Tag: EU
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EU Parliament overwhelmingly votes in favour of European Democracy Shield
The European Parliament overwhelmingly backed the European Democracy Shield earlier today in Strasbourg, with 420 MEPs (63%) voting in favour, 220 (22%) against and 26 (4%) abstaining. All five Maltese MEPs who voted supported the report. The report identifies Russia as the principal foreign threat to European democratic integrity and calls for stronger EU action…
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European Parliament to vote on European Democracy Shield today
The European Parliament will today debate and vote on the European Democracy Shield, a new framework intended to strengthen the European Union’s defences against foreign interference, disinformation and sabotage (“hybrid”) attacks, with Russia identified as the main threat. The European Parliament’s plenary session opened in Strasbourg yesterday, with President Roberta Metsola beginning her address by…
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European leaders visit Finalnd’s Arctic North: Finland joins France’s Forward Nuclear Deterrence Initiative
European leaders, including EU High Representative Kaja Kallas, European Council President António Costa, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, gathered in Rovaniemi, northern Finland, for the European Arctic Summit on Sunday and Monday. The summit, hosted by Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, brought together European leaders to discuss the growing strategic…
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The EU vetoers hold a meeting in Malta
Slovakia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar is in Malta today for talks with his Maltese counterpart Minister Chris Fearne. This is the first visit by a Foreign Minister from Slovakia in 12 years Minister Fearne stated. There is a very good reason why Malta is currently prioritising its friendships with small states in the EU…
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Paris wants to remain central stage as it dismembers efforts by Kaja Kallas to strengthen EU’s role in foreign and defence
Latest press reports on the European External Action Service and High Representative Kaja Kallas cite the cancellation of a meeting of a new European defence group organised by the High Representative. France and Germany are cited as the countries that blocked the initiative. The meeting was meant to plan to discuss the implementation of Mario…
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The EU to strengthen its relationship with Greenland
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is in Greenland along with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to sign a renewed partnership agreement with Greenland which will come with an increased investment by the EU of up to €200 million for 2027. A longer-term proposal of up to €530 million in investments during the 2028-2034…
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Iceland rejects resumption of EU membership talks in nationwide referendum
Iceland has rejected the resumption of negotiations for European Union membership in a nationwide referendum, with 52.8% of voters voting No and 47.2% voting Yes. Turnout reached a high 82.5%, with around 225,000 votes cast from an electorate of roughly 270,000. The question on the ballot read: “Should Iceland resume accession negotiations with the European…
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EU Chief warns China over €1 billion-a-day EU trade deficit
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has warned China that the European Union is prepared to make full use of its trade-defence instruments unless Beijing takes concrete steps to rebalance its increasingly lopsided trade relationship with Europe. President Von der Leyen made the remarks on Thursday, August 27th, during a speech to French business…
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Slovenia blocks EU’s condemnation against Israel’s E1 Settlement Plan
The EU Observer has reported that, Slovenia has vetoed an official EU condemnation against Israel’s E1 settlement plan in Jerusalem, compelling the EU to issue the statement only on behalf of the EU’s High Representative Kaja Kallas. The statement was subsequently released by the EU’s External Actions Service and can be found here. Malta has…
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Mario Draghi and Patrick Collission launch pro-Europe think-tank
Mario Draghi has joined forces with Irish businessman Patrick Collison, co-founder and CEO of Stripe, to establish the Rhine Group, a new pro-European policy initiative aimed at reversing Europe’s economic decline and strengthening its competitiveness. Draghi and Collison serve as co-chairs and co-founders of the group, while Spanish economist and former liberal MEP Luis Garicano…
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European countries push for windfall tax on oil and gas companies
Euronews is reporting that six European countries are calling for an EU-wide windfall tax on oil and gas companies to capture a portion of the exceptional profits they have made as a result of the surge in energy prices during the war with Iran. Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, Poland and Portugal are calling for a…
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Asylum applications in the EU continue to go down
According to the latest Eurostat figures, the number of first-time asylum applications in the European Union continued to decline in May, falling by 22% compared with the same month last year. A total of 42,525 non-EU citizens applied for international protection for the first time in May 2026, down from 54,765 in May 2025. Applications…