European Union

Following general elections on 3 June, Slovenia's parliament is due to nominate on Friday 40-year old former actor and comedian Marjan Sarec as the new prime minister. Former prime minister Janez Jansa's anti-immigrant Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) is the biggest party with 25 seats but failed to find coalition partners to form a government. Sarec needs support from least 46 out of 90 parliamentary members to be elected.

Polish president Andrzej Duda said on Thursday that he would veto a law proposed by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, and approved in July by the Polish parliament, because it would benefit bigger parties. Under it, as much as 16.5 percent of the vote would be needed to win any seats in 2019's European elections. "This means that only two parties would have a real chance," Duda said.

Market pressure, financial exposure and a potential review of a key migration deal with Ankara has made Italy the most vulnerable country to the recent financial turmoil in Turkey.

Wegate.eu, which received €1.2m in EU money since its launch almost two years ago, has less than a thousand registered users - from a possible possible target audience of at least 10 million.

One year to the day since the terror attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, the commissioner for home affairs spells out what action the EU is taking now to protect against further attacks.

EU and UK officials cut short their summer holidays, resuming Brexit talks in Brussels on Thursday (16 August). Future trade relations and the Northern Ireland border topped the agenda.

Brussels has recently encouraged Italy to increase expenditure in infrastructure, EU officials said on Thursday (16 August) in response to Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini’s allegations that the bloc's austerity policies were partly responsible for Italian bridge collapse. 

The European Parliament's Brexit steering group has criticised the UK government's plan to register EU citizens wanting to stay in the UK post-Brexit in alphabetical order. "We believe such an approach would be complicated, arbitrary and could create unnecessary confusion and uncertainty for millions of EU citizens already living in limbo," they said Thursday. The UK will have to register some 3.6 million EU citizens.

Bayer shares registered yet another sharp decrease on Thursday (16 August), dropping as much as 6.5% in Frankfurt to hover near the 76 euros level as investors fear the German chemicals and pharmaceuticals giant may face numerous litigations in the US after its controversial merger with Monsanto. 

The European Commission has rebuked Italy's deputy premier Matteo Salvini's comments on EU "constraints" related to the Genoa bridge disaster. The commission wanted "to make a few things clear", spokesman Christian Spahr said Thursday. "For the record, under the agreed fiscal rules, member states are free to set specific policy priorities, for instance the development and maintenance of infrastructure. In fact, the EU has encouraged investment in infrastructure in Italy."

Fingers are being pointed after the collapse of the motorway bridge in Genoa. Economic Development Minister Di Maio has blamed the motorway operator Autostrade, and Interior Minister Salvini complained that EU budget constraints were making Italy unsafe. Commentators take a closer look at these accusations.

Mobile phones will be prohibited in French schools when classes begin this autumn. Internet-enabled devices will be banned in most schools, while lycées (upper secondary schools) will be allowed to decide for themselves whether to impose the ban. The move is a bid to improve pupils' concentration in class. Scientists and journalists also take a critical view of how smartphones are influencing our lives.

The conflict between Ankara and Washington is escalating on the trade front. Turkey has raised import tariffs on certain US products by up to 140 percent and announced a boycott on US electronic components, after the US doubled tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminium last week. What course will the relations between the two countries take?