For weeks now, farmers across the continent have taken their anger and worry about their livelihoods to the streets. After protests in front of the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen opened the Strategic Dialogue on Agriculture the following day.
According to a survey by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), far-right political parties are likely to gain ground in the June elections. Slovakia’s Peter Pellegrini said he would support the re-nomination of Maroš Šefčovič as European commissioner. The EU delegation in Belgrade has launched a campaign to improve the digital skills of older people in Serbia.
France is proposing that Europe should issue common debt again. In other news, Slovenia is reluctant on the question of whether the EU should deprive Hungary of its voting rights under Article 7 of the EU Treaty. Romanian MEP Daniel Buda calls for more subsidies to support farmers across Europe.
MEPs have called for further steps to prepare a court case against the European Commission over the unblocking of billions of EU funds for Hungary. In December, the Commission released funds to win Hungary’s support for Ukraine. The European Council is due to discuss the financial aid to Kyiv again at an extraordinary summit in February.
Ambassadors from the 27 EU member states have been given a partial mandate to negotiate with the European Parliament on new long-term financial aid for Ukraine. Austria’s Karoline Edtstadler reacts to the announcement of European Council President Charles Michel’s resignation. Statistics from the EU delegation in Tirana show that the EU is financially supporting Albania with pre-accession funds.