Moldovans head to polls in major test for EU future
Authorities tell POLITICO they are working to fight Russian interference after first-round vote was marred by allegations of bribery and intimidation.
Authorities tell POLITICO they are working to fight Russian interference after first-round vote was marred by allegations of bribery and intimidation.
Moscow’s “disruptive activities” could include fake bomb threats, according to documents obtained by Welt am Sonntag.
Brussels, my love? Instability in Georgia overshadows EU enlargement
Franceโs incoming commissioner is a Macron loyalist who prefers backroom dealing to attention-grabbing stunts.
โExistential threatโ: Moscowโs shadow looms over the EU’s enlargement drive
A critical progress report on EU accession delivers a blow to the Georgian government, already in crisis over election fraud allegations.
The country is moving away from the EU, its values, and principles, EU’s top diplomat Borrell says.
In this episode, host Giada Santana and policy analyst Teona Lavrelashvili, discuss the successes and failures of EU enlargement policy amid Eastern Europeโs shifting political landscape.
As the European Union navigates global tensions and internal challenges, its commitment to enlargement proves crucial.
Opposition leaders have decried the voting as rigged.
The European Commission is expected to present its so-called enlargement package in the coming week.
Pivotal vote in the South Caucasian country kicks off in a tense environment.
We speak to one of the most seasoned players on the European stage, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic. During his eight years in office, he has experienced the latter stages of the 2015-16 migrant crisis, the Covid pandemic, and the impact of t…
The Georgian government has been effectively exploiting the country’s war trauma, and it could give them a lead in the election.
Zourabishvili said she has received promises that the EU and its leaders would deliver quickly, should Georgia get back on its EU path.
In countries seeking to join the EU, the European Dream is running into the Russian fist.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen kicked off a four-day trip to the Western Balkans, where she will meet with the leaders of Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, and Montenegro to discuss their progress tow…
Discussions around EU enlargement in the region of almost 18 million people stretch back 20 years, with Brussels blowing hot and cold during that period.
Despite the dire circumstances, Georgia’s more progressive and more prepared for European transformation than at any other time in its independent history.ย
Foreign policy will be kingmaker when Georgians cast their votes on Saturday.
Kallas and Kos make pitch to curb unanimity in EU foreign and enlargement policy
Suspected Russian-backed disinformation campaigns in Moldova and Georgia have raised questions on the EU’s counternarrative.
EU enlargement “is the best response to those who seek to fracture Europe’s security and unity,” Kosovo’s prime minister added.
The Kremlin has been accused of vote-buying and using proxies to influence the outcome of the vote in Moldova.
Sundayโs results will show whether the country’s efforts to avoid their own ‘Brexit moment’ will succeed.
Much like the US vice president, who has similarly been the target of disinformation campaigns, Sanduโs candidacy has been a lightning rod for misogyny cloaked in political rhetoric.
Moscow is using cash and fear in an attempt to regain control of the former Soviet Republic, officials warn.
But it could still take decades before the country joins the bloc.
Join host Giada Santana and senior editor Alice Taylor in unpacking the start of Albania’s EU membership negotiations.
How will new EU members’ unique energy starting pointsโparticularly those that are highly dependent on fossil fuels or have outdated energy infrastructureโimpact the Unionโs overall ability to meet its 2040 targets?
The sense in Brussels is that, indeed, difficult choices will have to be made.
European taxpayers finance ill-treatment and forced expulsion, an investigation found.
On the 20th anniversary of the EU in 2004, and ahead of the next wave of enlargement, there is an ongoing debate about the future of cohesion policy. A debate at the 22nd European Week of the Regions highlighted the significant economic and political b…
Still, the 23 nominees were cleared by the institution’s legal committee for hearings in early November.
Jens Stoltenberg reflects on the past and future of the military alliance.
To date, the EUโs Iran policy has been ineffective and seriously flawed. And the bloc’s leaders need to wake up to the security threat Tehran poses.
Thousands died in wartime massacres and Warsaw wants Kyiv to admit responsibility and allow for exhumations and reburial of the victims.
The admission of new countries to NATO requires unanimous agreement by alliance members.
The Commission floated merging 530 programs into one national cash pot.
In an exclusive interview with Euractiv, President Salome Zourabishvili said she hoped to see “European partners ready to take us back” towards accession following Georgia’s October elections
POLITICO has reviewed the declarations of interest of every European Commission nominee.
Moscow has built a “mafia-style” network to distribute cash ahead of a critical referendum on the country’s future, top Moldovan officials told POLITICO.
Vรกrhelyi is expected to be grilled by the environment, public health and food safety (ENVI), and agriculture (AGRI) committees, as many MEPs were critical of his past work as commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement,
The Kremlin is deploying disinformation and cash as Moldova heads to the polls, Chiศinฤu’s national security chief tells POLITICO.
In interview with POLITICO, Robert Golob also says “chemistry” with von der Leyen helped Kos land the nomination
Albania and the European Economic and Social Committee will set up a Joint Consultative Committee as Albania moves forward on its European Union integration path.
The Commission president is promising to move quickly with far-reaching reforms. How credible is her plan?
The left-leaning Slovene has made conciliatory comments toward Russia after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The move is a response to the geopolitical urgency of enlargement and the EU’s spiralling reputation in its southern neighbourhood.
Once every five years the European Parliament gets to pick off a nominee or two โ and rarely fails to do so.
The country’s pivot toward Moscow could cost its citizens their ability to travel, according to unconfirmed reports.
Campaigners had hoped for someone with “some kind of experience” in animal welfare issues and “a heart for animals.”
What the portfolios tell us about the EUโs power dynamics.
