... Will the European Parliament (EP) be able to repeat its Spitzenkandidaten coup of 2014 against a defiant European Council? Can it once again impose the candidate of the strongest party group as President of the European Commission – as it did with Jean-Claude Juncker? After a brief flurry of public but inconclusive activity in Brussels, the issue is back to behind-the-scenes negotiations in ... learn more
... A newly released Eurobaromter survey, conducted in late 2018, explored the awareness of biodiversity in the EU nations, as well as perceptions of threats to biodiversity and possible recourses to deter it. The Brussels-based firm Kantar Public carried out the survey in 28 EU states for the European Commission (EC), interviewing over 27,500 respondents from different social and demographic ... learn more
... In the run-up to the 23 to 26 May European Parliament elections, a new survey conducted by YouGov for the think tank European Council on Foreign Relations found that in the EU's most populous countries approval of EU membership is high, even at a record high. Among the good news is that two thirds of Europeans agree that the body is a force for good. At the same time, a majority fears that ... learn more
... This was the election that was never meant to happen. Britain should have left the EU and its parliament behind on the 29 March 2019. Yet, to comply with the EU’s requirement for a six-month extension of Brexit, the UK is now gearing up to hold European Parliament elections on the 23 May to elect a new set of MEPs. These new British MEPs may have a very short tenure in the parliament, as ... learn more
... A new Pew Research Center survey assesses of how democracy is working across the world relying on data from 27 countries, including seven European countries: Hungary, Russia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany and the UK. The pollers asked 30,133 people from May 14 to Aug. 12, 2018, about economic, political, social and security issues. Respondents were also asked about the economy, ... learn more
... The most recent EU-commissioned public opinion poll underlines vigorous – even record-breaking, in some fields -- support for the EU across Europe. The European Parliament's Spring 2019 Eurobarometer shows that, despite the controversial challenges confronting the EU, the Union’s sense of cohesion has not been diminished -- but rather strengthened in the face of the crises and criticism. ... learn more
... April 1, 2019, the marked the first anniversary of Europeans being able to travel across the EU and take advantage abroad of their online subscriptions, for example, to films, sports programs, e-books, video games, and music services. The EU’sregulation on portability of online content services, also known as the portability regulation, enables consumers to access their portable online ... learn more
... With the European Parliament (EP) election quickly approaching (May 23-26), a new poll conducted by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), a pan-European think tank, found that issues such as unemployment, health, corruption, living standards, and housing are of more or equal importance to migration for Europeans. Climate change proved to be a major issue: in 13 of the 14 polled ... learn more
... The body that we now know as the European Parliament (EP) first met in March 1958; at the time, it was called the European Parliamentary Assembly. It began calling itself the EP in 1962, well before the first popular election in 1979. It has officially been the EP only as of 1987 with the Single European Act.[1] Shortly after the first European parliamentary election (EPE), political ... learn more
... America First, China First, Russia First, Great Britain First, Hungary First, Italy First: In Europe and beyond, the “my nation first” slogans with their nativist roots have become a common phenomenon that challenges the rule of law for implementing the nationalist will of the people. Considering the increasing public support of populist movements and the electoral success of nationalist ... learn more
