Euobserver.com

The Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union, the party of Virginijus Sinkevicius, Lithuania's candidate commissioner, has decided not to join the European Green party grouping due to a disagreement on LGTBI rights, according to the news site LRT. The party ran for elections opposing the introduction of same-sex marriage in Lithuania. However, the party president said he would continue to cooperate with the Green/EFA group in the European Parliament.

Downing Street has confirmed that prime minister Boris Johnson will prorogue the British parliament on Monday night, after the expected passing of a rebel bill by cross-party MPs to block a no-deal Brexit and request an extension from the EU of the current 31 October Brexit date. If passed, parliament will be be suspended for five weeks, until 14 October, immediately prior to the next EU summit.

Only through joining up external policies to ensure no one is left behind, establishing a humane and predictable asylum system, and recognising humanitarian emergencies are a political emergency, can the EU champion the humanitarian response globally.

In a frosty press conference on Monday, Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar warned UK prime minister Boris Johnson there was "no such thing as a 'clean-break Brexit', pointing out any free trade agreement after that would take years and need to be ratified by 31 parliaments. In the first face-to-face meeting since Johnson became PM, Johnson promised "an abundance of proposals" to solve the Irish backstop, without elucidating further.

Emily O'Reilly, the European Ombudsman, told EUobserver she would keep up pressure on EU institutions if reappointed in her post.

France has called an EU summit with Russia on the Ukraine conflict following a prisoner exchange - but the Dutch are unhappy that Ukraine freed a witness of the MH17 atrocity.

Laszlo Trocsanyi, Hungary's nomination for the European Commission, will face "a very rough ride" in the European Parliament, the Dutch liberal MEP Sophie in 't Veld told the Guardian, also calling it "a provocation". Trocsanyi was Viktor Orban's minister of justice from 2014 until his election to the EU parliament this year. As a justice minister he introduced several laws that caused legal action from the European Commission against Hungary.

According to Russian state media watchdog Roskomnadzor, Google and Facebook distributed political advertising during Sunday's regional elections, although they were asked to ban this kind of publicity over the weekend, in line with Russian law. "Such actions can be seen as interference in Russia's sovereign affairs and hindering the conduct of democratic elections in the Russian Federation", the watchdog said.

According to a new study, EU countries still provide billions of euros to fossil fuel industries, although all member states committed to ending such subsidies. Several EU environmental NGOs found that at least five member states (Germany, Greece, Poland, Slovenia, and the UK) are planning to introduce new funds or tax breaks for fossil fuel industries and that another six EU countries made false claims regarding these subsidies.

British prime minister Boris Johnson vistis Dublin on Monday to negotiate with the Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar the possibilities of embracing a Northern Ireland-only backstop. "We will be ready to do what we need to do to protect the single market if a no-deal Brexit occurs," Varadkar said. Once Johnson returns from Dublin later on Monday, MPs will vote on the government's second attempt to trigger an early election.

Politicians and political parties in Europe have had bots generate fake 'likes', views, and comments to boost their online popularity, in what has been described as outright voter manipulation.

Iran's nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, has said the EU has failed to deliver on commitments made in the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) to give relief to trade sanctions in return for Iran halting its nuclear enrichment. His statement came after Iran's announcement it would use centrifuges prohibited by the 2015 deal. The EU promised to maintain the deal despite the fact that the US pulled out of it.

The EU special envoy to Afghanistan, Roland Kobi, has said presidential elections are needed in September as the country needs democratic leadership and a new mandate from the people. His remarks came hours after Donald Trump canceled secret peace talks with the Taliban in Camp David, after an explosion in Kabul killed a US soldier. In an angry reaction the Taliban warned for "more losses to the US".

From 2000 to 2018 the population of Brussels grew from 960,000 to 1.2 million. According to a ULB study, 55 percent of this growth comes from non-Belgian EU citizens, reaching a total of 275,000 people or 23 percent of the total population. The largest percentage of foreigners in Brussels are French, while the new (mainly young and female) immigration comes from new member states like Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.

EU's foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini on Friday presented the "Global Exchange on Religion in Society". This new initiative aims to connect community actors inside and outside Europe in the field of religion and social inclusion with a wide range of activities. The programme will be like "an Erasmus for civil society," Mogherini said. The exchange platform is expected to be operational in the first half of 2020.

Europeans still drink more alcohol than the rest of the word, according to a recently-released report of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Germany, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania are the heaviest-drinking EU countries.

After weeks of consultations, Ursula von der Leyen will put forward her commission on Tuesday, as London's Brexit drama keeps rumbling on in the background in Brussels.

The first session between the negotiation teams of the Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez's centre-left Socialist Party (PSOE) and the leftist Unidas Podemos (UP) finished without making progress. "The PSOE maintains its immovable position. They have presented their electoral programme," said a UP member. PSOE proposed a "progressive programme" last week aiming to convince UP to support him in the next investiture. However, UP aims to form a coalition government.

German chancellor Angela Merkel has urged a "peaceful" solution to the Hong Kong protests on a visit to China designed to boost trade.

The EU has recognised that there are member states which do not comply with the procedures of the European arrest warrant, reported Spanish newspaper El Mundo. This follows the response of the European commissioner for justice, Věra Jourová, to a letter sent by the Spanish MEP Maite Pagazaurtundúa. Jourová says in her response that "it is a priority of the Commission to ensure that the European arrest warrant works well."