As the dust settles after weeks of wrangling, here are the key things you need to know.
After a week of wrangling between Brussels and Ljubljana, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen designated Slovenia’s Marta Kos for the bloc’s coveted enlargement portfolio.
Everything you need to know about Ursula von der Leyen’s team for her second term.
Commission president hands out the top jobs in her new team.
The days when Viktor Orbรกn could block negotiations on a whim should be over โ and the western Balkans should finally benefit Russiaโs invasion of Ukraine has revived EU expansion as an imperative. For years, โenlargementโ has been a low priority โ Cro…
Ursula von der Leyen is about to hand out key jobs in her team. Hereโs POLITICOโs version of the next Commission.
Welcome to Euractivโs Global Europe Brief, your weekly update on the EU from a global perspective. You can subscribe to receive our newsletterย here. Dear readers,ย In todayโs edition: a closer look at what lies ahead for the European Commission’s…
Serbia gets pulled โ and pulls itself โ sharply between East and West. Where it ends up will help decide which Great Power emerges triumphant.
The European Unionโs current structure would not be appropriate if it were to include more than 30 members, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said after meeting Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw on Wednesday.
Security threats to EU from Russia and China have proved a gamechanger for enlargement policy.
“All options are on the table” if the bombshell plan goes ahead, the Commission told POLITICO.
Two new members, Montenegro and Albania, could join the bloc by 2030, Karoline Edtstadler told Euronews.
Andrius Kubilius, who may lead talks for the EU executive, has supported speedy enlargement of the bloc to Ukraine and the Balkans.
Thought the pandemic and Ukraine were tough? The next five years could be worse.
EU ambitions face new blow as analyst warns the government’s move “would be the end of Georgia’s democracy.”
With the European Union’s new leadership soon in place, Ukraine is looking to the bloc’s new team for more assistance and a swifter accession, Kyiv’s envoy to Brussels, Vsevolod Chentsov, told Euractiv.
“We will be Ukraine’s biggest national supporter in Europe,” Scholz told reporters during a visit to the Moldovan capital.
Almost all the nominees have been put forward for the next top team of EU commissioners.
Gabrielius Landsbergis pulls out as the country’s president blocks his plan to move to Brussels.
Two senior former officials from North Macedonia and Bulgaria are among those competing to become the incoming NATO chief’s deputy.
Piotr Serafin, currently Poland’s ambassador to the EU, is expected to vie for influential portfolios including budget.
Though Hungary has missed out on a top European Commissioner job, its government has made clear it is not giving up the fight, with Orbรกn again nominating Vรกrhelyi as EU Commissioner for the Neighborhood and Enlargement, writes Irakli Machaidze.
The Hungarian leader has been able to build a coalition of like-minded allies who share his strategic goal โ creating โa Europe of nation states.โ
After a string of scandals, the bloc’s executive arm warns officials not to be tempted by complimentary tickets.
The pick will likely not be received well by Ursula von der Leyen.
China contacted lawmakers in a bid to pressure them to not attend a democracy summit on the island of Taiwan.
What we know so far about Ursula von der Leyenโs next top team.
SNEAK PEEK โ The European Parliamentโs former secretary general, Klaus Welle, talks to Jacopo about the defense commissioner role, the EU budget, and why itโs time for a full defense committee. โ U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey meets with counterparts from Japan and Italy today to discuss GCAP. โ European Parliament committees vote on their [โฆ]
President Ilham Aliyev’s comment come against the backdrop of unprecedently high tensions between Paris and Baku.
EU leaders will fight back against โtoo powerfulโ von der Leyen as she assembles her team.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday (18 July) announced she would create a separate portfolio to deal with the Mediterranean, as part of her next team, signalling her next term will pay more attention to the region.
From creating an EU-wide money market to protecting kids online, POLITICO looks at what lies ahead for lawmakers.
The alliance’s irresponsible policy toward Ukraine continues, providing false hope, making peace less likely and the war more dangerous.
The left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) coalition, the relative winner of Franceโs snap legislative elections, is set to lead negotiations on a future coalition government but internal disagreements over a few fundamental EU files could test the al…
Tens of millions of euros in financial assistance will also be frozen as part of the decision, according to Brussels’ envoy.
Politicians and the truth have always been strained acquaintances, but faced with populist fabulists in our current post-truth era, is deception really the way to go?
Thereโs no politically easy way to find the fiscal space to address the challenges the EU faces. And Franceโs political realities now compound the problem.
Amid warnings of backsliding on key reforms, the ruling party is focusing on a different type of goal altogether.
Putin was going to do whatever he wanted regardless of what NATO and the EU did or didnโt do โ he would have just come up with another excuse to make war, another great lie.
After Ukraine and Moldova formally opened their accession talks on Tuesday (25 June), they are expected to kick off a process of further aligning their own legislation to the bloc, Euractiv spoke to both countries chief negotiators about their expectat…
By amplifying Putinโs bogus claims of NATOโs responsibility for todayโs war, Western politicians like Trump and Farage risk legitimizing Russian imperialism.
Itโs important to understand why the Georgian people take to the streets any time their Euro-Atlantic path is put into doubt.
Recent election of Greek MEP imprisoned in Albania fans diplomatic flames.
The country wants to hold a regular summit once Hungary assumes the presidency of the Council of the EU.
“I am grateful to everyone on our team who worked hard to make this historic step a reality,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
EU leaders scramble to sign off on top jobs package at a summit next week.
Siegfried Mureศan says that putting the EU executiveโs enlargement portfolio in the hands of Viktor Orbรกnโs man in Brussels has been a โproblemโ over the past five-year mandate.