European Parliament

Will the UK be getting new MEPs?

The MEP elections are set to take place in the weekend starting on May 23rd. After today's vote, and if all EU 27 states agree so that a longer extension…

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The European Accessibility Act: a big step forward but not enough

The European Disability Forum (EDF) described the European Parliament's approval of the European Accessibility Act as a big positive step forward on a long journey but there is still…

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EU Parliament calls for suspension of Turkey’s membership talks

The European parliament called for the suspension Turkey's negotiations for membership in the EU. MEPs, in a symbolic rebuke of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, voted 370 in favour and 109…

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The European Parliament voices concern on risks of Chinese 5G networks

The European Parliament voiced "profound concern' on the risks to IT security from 5G networks developed by Chinese firms and warned member States to make sure there is a "coordinated…

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Brexit must happen by May 23 or the UK will have to elect MEPs

In a letter to the President of the European Council Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker warned that the United Kingdom must leave the European Union by the time…

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Corporate Dispatch Europe Explained – The Week Ahead

A quick glance at the main forthcoming events in the European Union including EU Council, Commission and Parliament meetings and other EU-related conferences and events. Events for the week…

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Weber to meet Orbán in Budapest amid EPP row

Manfred Weber, the center-right candidate favorite to be the next European Commission president, said that in the coming days he will meeting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Budapest to…

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Time’s Up: European Parliament to vote on scrapping mandatory daylight savings time

After the European Parliament’s transport and tourism committee this week became the latest EU body to endorse the proposal in a report this week a vote on scrapping mandatory…

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Weber insists that Turkey will not become an EU member

Manfred Weber, the European Peoples Party's (EPP) lead candidate to be the new EU Commission President , Wednesday insisted that Turkey will not become an EU member. Weber insisted…

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EPP to discuss Fidesz expulsion

The EPP President Joseph Daul told German newspaper Die Welt that the expulsion of Hungary's Fidesz party is on the agenda of the organisation's March 20 meeting in Brussels.…

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Provisional agreement reached on EU’s 2021-2027 Justice Programme

The European Parliament and the Council reached a provisional agreement on the 2021-2027 Justice programme proposed by the European Commission in May 2018. This new programme will support developing an integrated…

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Macron calls for a revision of the Schengen system

French President Emmanuel Macron has made an impassioned defence of a new Europe in a newspaper column published in each of the 28 member states in which he laid out…

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Corporate Dispatch Europe Explained – The Week Ahead

A quick glance at the main forthcoming events in the European Union including EU Council, Commission and Parliament meetings and other EU-related conferences and events. Events for the week of…

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Viktor Orbán calls EPP antagonists ‘useful idiots’

Politico reported that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán labelled those in the European People's Party (EPP) critical of his party, "useful idiots". Orbán was quoted by Politico as saying this…

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Polls indicate La Lega to be top Italian party and second at the EP elections

Italian news agency ANSA reported that in the upcoming May European Parliament (EP)elections Interior Minister Matteo Salvini's far-right group La Lega will be the top party in Italy, according to…

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Di Maio launches new group for European Parliament elections

Luigi Di Maio, leader of the 5Star Movement and Italian deputy prime minister, on Friday announced the creation of a new group "of likeminded people” within the European Parliament ahead…

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“I’m not a puppet” – Italian PM Giuseppe Conte at European Parliament

italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte insisted on Tuesday that he was not "a puppet" of his deputies, as he responded to a barrage of criticism from leading EU politicians. Following…

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Anti-EU parties on course to win a third of European Parliament election seats – ECFR

Anti-EU parties are on course to win one-third of seats in the European Parliament election in May, which could "undermine and cause irreparable damage" in areas such as trade, security and…

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European Parliament recognise Guaido as Venezuela’s de facto head of state

The European Parliament recognized Venezuela’s self-declared interim president Juan Guaido as de facto head of state on Thursday, heightening international pressure on the OPEC member’s socialist President Nicolas Maduro. Reuters…

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Social Media expected to be put under scrutiny – MEPs to discuss increase in verbal and physical violence against politicians across Europe

