Euractiv.com

The so-called Hanseatic League of EU countries called for a “strict conditionality” and more powers for the European Stability Mechanism over those countries requesting assistance to avert a full-blown crisis.

Taking Germany and Europe by surprise, Angela Merkel’s decision to retire from politics after the end of her chancellorship sparked an array of often antinomic political analysis and speculations, all surrounded with an ‘end of an era’ emanation. But what does it mean on a day-to-day life basis in Germany?

Bulgaria will take part in a joint bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov announced on Friday (2 November), together with Serbia, Greece and Romania, a format dubbed by diplomats and journalists “the Orthodox Four”.

No pesticide should be authorised if it is found to have harmful effects on humans, animals, the environment, and the ecosystem, the new coalition “Citizens for Science in Pesticide Regulation” said in a manifesto launched on Wednesday (31 October).

Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans should keep away from the strained rule of law dialogue between Brussels and Warsaw, as long as he is running for a seat in the new Commission, says expert Sławomir Dębski. He spoke to EURACTIV.com about Poland's place in Europe, its relations with neighbours and security.

The first direct flight from Skopje to Athens took place on Thursday (1 November) after a 15-year “air embargo” in a sign that the two countries are determined to turn a new page in Balkan politics, after being locked in a diplomatic dispute over Skopje's official name.

Britain's serious crime agency launched an investigation on Thursday (1 November) into Brexit backer Arron Banks, over the true source of million of pounds in loans he gave to Leave.EU, one of the main campaign groups in the Brexit referendum.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said on Thursday (1 November) he wanted to pull the Czech Republic out of a United Nations migration deal and would discuss this with his governing coalition partner, news website idnes.cz reported.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Kyiv on Thursday (1 November) she was determined to uphold sanctions against Russia for its role in the Ukraine conflict.

French President Emmanuel Macron has warned Europe of a return to the 1930s because of the spread of a nationalist "leprosy" across the continent, in an interview published Thursday (1 November).

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised the EU's "hypocritical and hostile attitude" on Thursday (1 November) as he left for talks with four eastern European leaders in Bulgaria.

Europe's top banks will learn on Friday (2 November) how they have fared in their latest stress test, which could require some to raise capital or shed assets, with Italian lenders expected to come under close scrutiny.

Few parliaments can match the House of Commons for ancient, arcane and apparently incomprehensible traditions and procedures. And MPs were given an intensive lesson by the grand master in procedure on Wednesday (31 October).

Most farmers sell their products to large food companies and therefore lose large proportions of their income to long supply chains. But individual farmers manage to sell directly to customers. Is this a viable model? EURACTIV Germany reports.

The Supreme Court in Hungary, a country known for its tough stance on migration, has cleared of all charges the camerawoman who kicked refugees live on camera at the Serbia-Hungary border in 2015.

Europe's fragmenting political landscape is an opportunity for Emmanuel Macron to blow apart Brussels' traditional left-right duopoly in next year's European election, the newly appointed head of the French president's EU campaign said.

Italy's populist government is proposing to give land to families about to have a third child, hoping it would help fight the growing depopulation of rural areas and abandonment of arable land. But it has not been embraced by everyone.

The exact amount of money that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will receive under the new food transparency rules will be decided at the level of agriculture ministers, sources close to the issue told EURACTIV.com.

Austria will follow the United States and Hungary in backing out of a United Nations pact on migration over concerns that it will blur the line between legal and illegal migration, the right-wing government told media on Wednesday (31 October).

Foreign aid groups are being forced out of Pakistan, where the need for their services remains immense, in a move analysts say is fuelled by suspicions of foreign spying.