EU recruitment strategy gets overhaul
Appointments to the EU institutions will focus more on the personal and professional competences of candidates rather than detailed EU knowledge, David Bearfield, the director of the European Personnel...
View ArticleStrasbourg Parliament hails ‘safest ceiling in the world’
MEPs will be able to resume sessions in Strasbourg by 22 September as the ceiling of the European Parliament's plenary building in Strasbourg is now "completely repaired" and "probably the safest...
View ArticleNew campaign seeks end to ‘impenetrable’ Euro-speak
Using simpler language would vastly improve the EU's communication, according to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, which launched an online campaign to make the EU institutions more...
View ArticleThe impact of the EU on real estate in Brussels
"Europe's hold over real estate prices in Brussels is a significant reality," writes Nicolas Bernard of the Facultés Universitaires Saint Louis in the September issue of Brussels Studies, arguing that...
View ArticleLocalisation ‘key’ to EU communication
Cooperation with regional and local media is the key to better communicating EU policy issues to citizens, concluded panellists at a debate on the issue in Brussels on 8 October, organised by the...
View ArticleRace for EU top jobs back on track
Nominations for top jobs in the EU institutions look set for a fresh round of speculation after French President and outgoing EU presidency holder Nicolas Sarkozy announced that the Lisbon Treaty would...
View ArticleMEPs push for ‘structured dialogue’ with EU citizens
The European Parliament yesterday (13 January) adopted, by a large majority, a report calling for a "structured civil dialogue" between the EU institutions and civil society.
View ArticleThe European Commission 2004-09: A Politically Weakened Institution?
The European Commission has been "politically weakened" under President José Manuel Barroso's stewardship, suggests a European Policy Institutes Network (EPIN) report compiled by national experts from...
View ArticleEU quarter development marred by ‘missed opportunities’
Squabbling among Brussels authorities has derailed town planning throughout the Belgian capital's recent history, alleges a study published this week by a think-tank based in the city.
View ArticleExternal Action Service: Much ado about nothing
The European External Action Service (EEAS) certainly does not signify the advent of a new dynamism in the EU's common foreign policy. There are too many differences between the interests of the...
View ArticleEU officials win pay rise battle with member states
National governments have no right to block a planned salary increase for EU officials, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled yesterday (24 November).
View ArticleHow the EU institutions work and how to work with the EU institutions
It is more necessary than ever for private and public organisations to understand how to work with European institutions, argues Alan Hardacre. Though EU policymaking can be complex and difficult, he...
View ArticleBrussels to handle new treaty provisions, says Rehn
Finance Commissioner Olli Rehn yesterday (12 December) brushed aside the possibility of UK legal threats and warned the City of London that it could not avoid EU financial regulation as a result of the...
View ArticleA European diplomatic service in quest of a foreign policy
The Lisbon Treaty introduced a major institutional innovation in the field of external relations by creating a common diplomatic service, the European External Action Service (EEAS). During the past 20...
View ArticleEU staff to strike over budget cuts, threaten to hit summit
Thousands of staff members working at the EU institutions are expected to go on strike in Brussels today (8 November) to protest against potential budget cuts. If unsuccessful, unions plan another...
View ArticleEurope Day takes ironic turn as EU staff strike
A day before Europe Day (9 May), held yearly to celebrate the peace and unity in Europe, 3,500 staff of the European institutions held a strike against budgets cuts that may see their salaries cut by...
View ArticleEU institutions seek exclusion, extra time on data protection
EXCLUSIVE / EU justice ministers meeting in Luxembourg today (6 June) are expected to consider giving EU institutions a sweeping exemption from new data protection rules.
View ArticleData protection: One law should cover EU, governments and private sector
The biggest threat to European citizens’ privacy is posed not by companies, but by governments, according to Digital Europe’s director-general. The US Prism scandal has highlighted the potential for...
View ArticleParliament asks for treaty revision on Strasbourg seat
A parliamentary committee adopted a report that calls on member states to abolish MEPs' monthly commute from Brussels to Strasbourg. The latest attempt to reduce the number of parliamentary seats might...
View ArticlePower to the People
EuroparlTV shows you how the only directly elected EU institution has turned from a little forum for discussing legislation into a powerful player over the course of the last 25 years. Comment on:...
View ArticleUN official: EU needs to encourage social movements
The European institutions need to break out of their “formalist” approach to governance, instead facilitating diversity and collective learning, if they wish to gain the trust of citizens and build...
View ArticleConfidence in the EU on the rise
Citizens' confidence in the European Union has grown since the European elections in May 2014. The uncertain economic situation and immigration are among the main issues still causing concern for the...
View ArticleIrish to be given full official EU language status
Although it has been an official language of the EU since 2007, Irish will now be gradually upgraded to a full working language of the European institutions.
View ArticleEU institutions start large-scale move towards cloud services
EU institutions are getting ready to move data to cloud services as part of the first broad, European Commission-backed push for government cloud computing.
View ArticleMake Turkish an official EU language, Cyprus tells EU
Greek-Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades has asked the Dutch EU Presidency to add Turkish to the bloc’s 24 official languages, in order to boost attempts to reach a reunification agreement on the...
