Euobserver.com

Protesters clashed with police in Athens on Sunday at a rally to oppose the government's deal to rename the country's northern neighbour as North Macedonia. The Greek parliament is set to vote on ratifying an agreement this week. The name Macedonia is sensitive for many Greeks who say it implies a claim on the northern Greek province of the same name. Police estimated 60,000 took part in Sunday's protest.

Populists and Eurosceptics are slowly realising that the goal of dismantling the EU is not only unrealistic, costly and unpopular - but also deprives them of valuable opportunities to accumulate political capital and exert influence.

Elections and internal talks have delayed draft energy and climate plans, which were due to be submitted to Brussels by 31 December.

Germany and France are set to reinforce their alliance as the engine-house of European integration, while Britain continues to struggle to leave the EU.

The EU commission has sent draft mandates to EU governments for trade negotiations with US. "These [...] will enable the commission to work on removing tariffs and non-tariff barriers to transatlantic trade in industrial goods," trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said. One mandate would make it easier for companies to prove their products meet technical requirements in both US and EU, another is on the elimination of tariffs for industrial goods.

EU commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic said Friday he would run for president of Slovakia in March's election, backed by the ruling Smer party. Sefcovic will take unpaid leave from his position at the EU executive from 1 February, a commission spokesman said. Centre-left Smer has been leading in the polls, but sought a fresh candidate for the election, after it lost support following the murder of an investigative journalist.

After 131 days without a government, a minority in Sweden's parliament on Friday elected leader of the Swedish Social Democrats, Stefan Lofven, as the next prime minister. Three parties abstained in the vote, meaning there was not a majority against giving Lofven another term as leader of the country. Lofven is now set to form a new government together with the Green Party, the Centre Party and the Liberals.

Germany led the way on protection of human rights this year, but Hungary, Italy, and Poland "undermined the EU's moral standing" on the world stage, a leading NGO said.

The Greek government is gearing up for a campaign to secure ratification of the name-deal with neighbouring Macedonia, which Germany and the EU hope may foster stability in the Balkan region. The deal will be published in Sunday newspapers this weekend and prime minister Alexis Tsipras will hold a televised live debate next week with Greek opposition leader, New Democracy's Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who opposes the deal.

The May 2019 European parliament elections will take place in a context which make a very promising ground for protest votes and extreme views, aided by bots and algorithms.

UK's opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn, could face a string of frontbench Labour resignations if he backs a second Brexit referendum, due to fears of a backlash for the party in leave-voting constituencies, reported to the Guardian. A YouGov poll found the UK would now vote to stay in the EU by a 12 percent point margin, if another referendum was to be held by now.

German minister of finance, Olaf Scholz, is set to sign a pact during a two-day visit to China on Friday opening the market for financial services. Germany hopes to become the new centre for renminbi-denominated financial products in Europe, when the UK leaves the European Union. German chancellor Angela Merkel has proposed a EU-China summit during Germany's 2020 EU presidency,

Norway's conservative prime minister Erna Solberg added on Thursday the small Christian Democratic Party to her three-party minority government, making it the first majority government in Norway since 1985. In return she accepted the Christian Democrats' demand to update Norway's abortion laws in light of biotech developments. Rules permitting abortion after 12 weeks of a "seriously ill" child will change as well as rules for fertility treatment.

Russian president Vladimir Putin said in Belgrade Thursday he wanted a solution to the Serbia-Kosovo conflict "based on [UN] Resolution 1244" - a 1999 text which says Kosovo is part of Serbia. He spoke amid EU-brokered Serbia-Kosovo talks on Serbia's recognition of Kosovo's independence, which would open up EU entry prospects for both. Russia, as a UN Security Council veto holder, could block the EU deal at the international level.

US president Donald Trump has declined to let US house speaker Nancy Pelosi use a military plane to visit Brussels on Friday, where she was to meet EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini. He did it amid a political feud over his plan to build a wall on the Mexico border. Pelosi could do her "seven-day excursion", which was to include Egypt and Afghanistan, by "flying commercial", he said.

Three EU leaders and the president of the ECB travelled to Strasbourg this week to debate with MEPs, but attendance was poor.

Organising a second referendum on Brexit would take a year, the prime minister's office told reporters on Thursday. The analysis of the time for legislation, plus a campaign, for the vote came in a one-page document given to MPs participating in prime minister Theresa May's cross-party talks, in the wake of the defeat of her Brexit bill, but surviving a no-confidence vote on the government.

Italy's former prime minister and powerbroker Silvio Berlusconi said on Thursday that he will run in this May's European elections. The 82-year-old media billionaire, who is also the leader of the opposition, centre-right Forza Italia, will be eligible to stand again for public office after the expiration of a ban related to a tax-fraud conviction, which prevented him from running in last year's general election.

MEPs voted on Thursday to triple the proposed EU funding for promoting democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights across the EU, including through civil society organisations. The European Parliament increased the planned funds in the long-term EU budget (2021-2027) to €1.834bn, compared to the EU Commission's original €642m proposals. Parliament approved its position by 426 votes to 152, with 45 abstentions.

MEPs on Thursday voted in favour of draft rules to suspend EU budget payments to countries jeopardising rule of law in their countries, with 397 in support and 158 against. Under the proposed rules, first tabled by the EU commission in its long-term EU budget plans, governments interfering with courts or failing to tackle corruption will risk suspension of EU funds. The issue will be negotiated with member states.