Ex-PM Barnier seeks political comeback with a bid in Paris by-election
Former EU Brexit negotiator seeks return to frontline politics, entering race for French parliamentary seat.
EPP
No-confidence vote: Is the EU Parliament about to break?
Ursula von der Leyen survived a motion of censure โ but not without sustaining damage. In Strasbourg, tensions within her pro-European coalition burst into the open, with allies accusing her party of flirting with the far right (again) and warning they could soon turn on her. In this bumper episode, host Sarah Wheaton โ who [โฆ]
Von der Leyen vs. Weber: The EUโs climate fight reaches its endgame
The two EU conservative heavyweightsโ growing divisions are coming to a head over a crucial 2040 climate target.
Von der Leyen easily survives far-right-led censure vote
Most centrist groups opposed the motion primarily because it came from the far right, even as they criticised von der Leyenโs EPP for its own shift in that direction.
Von der Leyen: Growing anger, a no-confidence vote โ and trouble ahead
The Commission president is virtually certain to win Thursday’s motion against her, but her problems are just beginning.
Socialists to back von der Leyen in no-confidence vote after she backs down on EU budget
European Commission president expected to easily survive โ but she has made two major concessions.
Parliament rejects call to fast-track 2040 climate bill
Green MEP Lena Schilling urged MEPs to โredeemโ themselves after ceding the 2040 climate target to the far right.
Center-right MEPs block effort to blunt far-right control over climate law
A motion to fast-track the 2040 climate target through the European Parliament narrowly failed on Wednesday.
Romancing the Romanian: EUโs liberals and conservatives compete to woo Nicuศor Danย
The country’s new independent president is playing hard to get as he weighs which European political family he will join.ย
EPP holds trump card after far right seizes control of EU climate bill
The centre-right EPP will be key to deciding whether the law is fast-tracked in a crucial vote tomorrow.
The far rightโs climate power grab
The Patriots for Europe, a new far-right force in Brussels, has won the right to lead the European Parliamentโs 2040 climate target discussions.ย
13 things we learned from von der Leyenโs EU no-confidence debate
From “Pfizergate” and the crumbling centrist coalition to splits on the right, there was plenty to be curious about in the European Parliament.
Censure motion against von der Leyen turns into attack on Weber
Von der Leyen stays composed as Parliament turns its anger on EPP leader.
Spanish centre-right leader ready to work with far-right Vox
Spainโs PP (EPP) leader Alberto Nรบรฑez Feijรณo signalled readiness to govern with far-right Vox, rejecting political isolation and calling their voters โdeserving of respectโ.
Fitto fights von der Leyen plan to bypass regions in new EU budget
Brussels wants to overhaul a mechanism that gives EU money directly to the bloc’s poorer areas.
EPP and allies urge weaker low-carbon hydrogen rules
Current draft criteria jeopardise the production of a potential source of clean fuel, they argue
Czech leaders reject EUโs 2040 climate targetย
Czech politicians from the centre-right EPP have joined conservatives in firmly rejecting the European Commissionโs proposal to cut 1990-level CO2 emissions by 90% by 2040. Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS, ECR) rejected the target. โWe do not agree with…
Selective transparency is a threat to our values-based union. Does the EPP care?
Transparency for all lobbying is difficult for the EPP to accept. By pushing through their agenda with the help of the far right, we risk creating an EU-approved template for the suppression of NGOs.
โSheโs pretty much aloneโ: The EUโs greenest leader fights the tide
The European Commissionโs second most powerful politician is isolated, beleaguered and under attack โ just like the green policy she has vowed to protect.
Inside the Franco-German plot to kill Europeโs ethical supply chain law
The due diligence law was meant to bring EU-style protections to global supply chains. Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz helped all but kill it.
Von der Leyen will survive a no-confidence vote, but it wonโt be painless
The political mainstream will prevent the Commission from falling, but even a doomed no-confidence vote would refocus attention on Pfizergate.
INTERVIEW: EPP chief Manfred Weber on defence, the Green Deal and his future ambitions
Europe’s socialists and liberals should “consider again what is going on outside of this Brussels bubble” when defending the EU’s green agenda, the powerful conservative leader told Euractiv in an exclusive interview.
Von der Leyen canโt go far with the far right
Socialists and liberals are rebelling against the Commission president, but she has no easy fix in working with parties further to the right.
Ursula von der Leyen amputates the Green Deal to save its life
Last year’s European election reshaped EU politics. The Commission president must acknowledge a new alternative right-wing majority even as she fights to preserve her signature political achievement.
