed Ursula von der Leyen as next Commission President

Roberta Metsola, the current President of the European Parliament, is regarded as one of the leading contenders to potentially succeed Ursula von der Leyen as the President of the European…

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The European Commission to take steps to address Russia’s shadow oil fleet

The European Commission will look into ways to deal with Russia's shadow oil fleet as part of the next package of sanctions, Sweden's Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said in an…

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European Commission’s business envoy withdraws amid cronyism allegations and opposition

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday her pick for the EU's new business envoy had decided not to take up the post, after critics linked the…

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EU parliament to extend new medicine data protection to 7.5 years

EU lawmakers have gone part of the way to meeting pharmaceutical industry concerns about the exclusivity period for new medicines after reaching a compromise on the biggest overhaul of EU…

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European Commission to recommend EU membership talks with Bosnia, says EU’s Von der Leyen

The European Commission will recommend to the European Council to start accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, EU's Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday during a speech in the European Parliament.…

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UPDATED:EU’s von der Leyen wins conservatives’ backing to lead bloc for 5 more years

BUCHAREST, March 7 (Reuters) - European Union's leading political group, the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), voted on Thursday to endorse European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as their…

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EU backs another year of access for Ukrainian food

BRUSSELS, March 7 (Reuters) - European Union lawmakers approved on Thursday granting Ukrainian food producers tariff-free access to EU markets for another year, rejecting amendments that could have increased restrictions.…

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Nine European countries warn of subsidy race from easier state aid

Eight European Union countries and Iceland have written to the European Commission warning that a loosening of state aid rules could trigger a damaging subsidy race both globally and between…

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