Euobserver.com

French liberal Patricia Lalonde has resigned her post as lead MEP on the EU association agreement with Morocco, EUobserver has learned. Her office confirmed the departure on Monday, ahead of a crucial vote on the EU-Morocco trade pact in the parliament's committee on international trade. The move follows an investigation by EUobserver into conflicts of interest and lobbying.

Ministers endorsed a Dutch plan to create targeted EU sanctions for human rights abusers on Monday, Dutch foreign minister Stef Blok said. "We took an important step today," he said, with the EU foreign service to table a detailed proposal in the next few months. Britain spoke out in favour at Monday's meeting, while France and Germany made their assent known earlier and no member states criticised the idea.

British prime minister Theresa May has postponed a parliament vote on the Brexit deal scheduled for Tuesday. May told MPs she wants to "ensure that any provision for a backstop has democratic legitimacy" in the withdrawal agreement reached with the EU. The backstop is a guarantee mechanism that would keep the Irish border open. May also implied the Brexit vote in parliament could now be delayed until January.

The European Commission is struggling to respond to questions on how it can include the disputed territory of the Western Sahara into its aviation agreement with Morocco - following a recent order from the General Court of the European Union.

Almost 40 percent of European Jews contemplate leaving their home country because they no longer feel safe, and almost 85 percent say their number one concern in Europe is anti-semitism and racism, according to a new EU survey.

Will commissioners Phil Hogan and Vytenis Andriukaitis help consumers take cruelty away from the EU's Christmas buffet?Some 79 MEPs have asked the EU Commission to delete the requirement of minimum liver weights for foie gras

EU judges have granted the UK the right to unilaterally stop Brexit - amid question marks on whether Tuesday's crunch vote in London will take place.

UK prime minister Theresa May will cancel a crucial vote in the British parliament on the draft Brexit deal, where she was expected to face a massive defeat, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The House of Commons was expected to vote on whether to approve the Brexit deal on Tuesday evening, but that will now be rescheduled. May has faced mounting rejection from her own Conservatives and the opposition Labour party.

Belgian prime minister Charles Michel will lead a minority government after Flemish nationalist N-VA party, the largest in the four-party coalition, quit due to their disagreement over the UN migration pact due to be adopted this week. Michel appealed to MPs over the weekend not to force an election, ahead of one already scheduled for May. Michel said he would travel to Marrakesh to adopt the pact.

EU officials will shortly start drawing up new human rights sanctions, if ministers give the nod to a Dutch plan at talks in Brussels.

The European Court of Justice ruled on Monday that the UK can unilaterally withdraw its Article 50 notice of Brexit and remain in the EU under unchanged terms. The ruling confirms an opinion given by its advocate general last week, and is meant to clarify legal options open to British MPs when casting their votes on the UK-EU withdrawal agreement in the House of Commons vote on Tuesday.

Sales of arms and military services by the world's 100 largest producers totalled €348bn in 2017, 2.5 percent up from 2016, new data released on Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) showed. Accounting for 57 percent of sales, US companies remained the world's largest arms producers, followed by Russia with 9.5 percent. Western European companies accounted for 23.8 percent, with UK the region's largest producer.

French president Emmanuel Macron is set to address the country on Monday evening in a bid to calm tensions after protests against fuel tax hikes developed into a general anti-government revolt. "We must expect a new slowdown of economic growth at year-end due to the 'yellow vest' protests," warned finance minister Bruno Le Maire. Belgian police detained more than 400 people in yellow vest-inspired riots in Brussels on Saturday.

Europe's social democrat parties on Saturday chose Dutch politician and current vice-president of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, as their 'Spitzenkandidat' in May's European Parliament elections to possibly succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as head of the commission. Addressing delegates, Timmermans said his party would strive to "write a new social contract with Europe's citizens". Over 1,000 participants and guests from 56 different countries took part in the congress in Lisbon.

Some 600 Twitter accounts known to promote Kremlin views have focussed on France, boosting the 'Yellow Vest' movement's hashtag, French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told RTL radio on Sunday. "An investigation is now underway," he said. Le Drian also urged US president Donald Trump to not meddle in French politics after he tweeted "The Paris Agreement isn't working out so well for Paris. Protests and riots all over France".

New figures for air passenger transport from Eurostat show a record high 1.043 billion passengers were travelling by air in the European Union in 2017, up by seven percent compared to 2016. Intra-EU transport represented almost half (47 percent) of total air passenger transport in the EU. The figures came while EU scientists and diplomats gathered in Katowice, Poland to reduce climate emissions.

At COP24 climate talks in Katowice, Poland, four out of the six newly-announced sponsors are coal and gas companies, including Europe's largest coking coal producer JSW.

The European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, has yet to be heard on the forced eviction of the Central European University from Budapest to Vienna. Just months before crucial European parliament elections, EU leaders should not shy away from this debate.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, seen as championing similar policies to Angela Merkel, has won the CDU party leadership contest and is thus the frontrunner to become chancellor once Merkel leaves. But a split party will mean challenges.

Delegates from the Christian Democrats (CDU), Germany's largest party, on Friday (7 December) elected Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, known as AKK, as their new leader, making her likely to be the next chancellor. AKK, seen as loyal to chancellor Angela Merkel, beat corporate lawyer Friedrich Merz. The party also bid an emotional farewell to Merkel, leader for 18 years, who will remain chancellor until the end of her term in 2021.