Euobserver.com

UK prime minister Theresa May begins on Tuesday a two-day visit to Northern Ireland aimed at underlining her commitment to prevent a hard border after Brexit. The trip comes as May's government met on Monday to discuss alternative arrangements to the Irish backstop with a working group including pro-Brexit MPs. May is expected to give a speech on Brexit policy and meet business leaders on Tuesday.

The first of three million cards to receive the Italian government's new basic income was on Monday unveiled. The yellow card looks similar to a credit card but with no name printed on it. It will provide unemployed and poor people with a monthly income of up to €780, combined with job training. Application for the card opens on 6 March, Five Star deputy premier Luigi Di Maio said.

With the new transatlantic trade deal, the EU is providing financial and political support for an increase in imports of fracked gas from the US.

Large eurozone countries like Germany and France can "twist arms and put pressure on other members" because of a lack of transparency in the Eurogroup, the informal body of the eurozone's finance ministers, Transparency International said in a report on Tuesday. "The Eurogroup's lack of transparency is meant as a feature, not a bug," it said. Consequently, citizens can voice their opposition to Eurogroup decisions "only after the fact".

The EU's chief civil servant, Martin Selmayr, tweeted on Monday that nobody on the EU side is considering "legally-binding assurances" in response to British PM Theresa May's attempts to alter the Brexit deal in relation to the Irish border. Selmayr responded after meeting UK MPs. He described their answers on whether such a change could even pass the UK parliament as "inconclusive."

EU commissioner Vera Jourova acknowledges minutes should have been produced. "I don't know why we didn't record what we spoke about," she said.

European commissioner for justice Vera Jourova said on Monday the EU code of conduct set up to counter illegal hate speech online "works well". Major internet firms, like Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and YouTube, have signed up to the code, promising to take down hate speech within 24 hours. "Companies are now assessing 89 percent of flagged content within 24 hours, and promptly act to remove it when necessary," Jourova said.

EU and US economic sanctions on Russia had a much bigger impact than previously thought, Ukraine's spy chief has told EUobserver.

French leader Emmanuel Macron is considering holding a referendum 26 May on social and economic reforms in order to quell the 'yellow vest' protests, French weekly Journal du Dimanche has said, citing government sources. If it happened, it would be the first of its kind in France and would coincide with the European Parliament elections. "The chances of a May 26 referendum happening are very high", a government source said.

Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has rejected calls by Germany, France, Britain, Spain and other EU states to hold snap elections in view of mass protests against his rule. "They [EU countries] are trying to corner us with ultimatums to force us into an extreme situation of confrontation," he said. He added he was open to talks with EU powers at a meeting of EU and Latin American countries on Thursday.

Italy's 'marriage of convenience' coalition government likes picking battles with Brussels. But with the economy now in recession, and deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini needing to keep the business lobby on board, expect Rome to blink first.

An 'Alternative Arrangements Working Group', including Leave and Remain Conservative MPs, will start three days of talks on Monday on alternative arrangements to the Irish backstop. Prime minister Theresa May appointed Brexiteers Steve Baker, Owen Patterson and Marcus Fysh as well as Remainer former ministers Damian Green and Nicky Morgan to the group. The BBC reported that the working group would consider extending the Brexit transition period for a year.

Polish politician Robert Biedron launched a new party on Sunday called Spring. He promised to phase out coal power, end state subsidies for the church and to legalise abortion and same-sex marriage. He also promised to boost welfare spending in a programme dubbed "populist" by his opponents. "I will be prime minister," Biedron told supporters at a rally in Warsaw ahead of elections in the autumn.

The European Union's Irish agriculture commissioner, Phil Hogan, has said that Brussels is "ready for all eventualities" and has "tools available that we are able to put into effect fairly quickly," should Irish farmers suffer a collapse in food prices in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, the Irish Times reported. The Irish agri-food sector could be hit by €1.7bn tariffs in a no-deal scenario.

With the EU's refusal to renegotiate the withdrawal deal and British confusion about what to do next, Brussels gets on with its business - while wondering if Brexit will ever end.

A majority of MEPs accepted signing a declaration on appropriate behaviour - but some voted against. The opposition came mostly from centre-right German and far-right French MEPs.

Europe's split with the US on foreign policy has widened after three EU states created a new company designed to skirt US sanctions on Iran.

Bulgaria has pledged to build a new pipeline to pump Russian gas from Turkey to Serbia after three firms, including Russia's Gazprom, Bulgaria's Bulgargaz, and Swiss firm MET signed contracts to use it. The €1.4bn project could strengthen EU dependence on gas and undermine Ukrainian security, EU and US diplomats fear. Russia is also building a second pipe, Nord Stream 2, to bypass Ukraine, which it invaded in 2014.

"I am not worried," said Italy's prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, after statistics from the Italian National Institute of Statistics, ISTAT, on Thursday showed the country's GDP contracted by 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018. It is the second consecutive quarter of negative growth, meaning the Italian economy has technically dropped into recession. Italy is the EU's fourth-largest economy.

Palestinians face "systematic legal discrimination" by Israel, EU diplomats said in a confidential report seen by EUobserver, but Israel is unlikely to pay a "real cost".