Euobserver.com

"We have made our choice: we choose democracy and rule of law," write the leaders of the National Coalition Party in Finland and the Moderate Party in Sweden.

EU leaders will discuss whether to allow London to delay its exit from the bloc, as some are worried it would mean more of the same. Meantime, the European People's Party braces itself for a showdown with Hungary's Orban.

The EU must call the Ukraine conflict by its true name - Russia's illegal war on its peaceful neighbour - and take commensurate action to protect peace in Europe.

Hundreds of thousands of people are joining Greta Thunberg on Friday for a Global Strike for Future. We can only support the appeal of these young people, who resolutely aim to forge a sustainable Europe, a sustainable planet.

Almost 1,000 Romanian nationals were caught trying to sneak into the United States in 2017, of which around half attempted to cross via Mexico. Nationals from countries like Hungary and the UK were also intercepted.

German chancellor Angela Merkel may have few supporters in her own party, but is still hugely popular among Germans, with 59 percent wanting her to remain in office for two and a half years until the next federal election. Support for her has even gone up by two percent compared to the last poll in December, the survey by the ARD showed.

The number of first-time asylum seekers in EU countries was 580,800 in 2018, 11 percent less than the year before, according to figures published by Eurostat on Thursday. Most applicants were Syrian, Afghan and Iraqi citizens. In 2017 a total of 654,600 applied for asylum, which was around half of the record-high number of 1,256,600 first-time asylum applicants registered at the hight of the refugee crisis in 2015.

School children and students in more than 100 countries are walking out of classes Friday demanding that the world's leaders take action to stop climate change. On Thursday Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old environmental activist, who started Fridays for Future protests outside Sweden's parliament, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her climate activism. There are over 300 candidates for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize to be announced in October.

EU council president Donald Tusk circulated publicly on Thursday the idea of offering the UK a long delay of Brexit after the UK parliament decided to postpone Brexit until 30 June. "I will appeal to the EU27 [summit] to be open to a long extension if the UK finds it necessary to rethink its Brexit strategy and build consensus around it," he said in a tweet.

A large majority in the British parliament, 412 votes to 202, on Thursday backed a motion calling for a three-month delay of Brexit from 29 March to 30 June, but without specifying what it will achieve by the delay - which requires unanimous approval from the other 27 EU members. The UK lawmakers also voted with an overwhelming majority, 334 to 85, against holding a second referendum on EU membership.

Despite 10 years in the job, Klaus Welle is the most powerful man in Brussels few have heard of. The Parliament secretary-general has granted EUobserver access to just one paper written by him - and refused 21 other requests.

The EU and its member states collectively pledged some €6.75bn for humanitarian aid in Syria for "2019, 2020, and beyond." The money will be used for Syrians inside Syria and surrounding countries affected by the war, like Jordan and Lebanon. None of the money will be used for reconstruction. EU foreign policy chief Mogherini also announced €1.5bn for Syrian refugees in Turkey as part of its 2015 deal.

Most members of the European People's Party opposed an amendment which called on the EU to raise its emissions reductions target for 2030. A spokesman called it "unrealistic".

As the European People's Party braces itself to decide next week whether to expel its Hungarian member, prime minister Viktor Orban says sorry for calling his critics "useful idiots".

A majority of 306 MEPs supported an amendment Thursday which said that the EU should have a more ambitious climate goal for 2030. Instead of a cut of "at least 40%", as agreed by EU leaders in October 2014, the EU should reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55%, compared to 1990. The final text of a resolution on climate change, including the new target, was approved 369 to 116.

At the same time, three male candidates for posts at institutions such as the European Central Bank, were approved by the EU parliament.

The Munich-based economic think tank, Ifo Institute, on Thursday cut its growth forecast for Germany in 2019 by more than half, to 0.6 percent. German "industry will largely fail to act as an economic engine in 2019" due to Brexit and weak global demand for German products, it said. The number of people employed would however continue to rise and unemployment drop to 4.9 percent in 2019.

British prime minister Theresa May has urged MPs to back her EU exit deal in a third vote - or face a Brexit delay of up to two years.

The European Parliament voted on Wednesday on a set of emergency measures to limit negative impact of no-deal Brexit on citizens, including legal safeguards for current Erasmus students and teachers in or from the UK to complete their ongoing learning activity abroad. UK airlines would also be allowed to provide services between the UK and the EU, as long as the UK provides equivalent access to EU companies.

European Parliament president Antonio Tajani was Wednesday caught in a media storm, after saying on Radio24 that Italian dictator Benito Mussolini had also done "positive things". "How can a president of the European Parliament fail to acknowledge the nature of fascism? We need swift clarification", said Social Democrat EP leader Udo Bullmann. Tajani replied: "Shame on those who manipulate what I've allegedly said on fascism."