View ArticleInterview: ‘Proud to be fanatical about UK independence’
Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) spoke to EURACTIV recently about his continuing commitment to the UKIP cause in Brussels, and why he believes that Britain is 'tying itself in...
View ArticleNow’s the time for the EU to improve communication with citizens
"The time has come to improve communication between Europe and its citizens," argues Dr. Susana del Río, a senior consultant in the fields of participation and communication with EU citizens.
View ArticleConsumer communications: A more popular EU?
Consumer policy is moving up the European Commission's agenda as the EU becomes increasingly concerned about its popularity level among citizens.
View ArticleThe pillars of an EU-India partnership
The situation is starting to change between the EU and India, but the relationship between the two was not previously being taken seriously by either side, writes Charles Grant of the Centre for...
View ArticleShakespeare is curbing Molière and Goethe in Brussels
"French and German are unlikely to survive in Brussels" unless both countries "unite to better assert the importance of their languages," argues Marc Foglia, the chief editor of the Groupe des Belles...
View ArticleAFEMS dresses European [Promoted content]
Over the years, AFEMS – the Association of European Manufacturers of Sporting Ammunition - has undergone many evolutions, in order to be more effective in advancing its missions and promoting the voice...
View ArticleVisegrad’s timid steps on Macron’s EU citizens’ project
Three of the member states of the Visegrad group are going to take part in Macron’s citizens’ consultations project. Hungary has yet to make its decision known. EURACTIV.fr reports.
View ArticleEU now better prepared to tackle tax evasion
Two years after the Panama Papers scandal revealed the scope of tax haven activities, the EU has adopted new legislation and is now better prepared to tackle tax evasion and fraud. EURACTIV’s partner...
View ArticleCommission: Selmayr was ‘obvious choice’
The European Commission has this week published 84 pages of replies to MEPs’ questions about Martin Selmayr’s controversial promotion to the top civil servant post in the Commission. EURACTIV.fr reports.
View ArticleEU calls on Israel to respect the rights of Palestinian children
Alarmed by the conditions of Palestinian children in the Israeli military judicial system, the EU has called on Israel, through its representatives in Jerusalem and Ramallah, to respect the children's...
View ArticleGiscard d’Estaing wants to reboot the European project
“Re-Imagine Europa” aims to strengthen European economic leadership. At 92, France's Valery Giscard d’Estaing, who launched a new think-tank in Brussels, regrets the “profound confusion of the EU”...
View ArticleRacial diversity not on the EU’s radar
For an institution that supports diversity, equal opportunity, and human rights, the European Union is surprisingly lax when it comes to implementing it in practice, particularly in terms of employing...
View ArticlePolish government continues efforts to stifle free media
Press freedom is still under threat in Poland, the case of TVN24 journalist ,Wojciech Bojanowski ,who revealed a police torture case last year is one of the most striking examples of the Polish state’s...
View Article‘Eurocrats with a heart’ raise €150k for virus-hit regions
Self-proclaimed “faceless” EU civil servants have decided to put their hands in their pockets to build a European solidarity fund for people in COVID-hit regions like Spain and northern Italy.
View ArticleFreelance interpreters denounce ‘humiliating’ offers by EU institutions
With no practical solution on the horizon, freelance interpreters in the European institutions, stranded in the wake of the COVID pandemic, are continuing protests in the hope of improving their...
View ArticleWe need to do more than talk about racism
Racism runs deeper than individual acts of hate - it is embedded in the EU’s social, economic and political system. With the Anti-Racism Summit and National Action Plan Against Racism, the EU has a...
View ArticleEU Parliament sets out two-year diversity roadmap
The European Parliament’s leadership adopted on Monday (29 November) a two-year ‘roadmap’ through which it hopes to “intensify efforts to achieve a more inclusive administration”.
View ArticleEuropean Parliament elects first woman President in twenty years
Maltese MEP Roberta Metsola was elected on Tuesday (18 January) to lead the EU institution for the second half of its five year mandate after securing an overwhelming majority in the first ballot.
View ArticleEU institutions not prepared for increase in cyberattacks
EU institutions are not sufficiently prepared for the increasing number of cyberattacks, a new special report by the European Court of Auditors on Tuesday (29 March) reads. EURACTIV Germany reports.
View ArticleScant resources might threaten enforcement on Big Tech, EU data protection...
The European privacy watchdogs have sent a letter, seen exclusively by EURACTIV, requesting the European Parliament and Council to allocate more financial resources in next year’s budget or face a loss...
View ArticleTrust in the EU has increased among French people, survey finds
Trust in the European Union is "clearly progressing" among the French, though many, particularly among the right-wing camp, still want Paris to have more power than the EU, a major opinion poll has found.
View ArticleMEPs back €500m Parliament building works despite ‘worst possible timing’
MEPs are set to move ahead with plans to renovate one of the European Parliament’s main buildings at a cost of over €500 million despite the optics of the high costs as Europeans face recession and a...
View Article