Faced with a climate of hatred that pervades Europe, MEPs in Brussels will discuss on Wednesday the increasing verbal and physical violence against politicians. This is a reality that Dutch…

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Berlusconi announces he will contest MEP elections, 25 years since his entrance in the political sphere

Almost 25 years since his 'entrance' in the political fray, the Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced he will run in the European Parliament election in May. “At my…

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Timmermans approved to lead European Socialists in 2019 MEP elections

The European Commission vice president and former Dutch foreign minister Frans Timmermans will lead the Party of European Socialists (PES) in the 2019 European elections. He was the only candidate…

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Maltese MEP Miriam Dalli selected as one of the POLITICO’s 28 Europeans who will shape the EU

Maltese MEP Miriam Dalli has been selected as one of the 28 people who are worth watching in the year ahead in the way they are shaping the EU. The…

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European Commission survey shows citizens worry about interference ahead of the European elections

A new Eurobarometer survey published today sheds light on the expectations of Europeans for the May 2019 European elections and what would motivate them to cast their vote. It also…

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MEP Election Watch – Greens choose candidates for Commission President

The European Greens picked Germany’s Ska Keller and Dutchman Bas Eickhout as co-candidates for European Commission president, at the party’s congress Saturday, making them the faces of the party’s campaign…

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The EPP needs a leader not an apparatchik

It is a common strategic mistake for armies to prepare for the previous war instead of the one that is coming. In 1939, the French were ready for a redo…

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Maroš Šefčovič pulls from race for Social Democrats’ Spitzenkandidat

European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič pulled out from the race to become the Social Democrats’ lead candidate for the EU elections in May next year. Šefčovič will back the…

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European Parliament marks the first anniversary since the death of Daphne Caruana Galizia

The European Parliament today held a ceremony to commemorate and honour Daphne Caruana Galizia, on the occasion of the first anniversary since her brutal murder. During this ceremony, in Strasbourg,…

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Tajani urges EU member states to have unified stance and strategy for Libya

The President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani has urged member states to have a unified stance and strategy for Libya. Tajani said on the sidelines of the EU Summit…

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán backs Manfred Weber to be the European People’s Party lead candidate

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán backs Manfred Weber to be the European People’s Party lead candidate in next year’s European Parliament election, a Hungarian minister said Thursday. Minister Antal Rogán told Hungarian…

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Frans Timmermans poised to be Socialist’s Spitzenkandidat in upcoming MEP elections

Frans Timmermans, the first vice president of the European Commission, is poised to put his name forward as a lead candidate for the Commission’s top job after winning the backing…

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European Parliament staff to launch their #MeToo blog to break culture of silence

Staff at the European Parliament will on Tuesday launch a blog on which stories of sexual harassment within the institution will be published, in order to break a “culture of silence.” Those…

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European Leaders pitch new alliance for MEP elections

In a joint op-ed published this morning, Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat, ALDE chief Guy Verhofstadt and Christophe Castaner, the leader of Emmanuel Macron’s La République En Marche movement, have extended an open invitation to…

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Berlusconi announces he’ll be contesting the next European Parliament elections

"This government and above all the Movimento Cinque Stelle (M5s) are enemies of freedom," said Forza Italia president Silvio Berlusconi, in his speech at a rally organized by Antonio Tajani…

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Poland will oppose any sanctions imposed on Hungary

Poland, said it will oppose any sanctions imposed by the bloc on fellow member Hungary, accused of floating EU rules on democracy. “Every country has its sovereign right to make…

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State of The Union: One Speech, Six Perspectives

Diplomatique Expert recommends the following reports from different media on how the #SOTEU was reported. Different views and perspectives. Eu Observer Juncker, the 'sad and wiser' man of Europe The…

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Malta News Evening Roundup – Wednesday 12th September 2018

Good evening, The news today were mainly dominated by The discovery of lifeless body in off the coast of Xemxija. This is a developing story The conviction of a man…

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European Parliament approve copyright rules changes

The European Parliament voted today to approve a proposed reform of copyright rules for the internet age, closing a chapter of intense lobbying that pitted internet giants and their backers against publishers,…