EU conservative Weber attacks European left over greenwashing clash
The EPP chief lambasted an environmental bill at the heart of a confrontation between conservatives and their center-left partners as โgrotesque.โ
Why a little greenwashing law set off a political explosion in Brussels
Months of chipping away at EU green rules has caused some lawmakers to finally blow their tops.
Socialists rebel against Commissionโs plan to slash social spending in EU budget
After major rift last week over green rules, the center-left is now gearing up to fight von der Leyen on the next seven-year budget.
Environment MEPs back EPP-led challenge to EU deforestation list
While the vote carries no legal weight, the conservatives have recently demonstrated their growing influence over EU green policy.
Von der Leyenโs huge gamble puts her biggest policies at risk
The Common Agricultural Policy reform, new rules for deportations and revised environmental standards could all be hit by a recent decision to pull the greenwashing law.
Ribera fought Commission plan to nix greenwashing rules
The vice president of the EU executive pressured the environment commissioner over several days to preserve the law.
Commission has become โEPP HQโ, say MEPs after green claims debacle
MEPs are seething over Commission and Council’s move to put the brakes on a draft law.
Von der Leyen faces political crisis after groups threaten to withdraw support
Socialists and liberals outraged that EPP sided with far right in pulling “greenwashing” legislation and could now block EU’s law-making process.
MEPs blast EU executive for scrapping anti-greenwashing law
The EPP welcomed the directiveโs withdrawal, but other parties accused the Commission of yielding to right-wing pressure.
Commission to kill EU anti-greenwashing rules
The EU executive will abandon its green claims directive after right-wing lawmakers vowed to block it in the Parliament.
The Brief: The real problem with Weberโs anti-NGO crusade
It’s time to rethink the role of โcivil societyโ in the EU. But the EPP’s swipe at NGOs is no more than political opportunism.
EPP allies with far-right to investigate โoccultโ NGO funding
MEPs will investigate whether EU funds were misused for lobbying by environmental NGOs, following significant right-wing pressure.
EU Parliament creates official body to probe NGO funding
It’s the latest of a series of moves by right-wing forces to increase scrutiny of nonprofits.
The European Parliamentโs Iran lobby
In todayโs edition of The Capitals, read about the digital euro, an anti-NATO summit, the only EPP lawmaker heading to Budapest Pride, and so much more.
The European Parliamentโs Iran lobby
In todayโs edition of The Capitals, read about the digital euro, an anti-NATO summit, the only EPP lawmaker heading to Prague Pride, and so much more.
EPP opens up to von der Leyenโs controversial money for reforms plan
But only if the reforms are proportionate, targeted, and clearly linked to relevant EU policies.
Centre-right EPP urges Commission to kill anti-greenwashing legislation
The Green Claims Directive lacks popularity even among environmental and consumer organisations.ย
Migration past crisis peak but still a big issue, says agency chief
After 10 years in charge of the Vienna based ICMPD, Austrian politician and former EPP MEP Michael Spindelegger tells Euronews how Europe needs a balanced and creative response to ongoing situation.
EU climate chief lobbied Germany to back weakened 2040 goal
Wopke Hoekstra successfully pushed the incoming coalition to back foreign carbon credits, helping shift the EU-level 2040 talks.ย
Macron clashes with allies over call to scrap EU ethical supply chain law
French president sides with far-right camp in call to scrap EU due diligence law.
Hitler serves as a warning to todayโs conservatives, EUโs Manfred Weber says
The European Peopleโs Party chief tells POLITICO he is trying to strike a balance between relying on far-right support while blocking extremists from power.
Europeanย Parliament weighs immunity for 5 MEPs over Huawei probe
Prosecutors want to investigate three members from the centre-right EPP, one from the Socialists and one from the centrist Renew group.
Von der Leyen faces backlash from own party over EU budget overhaul
Friendly fire hits the Commission as the EPP turns on new proposals in the next MFF.
Draft EU low carbon hydrogen rules face EPP opposition
“Restrictive and unworkable” rules would put at risk the EU industrial resilience, climate targets, and strategic autonomy, two key lawmakers argue.
Macron and Merz call for abolition of EU law on ethical supply chains
Leaders of Europe’s two most powerful countries ramp up EU’s pro-business, anti-green push by calling for repeal of due diligence rule.
EPP demands EU probe over Spanish PMโs leaked messages in airline bailout scandal
Spanish PMโs leaked messages suggest links to โฌ475 million bailout corruption scandal
Donโt mention the Green Deal! EPP scrubs wording from Parliament water report
The center-right party of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is shifting away from green issues as it aligns itself with farmers and industry.
