Euobserver.com

The state of emergency introduced after the failed coup in 2016 ended on Thursday morning - but a new terror bill will maintain some of its measures.

The UK's new proposal for a bespoke EU customs deal would not fly, but Brussels did not want to publicly reject it in order to protect a British government crisis, British daily The Guardian reported. "The white paper's not going to form the basis of negotiations," a "senior EU diplomat" reportedly said, but rejecting it "would likely prove an existential threat" to the British PM, "senior sources in Brussels" added.

Hungary has become the only EU state to refuse to sign a UN treaty urging parties to "uphold ... their obligations under international law" on migrants. The pact "could inspire millions" of people to come to Europe, Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said Wednesday. "Its main premise is that migration is a good and inevitable phenomenon. We consider migration a bad process, which has extremely serious security implications," he said.

Nato has said its mutual defence pact was "unconditional and iron-clad" after US president Donald Trump questioned "why" a US soldier should fight for Montenegro, Nato's newest member. "They [Montenegrins] may get aggressive and congratulations, you're in World War III," Trump had said Tuesday. The comments come after he threatened to quit Nato in a row on money and, last year, physically barged aside Montenegro's PM at a Nato summit.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will avoid lending to Iran because US sanctions could jeopardise its ability to raise money on US markets. "There is no European bank which is presently able to do business with Iran," EIB chief Werner Hoyer said in Brussels Wednesday. "We'd risk the business model of the bank," he said, frustrating EU efforts to engage with Iran in line with a nuclear arms control pact.

EU fiscal affairs chief Pierre Moscovici has warned that a US tariff war with the EU could destabilise financial markets. "An escalation - no matter from which side - would have serious consequences for the economy, including for the financial markets, which would hurt all sides," the French commissioner told German daily Augsburger Allgemeine. "That's why we need a gateway to get out of this spiral," he added.

Greece has rejected comments it was forced by outside forces to recently expel two Russian spies. "States, regardless of size, are independent and can exercise an independent, multidimensional and democratic foreign policy" the Greek foreign ministry has said. It spoke after the Kremlin told press the expulsions were "dirty provocations, into which, unfortunately, Athens was dragged." Russia did "not understand the principles and values of Greek foreign policy", Greece said.

European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker demanded "respect" from media in Brussels Wednesday after being asked whether he had consumed alcohol at a recent Nato summit. "I had sciatica last Wednesday and I had cramps in my legs [at the summit]," he said. He spoke after video footage showed him staggering, chuckling, and being held up by colleagues at the event. Juncker has been dogged by accusations of drunkenness before.

Trump's anti-EU jibes are not slips of the tongue, but signs of a "conflictual" new century in world affairs, Maros Sefcovic has warned.

Margrethe Vestager has fined the US tech giant with €4.34bn for abusing its market dominance in mobile operating systems - but assured US president Donald Trump that it is not because she does not like America.

Boris Johnson accused Theresa May's government of 'dither' over Brexit on Wednesday, as he set out his reasons for resigning as foreign secretary last week over May's Chequers white paper. Speaking in parliament, Johnson said it was "not too late to save Brexit", but said "We dithered. We burnt through negotiating capital. We agreed to hand over a €40bn exit fee, with no discussion of our future economic relationship."

The European Commission and Macedonia signed an agreement Wednesday to send EU border guards to the country. The agreement will allow teams from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency to be deployed "with executive powers" and do border checks "if needed" to prevent irregular migration, EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said. A similar agreement exists with Albania and negotiations are also ongoing with Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), known as the 'Juncker Plan', raised €335bn since it was launched in 2015, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank announced Wednesday. The fund, which provides EU guarantees on private investment, aimed to raise €315bn. It is now expected to reach €350bn by 2020. The commission and EIB said it will create 1.4 million jobs and increase EU GDP by 1.3 percent.

The EU "will continue to give tit for tat to US unilateral measures" on trade, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said Tuesday. Ahead of a meeting with US president Donald Trump next week in Washington, where US tariffs on steel and aluminium, as well as threats of tariffs on cars will be discussed, he said that "it's not about fake news, it's about objective facts."

The European Commission agreed on Wednesday to register a European Citizens' Initiatives (ECI) that aims to permanently guarantee European citizenship and its associated rights once they have been attained - especially for UK citizens after Brexit. It also agreed to register another ECI calling on the commission to make legislative proposals to "embrace the hunger problem" in the EU. The petition need one million signature to be taken into account.

Due to pollution, the majority of European rivers, lakes and estuaries fall below the minimum environmental standards, a report by the European Environment Agency reveals.

As the rapporteur for the European Parliament on an EU regulation on resettlement, my colleagues and I have outlined an effective plan based on solidarity and humanitarian principles.

The British prime minister escaped defeat again in parliament, as EU governments question her ability to ratify any Brexit deal by Westminster.

The EU began screening the readiness of Macedonia and Albania to start negotiations by next June on joining the bloc. EU ministers last month decided to wait a year for the official launch of membership talks because France and the Netherlands wanted more reforms. EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn in Skopje told reporters the screening would allow the EU to measure the countries' preparedness in alignment with EU rules.

Google is bracing for what is expected to be the EU's largest antitrust fine handed down on Wednesday over a probe into Android apps. The fine could be between €4bn and €5bn after an investigation launched in 2015 into Google, requiring handset makers to have its own apps, shopping and search services as pre-installed default options. Google argued the commission's approach would mean less innovation and less competition.