EU News in March 2018

What happened in the European Union in March?

The top politicians of the European Union organisations saw the Turkish president Erdogan in a meeting. Turkey and the EU have a long history. Turkey asked in 1987 (yes, that's right!) to be part of the EU. Today, they are still negotiating. One of the biggest problems is the situation in the north of Cyprus. Turkey invaded a part of Cyprus, and that part has no normal relationships with the rest of the EU. Recently, Turkey and the EU made a deal on migrants. The EU gives money, and the EU sends a part of the migrants that come via Turkey back (more info here).

EU leaders and Turkey's president (red tie, like the Turkish flag) © EU, 2018

And what happened at the meeting? Not much. The EU leaders and Turkey disagree on many things. However, the Turkish president said he still wants Turkey to be part of the EU in the future (article) (article).

The EU organised another 'summit' (see previous newsletter). The leaders of France and Germany want to reform the Euro. Both countries want to work more closely together (article), but many other EU countries didn't want that (article). On the summit, they did agree to some reforms. For example, there could be an EU guarantee for people having money in the bank (article). In the history of the EU, France and Germany have changed a lot together.

The most powerful person in the European administration has been replaced, but not in a very transparent way (see previous newsletter). Many politicians of the European Parliament criticised this way of doing business (article). They asked the European Commission to explain this (article). In April, the whole European Parliament will vote on a resolution. Which means it's probably not going to be an issue anymore.

One of the (good) arguments to have the EU, is that it keeps the peace on the European continent. Yes, since the invention of the modern state at the end of the medieval ages, there hasn't been such a long period of peace. However, critics say, the EU produces a lot of weapons and sells them abroad. Which is not so peaceful. The number of weapons sold abroad is increasing (article).

Keep up with the EU news on my Facebook page.
Want this news in your inbox? Subscribe here.
Get 50% discounts on Amazon books about international politics.

EU News in February 2018

What happened in the European Union in February?

3-4 times a year, the leaders of the EU countries gather to decide what to do next. So this is one of the most powerful organisations in the EU, because Presidents and Prime Ministers go to the meeting or 'summit'. This time, it was on 23 February and all the official information is here.

Of course, journalists write about the meetings. One important topic was how to select the president of the European Commission (the 'EU government'). Now, each political group proposes a candidate to become the next president. That candidate is called 'Spitzenkandidat' in the EU's special language.

The president of the Council (left) and Parliament (right) © EU

The EU parliament said before the summit it only wanted to have as the Commission's president one of those proposed Spitzenkandidaten. But, the leaders disagreed at the meeting: they want to keep the power to propose any candidate to become the president. Even if it was not one of those candidates. And in no way this procedure should be automatic. Read more articles here and here.

On the summit, the leaders also agreed that the budget should focus on security and migration (article).

Who's on top of the European administration? It's an important job: there's over 30 000 people working at the European Commission. The job is called Secretary General and there's a new one: Martin Selmayr. He used to be working for the Commission's President. And the way he got the job, was very fast and not so transparent. 

French President Macron wants to create a new party in the European Parliament, just like he did in France. However, he will have to find a lot of friends to be significant (article).

How corrupt is each EU country? Transparency International made an interesting report, check it out here. Denmark is seen as the least corrupt EU country, and Bulgaria as the most (article).

Want this news in your inbox? Subscribe here.
Keep up with the EU news on my Facebook page.