Romanian wild card George Simion sets Brusselsโ nerves on edge
The presidential front-runnerโs hostility to Ukraine is creating a rift with fellow European conservatives.
European Parliament blocks new EU transparency rules
A report meant to implement an EU body for ethical standards was voted down by the European Parliament’s committee on constitutional affairs, due to opposition from the EPP and right-wing groups.
EPP and ECR block testimony from spyware victims as Italian cases mount
The EPP and ECR โ which includes Giorgia Meloniโs Brothers of Italy โ have blocked spyware victims from testifying, despite a growing number of confirmed cases and expanding activity across Europe, according to MEP.
Who has the Commission had meetings with since the beginning of new mandate?
Only 16% of all Commission meetings were with NGOs, following the EPP’s political efforts to prevent NGOs from using EU grant money to influence policymaking.
Europe must plan for a post-Putin Russia, Austria’s Chancellor Stocker tells Euronews
Euronews reporter Sandor Zsiros discussed EU-Russia relations, energy supply, migration, and populism with Austria’s new centre-right chancellor in an interview at the EPP Congress in Valencia.
EU Parliament approves law to let farmers shoot more wolves
The downgrading of wolves’ protection status is a win for the European People’s Party but was condemned by green groups.
โShamefulโ socialists attract EU lawmakersโ ire for not backing Romaniaโs centrist candidate
Hard-right George Simion is heading for power in Bucharest โ but the timid socialists aren’t yet supporting independent rival Nicuศor Dan. That’s causing a ruckus in Strasbourg.
EPP not planning to use final wolf vote to target more environment rules
The question remains on whether it will support amendments proposed by other far-right groups.
EPPโs war on NGOs is driving a wedge through Europeโs political center
Conservatives face accusations of collaborating with far-right parties in NGO funding probe.
Brussels, my love? The EPP congress overshadowed by power outage and protests
In this week’s edition of Brussels, my love?, panelists debate the power of the European People’s Party inside the European Union.
EPP President Manfred Weber calls for European leadership as US retreats from global role
The president of the EU’s leading centre-right party told Euronews it is time for Europe to step up.
The winners and losers from Europeโs largest partyโs big bash
With the dust settling on the EPP congress, we take a look at who’s up and who’s down in the EU’s most powerful grouping.
Seven EPP congress delegates refuse to call for Hamas hostage release
Resolution calling for release of hostages snatched during Hamas’ October 2023 attacks on Israel was among several emergency motions passed at Valencia congress, but seven delegates declined to support it.
Financing scandal rocks Greeceโs ruling party
Opposition parties demand probe into links between a PR company and the New Democracy party of PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
The Brief โ Warsawโsย wild card
For some Halickiโs contrarianism is refreshing, with the EPP source labelling him โthe only one who speaks out against Weberโ. But others find his abrasive approach hotheaded and unnerving.
Shooting sprees ‘not over yet’ in Sweden: Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson
โIt is not over yet,โ Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson reacts to the series of shooting sprees in his country in an interview with Euronews on the sidelines of the EPP congress in Valencia.
Montserrat becomes EPPโs first woman secretary general
Her election was hardly a surprise: EPP boss Manfred Weber had flagged her as his pick back in April.
โSheriffโ Merz is in EPP town
The incoming chancellor said climate efforts should not risk deindustrialisation.
Day one of the EPP Congress in Valencia wraps up: Key takeaways
Manfred Weber, running as the sole candidate for the presidency, was re-elected as European Peopleโs Party President with 502 votes in favour and 61 against during day one of the EPP Congress in Valencia.
Weber wins second term unopposed as head of European Peopleโs Party
The Bavarian politician secured 502 out of 563 valid ballots – 89% approval from the EPP’s delegates.
Chief of Europeโs most powerful party accepts his crown for second term
Manfred Weber will continue to helm the center-right European Peopleโs Party and shape the agenda of Brussels’ institutions.
Spanish hosts skip centre-right congress in Valencia after blackouts
Spanish conservative leader Alberto Nรบรฑez Feijรณo has cancelled his speech, while other senior party figures are keeping a low profile.
