A new Eurobarometer survey published by the European Commission shows that while Europeans’ foreign language skills have improved, the proportion of respondents who can speak German has fallen.
Last week, EU member states approved new rules for the bloc’s Common Agricultural Policy, which allows farmers to apply for subsidies, albeit subject to strict environmental rules. The concessions from Brussels follow months of protests by farmers across the EU – but the resistance to the EU’s flagship green ambitions is not over.
On May 14, EU member states took the last hurdle to a stricter, controversial migration and asylum pact after nearly a decade of wrangling. The overhaul comes into force from 2026. However, 15 EU countries already expressed a desire to clamp down on illegal migration even further in a letter to the European Commission on Wednesday.
Georgia’s parliament has adopted its controversial “foreign agents” law, despite intense protests in the country. EU and NATO officials, including two European Commissioners, also heavily criticised the law.
On his first European tour in five years, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited European leaders in France, Serbia and Hungary. While relations with Belgrade and Budapest are blossoming, Paris – and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen – failed to persuade the Chinese leader to soothe the EU’s concerns over global trade and Russia’s war in Ukraine.