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Today’s vote is a global symbol of enduring courage – MEP Roberta Metsola

Maltese MEP Roberta Metsola, who led the EPP negotiations on the Hungary issue, told Corporate Dispatch that today's vote underlines what Europe stands for. EU Parliament votes to trigger Article…

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European Parliament vote to trigger Article 7 sanctions procedure against Hungary

EU Parliament votes to trigger Article 7 sanctions procedure against Hungary In a tense vote, a majority of EU lawmakers backed a motion that opens the door to sanctions against…

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Letter of Intent maps plan of action for next months of European Commission efforts

European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker and Vice President Franz Timmermans, said that the EC needs to adopt swiftly a series pending proposals. In a letter of intent, there were…

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European Parliament backs a 45% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030

European lawmakers agreed late Monday to boost carbon dioxide standards for cars and vans in a fight that has pitted the interests of the car industry against efforts to cut…

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Macron’s party will not support political groups that back ‘Spitzenkandidat’ process

Emmanuel Macron’s La République En Marche will not support any European political group that backs the so-called Spitzenkandidat or “favored candidate” process, Christophe Castaner, the movement’s chief executive, said on…

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2019 – a year of changes at European Institutions

2019 will bring a lot of changes in the European Institutions as various roles' terms expire. Financial Times Europe’s biggest jobs reshuffle is at hand. Never have so many…

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Election Watch – MEP Elections -Weber and the EPP’s choice

The appearance of the first formal candidate in the EU top jobs derby on Friday clarified little about who will run the place a year from now. But the surprise entry…

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Le Pen hedging on Salvini’s wave for MEP elections

If there is to be a “Salvini wave,” Marine Le Pen is intent on riding it. Next week, the leader of France’s far-right National Rally (RN) party will reveal her…

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Saturday Morning Briefing

Good morning, The following briefing brings you the latest news from Malta, 13 countries around the Europe and the world and 4 main institutions following a review of the highlights…

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Manfred Weber expected to announce he is running to be Spitzenkandidat

Manfred Weber is expected to formally announce he is running to be Spitzenkandidat at an EPP meeting next Wednesday, a senior EPP official said. POLITICO reports that Manfred Weber has received Angela Merkel’s backing to…

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Polish President Duda refuses to sign law on MEP elections

Polish President Andrzej Duda on Thursday refused to sign into law a change to the way the country elects members of the European Parliament, which critics say would have squeezed out all…

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EU Parliamentary President Antonio Tajani to visit Libya

The Libya Observer: The President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, declared his intention to visit Libya and Niger in the coming period to discuss the illegal immigration file. Tajani said…

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Number of MEPs to be reduced to 705 from the current 751 after the UK leaves EU

The European Parliament will shrink from 751 to 705 MEPs when the United Kingdom leaves the EU, leaving room for new countries that may join in the future. Besides reducing…

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Will the EU Parliament be lost in translation?

Next week’s European Parliament plenary week in Strasbourg could be disrupted by a series of strikes by interpreters, who plan to stop work for “one or two hours” a day,…

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Wednesday’s Morning Briefing

Good morning on another warm day! The heat seems to persist in the coming hours as the Met Office at the MIA is forecasting a high 28 degrees temperature during…

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European Parliament sets up group to monitor investigations into the murders of Daphne Caruana Galizia and Jan Kuciak

Reuters report that the European Parliament set up a group of lawmakers who will monitor the investigations into the murders of Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta last October and Jan…

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Facebook’s Zuckerberg and his European Parliament grilling

At the end the much anticipated grilling ended up with more questions than answers. The pertinent points raised by various MEPs, were not all answered by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.…

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Tajani announces that Zuckerberg is to be grilled at European Parliament

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will face MEPs’ questions following the Cambridge Analytica scandal in the European Parliament, its president said on Wednesday. "The founder and CEO of Facebook has accepted…

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My Dream of A Truly EU Member State – Matthias Bartolo (16 Year old European Maltese)

The following are the views of Matthias Bartolo, a 16 year old Sixth Form Student attending St Martin’s College. Politics is a passion of his, along with being a football…

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