Populists and extremists are EPP’s main competitors, Manfred Weber tells Euronews
In an interview with Euronews, EPP President Manfred Weber warned of an authoritarian wave in Europe, pledging never to cooperate with far-right parties like France’s National Rally or Germanyโs AfD, whom he accused of threatening European unity and de…
Manfred Weberโs longevity as leader of the EUโs most powerful party | Radio Schuman
Europe’s most powerful political party, the European Peopleโs Party (EPP), is holding its two-day Congress in Valencia. Members are expected to re-elect the party chair, Manfred Weber. But what explains his longevity in the EPP?
Protests, power cuts and floods cloud the EPPโs party in Spain
Also in this newsletter: How to stop drug traffickers from port hopping in Europe
A letter from Valencia: How Europeโs powerful got stuck in Spain without powerย
Inside the big blackout that has plunged the EPP congress into chaos.
EPP Congress: 12 candidates for 10 vice-presidential spots โ who will be out?
A source in the EPP said the prevailing scenario is that all six candidates who are in the current EPP presidium will be easily re-elected.
Privacy officialsโ travel to home countries sets off EU alarm bells
Privacy regulator’s secretary general traveled on the EU’s dime to Spain, his home country, far more often than to other countries.
The Manfred who would be Merkel
The upcoming EPP congress puts Manfred Weber on a path to becoming the partyโs most powerful leader ever โ but he is aiming higher.
Will the EPP drown in Valenciaโs floodwaters?
Six months on from the fatal disaster, Europeโs largest political party is meeting in the eye of the storm.
Polandโs Tusk to skip EPP summit in Valencia
Tusk will not be in Valencia for medical reasons, an EPP source said.
EPP top brass vie for vice-presidency in Valencia
The EPP will choose its next slate of leaders at its party congress in Valencia next week.
Socialists urge EU tech chief to deliver results in blockbuster US tech probes
European Commissioner Henna Virkkunen is facing growing pressure to wrap up investigations into TikTok, Meta and X.
Europeโs centre-right calls for softening of 2035 green car target
EU should ditch its planned ban on internal combustion engines, Manfred Weber of EPP says
MEPs fear pro-industry drift of EU tobacco laws
“Before reopening the legislation, we need guarantees from the EPP on how they plan to approach the issue,” a Renew MEP told Euractiv.
Europeโs NGOs fear Trump-style funding cuts are coming
The EU grants billions each year to nonprofits. Now, a right-wing campaign has NGOs afraid the money will dry up.
EPP attacks planned CO2 price on gas and heating oil
Several EU countries have urged delaying and watering down ETS 2, which the EPP says justifies the request to redo the calculations.
Manfred Weber anoints Spanish MEP as second-in-command at the EPP
Dolors Montserrat as the new secretary-general is a surprising choice, say critical party insiders.
EPP boss Weber feels ‘privileged’ to be targeted by billboard campaign in Hungary
The Hungarian government promotes its national poll on Ukraine membership by targeting EU and Ukraine leaders.
Brussels must overhaul โopaqueโ funding of NGOs, say auditors
The damning report will give ammunition to conservative lawmakers who want to prevent NGOs from using EU money to lobby.
Polish delegation in EPP challenges Manfred Weber-led rightward shift
Schmoozing with the far right will get us nowhere, leading MEP tells peers.
The EPP takes firmer line on migration in policy pitch
The largest group in the European Parliament has adopted a new position paper, endorsing suspension of the right to asylum and questioning family reunification.
Brussels could hit Big Tech in trade spat. But how?
Digital services could be Washington’s Achilles heel but European officials are conflicted over how to strike it.
Europe delays 2040 climate target amid member state pressure
โ90% is only feasible, if at all, if negative emissions in the ETS and certificates from third countries are recognised,โ said Peter Liese, a German MEP who speaks for the centre-right EPP on climate issues.
Reunited MEP coalition votes in favour of proposed corporate reporting deregulation
The EPP abandoned its pledge to go beyond the Commission proposal after reaching a compromise with the centre-left S&D, liberal Renew, and the Greens.
Weber mute as his deputy drags EPP into Le Pen row
EPP treasurer Franรงois-Xavier Bellamy described Marine Le Pen’s conviction as a “very dark day for French democracy”.
Questions about Belgium prison conditions delay handover of accused EPP assistant
Belgium’s authorities will have to provide information about prison conditions by 15 April
MEPs reject call to halt funding for environmental NGOsย
In a knife edge vote, the European Parliamentโs environment committee voted down an objection jointly tabled by the conservative European Peopleโs Partyย (EPP) against continued funding of civil society campaign groups.
MEPs say yes to fast-track deregulation of corporate reporting rules
The vote saw the centre-right EPP rely on backing from the right wing of the hemicycle.