For Germany's centre-right, Europe only plays a supporting role in the EU elections, explained Parliament VP Rainer Wieland. European politics are unimaginable without Angela Merkel, while topics like data protection and Ukraine "do not win elections". EurActiv Germany reports.

The Internet has brought about opportunities for citizens to get involved in democracy and policymaking. Is there real appetite for e-democracy and online participation, or is it outweighed by reluctance or apathy, Jan Malinowski asks.

Russian oil giant Gazprom has slapped Ukraine energy firm Naftogaz Tursday (24 April) with an additional $11.4 billion gas bill, more than five times its previous claim, increasing pressure on Kyiv, amid the deepest East-West rift since the end of the Cold War.

The centre-right frontrunner to become the next European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, said on Wednesday (23 April) that renegotiating the UK’s membership of the EU would be one of his priorities for the upcoming years if he is nominated for the job.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan offered what the government said were unprecedented condolences yesterday (23 April) to the grandchildren of Armenians killed in World War One by Ottoman soldiers.

Russia has not fulfilled its part of an international agreement to defuse tension in Ukrainem and Washington will only wait "days" more for the accord to be implemented, a senior US official said Wednesday (23 April).

Energy efficiency action plans sent to Brussels by EU member states are so lacking in credibility that infringement proceedings should be taken out against 13 of them, according to the first major analysis of compliance efforts with a new European Union law.

Collaboration between public and private agriculture investment was thought to be beneficial for development. But a recent study focusing on Zambia argues the opposite: most companies simply seek a quick profit, while local smallholders sink further into poverty. EurActiv Germany reports.

With the EU Parliament's approval of a European standard for e-invoicing in public procurement, we got one step closer to the creation of a true digital single market in Europe. Now, it is time to accelerate the journey towards full digitisation, writes Martin Hurley.

How can we expect Europeans to cherish the European Union and its capital, if the public space that symbolises it is nothing but a shabby roundabout on a traffic axis? And yet former president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, said in 2001 that Rond-point Schuman should become "the meeting point of Europe; the piazza of the continent". Philippe Van Parijs gives his vision on how to embellish the heart of Europe's capital.

The two lead candidates in the race for the European elections have reacted vigorously to statements by Council President Herman Van Rompuy, who scorned the parties’ attempt to put forward candidates for the European Commission's presidency.