Euobserver.com

The EU's Court of Justice confirmed on Monday an earlier order to suspend a Polish law on the retirement age of the country's Supreme Court judges, pending a ruling. Under the bill, Polish judges over 65 were forced to retire unless they received consent from Poland's president. Monday's decision confirmed "the urgency of the interim measures". Also on Monday, Poland's president signed a bill which reinstated those forced-out judges.

France will introduce a new tax on 1 January 2019 which will hit big tech companies Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon, it announced on Monday. The move means that France no longer wants to wait for an EU-wide taxing initiative, which hit a roadblock from four member states earlier this month. Economy minister Bruno Le Maire said the French tax was expected to raise around €500m in 2019.

Negotiators from the European Parliament, national governments, and the European Commission decided on Monday a compromise by which cars should emit 37.5 percent less CO2 in 2030, compared to 2021. Vans should emit 31 percent less. Austrian environment minister Elisabeth Kostinger called it a "great success for climate protection in Europe", but NGO Transport & Environment called the compromise "progress but it's not fast enough to hit our climate goals".

Sometimes in chess, a sacrifice brings victory. Theresa May should pay heed to the example of Slovakia's premier, Iveta Radicova, who sacrificed her job in order to get difficult euro bailout legislation through the Bratislava parliament.

The EU commission is giving more time to the Swiss government to endorse a deal that would put various sectorial agreements to access the single market under one deal. Nevertheless, after Brexit, the EU has had enough of exceptions.

The British parliament will finally vote on the Brexit withdrawal agreement in the week of 14 January, prime minister Theresa May told MPs on Monday. May postponed the vote at the last minute last week, after realising it would be heavily defeated, before winning a no-confidence vote on her leadership by her own party. She then headed to Brussels for further "assurances" on the Irish border backstop.

New rules are needed that do not place the heaviest burdens on a few countries, but ensure that all countries benefit from the euro. Avoiding imbalances in trade between countries can do this.

Ninety people were arrested and six are to face criminal charges following rowdy anti-immigrant protests outside the EU institutions in Brussels.

Following a four-hour long government summit, and with few details given, Italy's government has identified around €3bn of additional funds - making it possible for the coalition government to agree a 2019 budget in line with EU rules and avoid fines from Brussels, according to a League party spokeswoman quoted by Italian media on Monday. The EU commission had rejected the Italian budget in October.

Two weeks of talks between 196 countries and the EU in Katowice, Poland, ended on Saturday in a show of unity and agreement on a 'Paris rulebook' - putting the landmark 2015 Paris accord on climate change into practice. Scientists and some negotiators warned it won't be enough to stop global warming. EU commissioner Miguel Arias Canete called it a "success for multilateralism and the global fight against climate change".

British prime minister Theresa May is set to voice her opposition to any second Brexit referendum on Monday when she will brief MPs on last week's European Council summit. "Let us not break faith with the British people by trying to stage another referendum," she will say, according to extracts of her speech released in advance. She warned a re-vote would "further divide" the country.

The European Commission is set to publish Brexit preparedness measures on Wednesday (19 December). According to president Jean-Claude Juncker's spokesman the measures are meant for the EU to be "prepared for all scenarios". Running close to Christmas and new year holidays, the time frame for approval by the parliament and the council of any arrangements to follow Brexit on 29 March 2019 is running short.

Katya Mateva, a former director in Bulgaria's ministry of justice turned whistleblower, says high-ranking politicians behind a scam leading to Bulgarian citizenship are likely to go unpunished.

EU leaders said they can do no more than reassure the UK they do not want to trap it over Ireland, but May might need more than that to get the Brexit deal through parliament.

Migration was overshadowed by Brexit at the EU summit, with leaders stuck on key legislation. Some warned that free movement could be at risk.

European Commission president said EU leaders should also look at their own responsibility in spreading disinformation.

EU leaders endorsed a French plan to create a eurozone budget on Friday at their summit in Brussels. The budget, which will be aimed only at improving competitiveness and supporting convergence, will be part of the EU's long-term budget starting in 2021. Its size will be determined as part of negotiations on the EU budget. Eurozone finance ministers were tasked with working out the details.

The last working week before Christmas will see a flurry of ministerial activity in Brussels, with debates on agriculture, fisheries, energy, and environment.

Germany and the US have defended Kosovo's "sovereign right" to create an army, despite Serbia's abhorrence of the move.

The European Commission's secretary-general Martin Selmayr did not want to comment yet on a European Parliament's resolution calling for his resignation. "Not today," he told EUobserver when asked to comment, after Friday's EU summit ended. On Thursday, 368 MEPs supported the text, which said that the procedure to appoint Selmayr caused reputational damage to the EU. Just 15 MEPs rejected the text, with 135 of them abstaining.