In her first term as Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen was largely free to push through her agenda without having to worry about backlash from her party. If she gets a second mandate, however, this is bound to change, with her conservative CDU party taking a much more prominent role.

The increase in tariffs on China's electric vehicles (EVs) and other products by the US administration is dividing politicians within the EU's centre-left Socialists & Democrats (S&D) group, who disagree on whether Europe should follow up with a similar measure.

Spain's diplomacy chief is due to meet with his UK counterpart and European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič in Brussels on Thursday (16 May) to try to hammer out the final details of a long-awaited agreement on the future status of Gibraltar, Madrid’s diplomatic sources said on Wednesday.

Denník N reports, that the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD, S&D) got shot on Wednesday afternoon (15 may). He was immediately taken to the hospital.

Slovakia is facing political turmoil focused on health minister, Zuzana Dolinková. She survived her first no-confidence vote on 14 May, after only seven months in office. The culture minister also faced recall in back-to-back votes.

Yesterday (Tuesday 14 May) environment ministers from 11 national governments wrote to their counterparts across the EU, urging them to adopt the law at the next Environmental Council meeting on 17 June.

Including local and sustainability criteria in public procurement of food would be compatible with WTO rules and would also bring significant climate and economic benefits, according to a report published on Wednesday (15 May) by consultancy Carbone4.

Decarbonising the heating and cooling sector is central to achieving the energy transition. This is recognised in the European Green Deal and the ‘Fit for 55’ package, as without increasing the share of renewables in this sector, our energy and climate targets cannot be achieved cost-effectively.

A clear legislative and governance roadmap from the next European Commission to promote decarbonisation and protect both industry competitiveness and the energy supply for citizens will unlock private and public sector cooperation to achieve the Green Deal’s ambitions.

Georgia's controversial Kremlin-style 'foreign agent' law 'negatively impacts' the country's progress on its accession path and should be withdrawn, the EU said in a watered-down statement on Wednesday (15 May).

Georgia’s President Salome Zourabishvili assured foreign affairs ministers of the Baltic countries and Iceland on Wednesday (15 May) that she would veto the controversial ‘foreign influence’ law, though the step is unlikely to stop it from entering into force. “I...

As the clock ticks towards the end of the current Commission mandate, stakeholders gathered in Brussels (14 May) for a stocktaking on progress towards an agreement on an EU code of conduct for fair access to financial services for cancer survivors.

Israeli tanks pushed deeper into Rafah, reaching some residential areas where more than a million people had sought shelter, and its forces pounded the enclave's north in some of the fiercest attacks in months.

In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about Sweden's coalition coming under pressure over the far-right troll farm scandal, the planned Italian Meloni-Schlein TV showdown sparking backlash, and so much more.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an interview published early on Wednesday (15 May), said he backed China's plan for a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis, saying Beijing had a full understanding of what lay behind the crisis.

People convicted by the Romanian justice system who flee the country will have to pay for their repatriation, according to a law passed on Tuesday in response to the escape of several convicts in recent years.

Supporters of Bulgaria's pro-Russian far-right Vazrazhdane (Revival) party clashed with a Ukrainian delegation of nuclear experts at the site where the Belene nuclear power plant was expected to be built, in a video shared by the pro-Russian party on social media on Tuesday.

The European Union said on Tuesday (14 May) it was concerned about the wave of arrests of many civil society figures, journalists and political activists, and demanded clarifications from Tunisia as the North African country faces a growing political crisis.

ccd

Slovakia’s new draft law reforming public broadcaster RTVS and a new draft law on NGOs raise concerns, according to Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights. This prompts Slovak Deputy Prime Minister Peter Kmec to pledge his government will look into revising the proposed legislation.