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Europe is betting everything on getting richer
BRUSSELS ― It looks a lot like a continental midlife crisis. Politicians are searching for answers and they’re finding a Europe that is grayer, less dynamic and less innovative than ever before....
View ArticleThe EU’s new power pyramid and migration escalation
Listen on Spotify Apple Music Amazon Music Live from Strasbourg… and Paris… and Berlin… and London, it’s EU Confidential. In this week’s episode, we catch you up on a dizzying week of news. We start...
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EU environment commissioner to face tough crowd in Parliament
Sweden’s reputation is preceding its European commissioner — and not in a good way. Newly charged with the leading the EU’s environment portfolio, Jessika Roswall, from Sweden’s governing conservative...
View ArticleThe EU was built on red tape. Now it wants to slash it.
BRUSSELS ― For decades, the European Union loved to regulate. Now, it wants to do the opposite. Where once, the “Brussels Effect” saw the EU set laws and standards the rest of the world couldn’t help...
View ArticleFinland says EU’s state subsidy bonanza has ‘gone too far’
BRUSSELS — European Union policies that allowed governments to pump cash into companies during recent crises “have gone too far,” according to Finland’s economy minister. Wille Rydman told POLITICO...
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Europe eyes bigger, fewer telco firms in envy of US and China
Europe’s sprawling telecom sector — long touted by Brussels’ powerful competition department as a success of open market regulation — is fast becoming a go-to illustration for those looking to prove...
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Leaked documents: Which EU commissioners have the most property, money and...
BRUSSELS — Just how squeaky clean are the new team of commissioners hoping to work for Ursula von der Leyen? The European Parliament’s legal affairs committee, known as JURI, is going through the...
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6 flashpoints for the EU’s new competition chief
Teresa Ribera is in line to pick up a hefty European Commission role in charge of the Green Deal, an area she knows well as Spain’s climate minister and as an international climate negotiator. But...
View ArticleTwo proposed timetables put forward for commissioner hearings
The European Parliament is pondering whether to grill the six executive vice presidents first or last in next month’s hearings for European commissioners-designate, according to two proposed schedules...
View ArticleHere’s the final schedule for commissioner hearings in November
The European Parliament on Thursday finalized the running order of its Q&A sessions with incoming EU commissioners after right-wing lawmakers won a political battle over the schedule. At a...
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Leaked: Tense correspondence between EU commissioner hopefuls and Parliament
STRASBOURG — Twenty-three commissioner nominees who were asked for additional information regarding assets during their European Parliament screenings were approved Thursday morning, despite many of...
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The future EU commissioners’ promises: Everything you need to know
Call it the evaluation before the job interview. Ahead of the aspiring commissioners facing a grilling from the European Parliament in early November, they must respond to lawmakers’ written...
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China won’t like the sound of EU commissioner hearings. Here’s why.
BRUSSELS — It has gone from bad to worse. Europe’s view on China has taken a negative turn in the last five years. It’s not just the age-old concerns about human rights or economic imbalance....
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New rules to build corporate giants won’t reverse EU decline, officials say
Europe’s push to reform merger rules to create more heavyweight corporate champions is a wrong-headed approach to tackle U.S. and Chinese rivals and is likely to backfire, the EU’s top competition...
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To Ursula, with love: Paris sends Brussels the anti-Breton
PARIS — When French President Emmanuel Macron decided to replace Thierry Breton as France’s nominee for European commissioner, he parachuted in a man with a defining feature: He is nothing like...
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Parliament won’t shoot down von der Leyen’s Commission picks
BRUSSELS — If you’re looking for drama this week, don’t count on Brussels. Twenty-six incoming commissioners, one from each European Union country except Germany (their boss Ursula von der Leyen...
View ArticleSpain’s commissioner hearing: Teresa Ribera seeks powerful...
Why stop at climate? Let’s toss in economic transformation and competition as well. It’s an approach the EU has never tried before, making Teresa Ribera a fascinating test case as she glides toward...
View ArticleHow hard-right ECR became the commissioner nominees’ best friend
BRUSSELS — I scratch your back, you scratch mine. That’s the strategy of the European Parliament’s right wingers as lawmakers prepare to vote on six of Brussels’ highest ranking officials. As the...
View ArticleCompetition poses the toughest test for climate chief Ribera
BRUSSELS — Convincing European Union lawmakers to back her as the bloc’s new climate and competition chief will be the easy part for Spain’s Teresa Ribera. If confirmed in her post, though, climate...
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5 things to know about regions boss Raffaele Fitto’s hearing
BRUSSELS — Italian Commissioner-designate Raffaele Fitto’s hearing was expected to be full of political fireworks. In the end, however, he stayed true to his image as a calm and mild-mannered...
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