Heavily contested parliamentary elections in Georgia, presidential elections and a referendum on European Union membership in Moldova: both countries were closely watched by the EU with an eye to enlargement, but took different turns towards that goal. At the same time, the votes were allegedly stained by Russian interference.
Charles Michel, the outgoing president of the European Council, spoke to the European Newsroom (enr) on his two-term mandate, sharing his vision of the EU’s future and stressing the need for unity within the bloc.
A reformed migration and asylum pact was adopted earlier this year, after years of long and hard negotiations. Only a couple of months and elections later, the stance on migration in the EU has moved towards an even tougher approach – with calls for “new ways” to deal with illegal migration in the wake of a shift to the right across the continent.
October 10 marked World Mental Health Day and the European Commission announced it was planning to launch a new campaign to fight stigma surrounding the subject. Besides affecting lots of people in the bloc, poor mental health also affects the economy. What is the situation between prejudices, social media and unequal access to help in the EU?
Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán addressed the European Parliament this week, outlining his country’s priorities for its presidency of the EU Council. Met with overwhelming criticism, he argued that political shifts in EU member states indicate that the bloc’s climate might sooner or later shift in his favour.
As the European Week of Regions and Cities is in full swing, Committee of the Regions President Vasco Alves Cordeiro urges the need to strengthen the EU’s Cohesion Policy – and with it the fight against poverty and social exclusion that many Europeans face every day.