The European Commission and the High Representative Josep Borrell presented their plans to improve the EU’s defence standing on Wednesday, 18 May, in light of the war waging in Ukraine. Their plans focus on Member States making joint investments to procure military equipment, on supporting the industry through more money to be put into the European Defence Fund (EDF), and on strategic defence programming.
Almost half of the Member States are not happy with the treaty change proposed by the European Parliament as an outcome of the Conference on the future of Europe. In a non-paper, thirteen of the 27 Member States declare their dismay at the proposals that would strengthen the European Parliament’s powers as a legislator and would strengthen the role of citizens in electing their representatives, also in the Commission.
In a resolution adopted last Thursday (5 May), MEPs endorsed Moldova’s application for EU membership and acknowledged the enormous challenges the country is facing in light of the war in Ukraine.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented her plans for a sixth package of sanctions against Russia to the European Parliament on Wednesday, 4 May.
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency’s (Frontex) executive director, Fabrice, Leggeri, resigned from his post on Friday, following a meeting of the Frontex Management Board on 28 and 29 April to discuss consequences of the European Anti-Fraud Office’s (OLAF) report on their investigations.
Last week Tuesday (19 April), the first meeting of a new European Parliament committee investigating spyware such as Pegasus took place. In the constitutive meeting of the Pegasus Inquiry Committee (PEGA), the chair and three vice-chairs were elected, being Jeroen Lenaers (EPP) as chair, and Sándor Rónai (S&D), Diana Riba i Giner (Greens/EFA) and Moritz Körner (Renew) as vice-chairs.
The Russian war in Ukraine yesterday reached its gruesome two-months anniversary. While thousands of Ukrainians are fleeing their country to seek refuge in Western Europe, the EU is trying to stop Russia through a myriad of sanctions.
In the opening session of the European Parliament’s plenary meeting in April, President Roberta Metsola led a minute of silence for the victims of the war in Ukraine and around the world.
The European Parliament’s Constitutional Affairs Committee wants to transform the EU’s electoral law by replacing the current European Electoral Act from 1976. Their main transformative idea: electing some of the MEPs in the EU Parliament through transnational lists.
The European Parliament established the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in September 2020, in order to explore how the EU should deal with AI technology. On Tuesday, 22 March, the committee adopted its final report.
