The European Commission on Wednesday published its fifth annual report on the development of rule of law across the bloc – including, for the first time, four enlargement candidate countries.
The Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union has been marred by controversy, which escalated after Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s unexpected visits to Russia and China. In response, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a boycott and the EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, blocked a planned informal meeting of foreign and defence ministers in Budapest.
The German conservative Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday was re-elected by Members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. She will lead the Commission for another five-year term after having been at the helm of the EU since 2019 as the first female executive ever.
The European Parliament is holding its first plenary session since the European elections in June this week. Newly-formed far-right groups are taking the stage and MEPs from the 27 EU member states are reshaping the 720-member institution for the next five-year legislative term.
29 years after the Srebrenica massacre the UN General Assembly adopts a resolution on Srebrenica genocide and establishes an International Day of Reflection and Commemoration. The vote is controversial among Balkan countries, but the EU made its continous position clear in an official statement – “there is no place” in the EU for those who deny the Srebrenica genocide and try to “rewrite the history”.
The French left-wing alliance New Popular Front has won a surprise victory in Sunday’s legislative elections. Some EU leaders are hailing the result as a relief for European integration, averting a French government led by nationalists and eurosceptics. France now enters a period of political uncertainty as it tries to form a new government.