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Slovenia and Spain have yet to fully implement the EU's controversial rules on passenger names' records (PNR), intended to make it harder for terrorists and criminals to travel. The European Commission has said all other 25 states have implemented the measures. German media in April reported the software used by the German Federal Crime Office generated a false positive hit rate of 99.7 percent from PNR data from airlines.

Julian King, the European Commissioner for security, told MEPs on Wednesday that "there is definitely a case for us looking again at how we do anti-money laundering legislation." The comments follow a commission report that says banks either did not respect or comply with anti-money laundering requirements. "These deficiencies point to outstanding structural issues in the implementation of EU rules, which have been addressed only in part," it said.

London and Washington had been rumoured, but instead the German political mastermind behind the EU commission will now work as a quasi-EU ambassador in Vienna. He irked many in Brussels but also shook things up.

EU Council president Donald Tusk on Wednesday pointedly demanded "detail" from the new British prime minister, Boris Johnson, on his plans for Brexit - with just three months before the UK crashes out of the bloc without a deal. As Johnson went to Buckingham Palace to be confirmed as PM by the Queen, Tusk tweeted: "I look forward to meeting you to discuss - in detail - our cooperation."

The MEP group dealing with Brexit said Wednesday the risk of a disorderly Brexit had "greatly increased" with Boris Johnson becoming British prime minister. In a statement, they said they look forward to "working closely and constructively" with Johnson but added their commitment to the withdrawal agreement. MEPs warned: "a no-deal exit would be economically very damaging, even if such damage would not be inflicted equally on both parties".

The EU's top civil servant and controversial spin doctor Martin Selmayr will lead the EU Commission's representation in Vienna from 1 November, a commission spokesperson said Wednesday. The German lawyer was commission president Jean-Claude Juncker's chief of staff before becoming the head of the EU bureaucracy, and while he leaves his current post this week, he will stay on as special advisor until November.

EU commissioners defended a far-reaching free trade agreement between the EU and four Latin American countries, against critics who fear it will damage European farmers' livelihoods and the global environment.

Spanish centre-left prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, failed Tuesday to receive enough parliamentary support to be PM again in the first round of voting. Sanchez received 124 votes from MPs, against a needed absolute majority of 176. Another 170 voted against him, plus 52 abstentions. Sanchez, PM since June 2018, will face a second round on Thursday, where he needs a simple majority (more yes votes than no votes).

"I can't say I'm overjoyed. Of course it's disappointing if you're not elected as president of the European Commission," said commission vice-president Frans Timmermans Tuesday in his first press conference since EU leaders blocked his candidacy. "That's their decision. So it goes in politics," he noted. The centre-left Dutchman, who will return as vice-president, said that he nevertheless would be "loyal" to new commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

Theresa May will leave office as UK prime minister with a farewell speech Wednesday, following Boris Johnson's victory in the Conservative Party leadership campaign. Johnson will have an audience with the Queen, who will invite him to form a government. Johnson is expected to give a speech at around 5PM Brussels time, and announce his cabinet members. Johnson has promised to "deliver Brexit" by 31 October.

EU leaders and Commission officials insisted they want to work together with Boris Johnson - but said they will stick to the withdrawal agreement reached previously between the UK and the EU. A no-deal Brexit is now the likely outcome.

Last week a number of politicians and diplomats used the fifth anniversary of the MH17 flight tragedy as a pretext to renew attacks against Russia, writes the Russian press attache in Brussels.

As climate protests grow, Brazil's forests disappear at the rate of two football pitches a minute, and a summer of European heat raises the temperature, will new pledges from the EU on deforestation make the cut?

The European Parliament's agriculture committee on Tuesday elected Spanish far-right MEP Mazaly Aguilar from the Vox party as its third vice-chair. She received 27 votes. Centre-left MEP Clara Aguilera received 20 votes. The vote was previously delayed, amidst some MEPs' discontent that the European Conservatives & Reformist group put a Vox candidate forward. Another ECR candidate, former Polish PM Beata Szydlo, was rejected as chairwoman of the employment committee.

Boris Johnson on Tuesday won the Conservative party leadership contest, making him the next British prime minister - who will take the UK out of the EU by 31 October, according to existing plans. Johnson won 92,153 votes to rival Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary's, 46,656. Turnout in the vote was 87.4 percent. Johnson will formally take over as prime minister from Theresa May on Wednesday.

Former UK foreign minister Boris Johnson is set to be announced as the winner of the ruling Conservative party's leadership race later on Tuesday. It is expected the c.150,000 members of the party have voted to choose the pro-Brexit Johnson against his rival, foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt. Johnson will then formally succeed Theresa May on Wednesday and faces Britain leaving the EU, possibly without a deal, on 31 October.

"The haggling around rescues in the Mediterranean has to be ended," German foreign minister Heiko Mass said after the Paris meeting on migration. However, details of Emmanuel Macron's 'solidarity mechanism' were not specific.

UK-based owners of .eu domain names, such as the pro-Brexit Leave.EU website, will be allowed to keep their name after a no-deal Brexit, if they transfer the ownership of the domain to an EU citizen, the EU commission said. The commission created this loophole after EU citizens protested a March decision which would have seen all UK-based owners of .eu domains move to the EU, or lose their website address.

The EU would respond with tariffs of its own if the Donald Trump administration imposed tariffs on European car imports, Sabine Weyand, a senior EU trade official, said on Monday in Washington. The former deputy Brexit negotiator said the EU's interest was to avoid a spiral of escalating tariffs on cars, aircraft and other goods, but she said Brussels would not be bullied, according to Reuters.

A British foreign office minister has resigned, rather than serve under Boris Johnson, who is expected to be elected Conservative party leader and thus prime minister on Tuesday. Alan Duncan was a junior foreign office minister, and long-standing critic of fellow Conservative Johnson, calling him "criminally negligent" for failing to support the British ambassador to Washington, who resigned after leaks this month.