Euobserver.com

Some 25 percent of Slovenians have voted for the anti-immigrant Slovenia Democratic party headed by Janez Jansa, a former PM who spent six months in jail for corruption.

A new Catalan regional government was officially sworn into office on Saturday, replacing the direct rule of the region by Madrid in place since October's independence referendum. Catalonia's new premier, Quim Torra, a hardline separatist, had to reshuffle his cabinet and replace four candidates under investigation for their role in the independence referendum in order to get Madrid's approval for his new government.

Prompted by hikes in housing prices, Germany's Green party is calling for a national real estate register to be established. "The owners of a property must be transparent and no longer hide behind dubious letterbox companies in tax havens," said Green party leader, Robert Habeck, in an interview to Sueddeutsche Zeitung. At present one can buy "German real estate with illegal money from corruption and tax evasion," he said.

US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, rejected on Sunday as "ridiculous" claims that he "endorses" conservatives in Europe. Following an interview in Breitbart News citing him as saying: "I absolutely want to empower other conservatives throughout Europe" he tweeted: "I stand by my comments that we are experiencing an awakening from the silent majority - those who reject the elites & their bubble. Led by Trump".

Visiting the Sicilian town of Pozzallo on Sunday, deputy prime minister in Italy's new coalition, Matteo Salvini, said that "Italy and Sicily cannot be Europe's refugee camp". "The good times for illegals are over, get ready to pack your bags," he said. Pozzallo's mayor Roberto Ammatuna rejected Salvini's claim that the island was "a refugee camp of Europe". "Here, there are beaches full and tourists," he said.

Members of France's National Front party voted on Friday to change its name to Rassemblement National (the National Rally) in a bid to rebrand the party ahead of European Parliament elections in May 2019. "It closes a chapter of our movement," party leader Marine Le Pen told at a meeting outside Lyon. The elections "can lead to a veritable European revolution," she said.

Some 300,000 school-age Syrian children in Turkey are not enrolled in classes. Fears they may end up in sweatshops or forced to beg have triggered efforts by the EU, Unicef, and the Turkish government to keep them in school.

Access to safe, sustainable and cheap energy is a dream of all European Union member states, and also a goal that Poland is steadfastly seeking to accomplish.

Coming weeks will be key to see how Giuseppe Conte and Pedro Sanchez can influence the bloc's policies.

Finance ministers of the EU's three Nordic countries have urged partners to shelve plans to tax large corporations for their digital turnover. The digital economy should be taxed where value is created, they say.

The European Commission has shifted responsibility of how to achieve climate goals to member states in proposed reforms to its agricultural aid budget.

MIgration will be back in the EU limelight as interior ministers discuss the latest proposals on asylum. Italy's new minister is a fan of Orban and has vowed mass deportations.

The European Commission proposed on Friday that recipients of EU farm subsidies should be capped at €100,000 - except if the surplus amount is spent on wages. Initially EU agriculture commissioner Phil Hogan said the maximum would be set at €60,000, but "some member states" made objections. "We don't want unintended consequences of having a very serious financial burden imposed on businesses, particularly in our eastern European countries," said Hogan.

The EU announced on Friday that it is challenging the US and China in the World Trade Organization (WTO). It will dispute the legality of US tariffs on EU steel and aluminium and Chinese legislation that "undermines property rights of European companies," EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said. She said the US tariffs applied from Friday were "pure protectionism".

Apple has declined an invitation to meet the European Parliament's special committee on tax evasion and financial crimes on 21 June due to ongoing legal proceedings in Apple's appeal case on alleged Irish state aid. "We will not be able to participate in a public hearing on this topic as it could be detrimental to the proceedings at the Court", states Apple in a letter to committee chair, Petr Jezek.

Pedro Sanchez, the leader of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), is the new prime minister after MPs approved a motion of no confidence against PM Mariano Rajoy - 180 votes in favour, 169 against. The vote was organised a week after members of Rajoy's conservative Popular Party (PP) were sentenced for corruption. Sanchez said earlier that he would call new elections.

The European Commission will propose on Friday that member states that implement a climate-friendly or environment-friendly farm policy should get a financial reward. "A performance bonus may be attributed to member states in the year 2026 to reward satisfactory performance in relation to the environmental and climate target," said a draft of the legislative proposal. The commission will propose that EU countries have more control over implementing EU farm policy.

"I do think we have to reconnect with Russia," European commission head Jean-Claude Juncker said on Thursday at a think tank event in Brussels, the Guardian reports. "Not forgetting what our differences and divergences are. But this Russia-bashing has to be brought to an end," he said, as EU states prepare to discuss the next extension of their economic sanctions on Russia imposed over its ongoing aggression in Ukraine.

Public buildings in the southern German state of Bavaria will from Friday be required to display a Christian cross at the entrance. The 'Kreuzpflicht' (crucifix obligation) is also recommended in theaters, opera houses and museums, but is not obligatory. Bavaria has one of the highest proportions of Christians among German states. Its ruling party Christian Socialist Union (CSU) party is losing voters to the anti-Muslim Alternative for Germany (AfD) party,

The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Thursday that Lithuania and Romania breached the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights by hosting secret CIA detention sites. Stateless Palestinian, Abu Zabaydah was held for two months in a secret detention facility in Lithuania in 2005 and Saudi Arabian, Al Nashiri was held by the CIA in Romania between 2004 and 2005.