Euobserver.com

Current EU commission vice-president Frans Timmermans will be in charge of the "European Green Deal" in the new commission unveiled by the president-elect Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday. The Dutch politician will also manage climate action policy and an ecological economic transition. "At the heart of it is our commitment to becoming the world's first climate-neutral continent," von der Leyen said.

Current EU justice commissioner Vera Jourova and Belgian defence and foreign minister Didier Reynders will be in charge of policing the rule of law in Europe, EU commission president-elect Ursula con der Leyen said Tuesday as she unveiled her team. Jourova, from the ruling Czech ANO party which has been mired in corruption accusations, was nominated to be commissioner for "values and democracy", while Reynders will be justice commissioner.

Margrethe Vestager, the current commissioner for competition, dubbed the "tax lady" by US president Donald Trump for enforcing EU tax and competition rules on US tech giants, will hold onto the portfolio under the new commission, EU commission president-elect Ursula von der Leyen announced Tuesday. Vestager will also be executive vice-president in the new commission in charge of Europe's digital transformation.

Britain's former Brexit negotiator, Olly Robbins, is to join US bank Goldman Sachs for a six-figure salary. The move was cleared by a UK watchdog, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, which said it was "unrelated to Mr Robbins' time in office" and was not "a reward" for government work, British newspaper Daily Telegraph said. The former European Commission president, Jose-Manuel Barroso, previously stirred controversy by also joining the bank.

The time is right for the EU and Russia to mend ties, but sanctions should stay in place for now, France has said.

Italy's anti-EU populism has ended, its prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, said on Monday, as far-right MPs tried to shout him down.

British MPs again rejected Boris Johnson's call for an early election, as the parliament began its five-week suspension period. The prime minister said he would refuse to ask for a Brexit delay - despite the law demanding it.

On Sunday, local and regional elections were held in the Russian federation and in the Crimean peninsula. But "anybody elected in the Crimean peninsula claiming to 'represent' the populations of Crimea and Sevastopol will not be recognised as representatives of those territories, which are Ukrainian", the spokesperson of EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said. She added that the EU "continues to condemn this violation of international law".

Key indicators show that the labour market in Belgium is shrinking, Belgian newspaper De Standaard reported. The amount of vacancies went down 4.8 percent compared to 2018. So far in 2019, 4,800 jobs disappeared due to the reorganisation of companies, which is 2,000 more than in the entire year of 2018. On top of that, the use by companies of temporary unemployment has risen by 8.6 percent.

During a three-day trip to Havana, the EU's chief diplomat, Federica Mogherini, repeated European support for Cuba's economy. "The EU is Cuba's top commercial partner and investor, and we have tripled cooperation in the last two years," she said. Five years ago, the EU and US started to normalise relations with the island after years of hostility. However, US president Donald Trump returned this policy and reimposed sanctions on Cuba.

Norwegians abandoned the country's ruling parties and moved their support to left, green or rural parties in Monday's local elections. Prime minister Erna Solberg's Conservative party and the leading opposition Labour party jointly got 45 percent support, the lowest-ever tally in a local election. Norwegian broadcaster NRK summarised the result as a protest against centralisation, climate policy and increased inequality.

Ombudsmen are often coming under attack or facing different kinds of challenges. These can include threats, legal action, reprisals, budget cuts or a limitation of their mandate.

The European Investment Bank's Board on Tuesday should back its proposal to become the EU's 'Climate Bank' and phase out fossil fuels from its portfolio.

The Netherlands, a British ally in Europe, is losing patience with London's handling of Brexit, Dutch trade minister Sigrid Kaag has told Dutch business daily Het Financieele Dagblad. "Enough is enough ... At a certain point there must be clarity," she said. "So far, the British have not presented an alternative to the Brexit agreement that is already in place," she added.

The EU will host talks on winter gas supplies between Russian and Ukrainian energy chiefs in Brussels on 19 September, EU energy commissioner Maros Sefcovic has said. "Progress would send a strong positive signal to the market as well as consumers ahead of the winter season," he noted. A Russia-Ukraine transit accord expires in January and Russia's plans to build two pipelines bypassing Ukraine also puts long-term plans in doubt.

Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte has promised his new coalition would be "mild-mannered" in tone compared to the rhetoric of former deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini. "We want to put behind us the din of useless declarations and belligerent, bombastic statements," he said in parliament Monday. Salvini supporters jeered his speech and yelled "Elections! Elections!", however. The new government arose after Salvini tried and failed to call a snap poll.

Three parties agreed on Monday to form a government in Wallonia, the Francophone part of Belgium: the Socialist party (PS), the Liberal party (MR) and the Greens (Ecolo). Complex as Belgium is, they agreed both on the government of the region of Wallonia (comprising the German speaking part of Belgium, but without Brussels) and on the government of the Francophone Community (without the German speakers, but with Brussels).

A bill by an alliance of UK rebel MPs to outlaw a no-deal Brexit has become law, gaining royal assent on Monday. It passed shortly before British prime minister Boris Johnson intended to hold a second vote calling for a snap election, and suspend parliament until 14 October, in the ongoing constitutional crisis in the UK over Brexit. Johnson has said he will not ask the EU for another extension.

The EU has made deals with several countries, such as Libya, Turkey, and Niger, to keep asylum seekers far away from Europe. Now it is planning to relocate some migrants to Rwanda, in response to the Libya migration crisis.

The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, announced Monday he would be stepping down from the job at the end of October - or earlier, if a snap general election is called before then. Bercow has been at the forefront of attempts by parliament, and rebel MPs, to give the lower chamber successive votes on the government's Brexit plans and stop the suspension of parliament.