What a roller coaster ride these past weeks have been: to the astonishment and relief of both EU and UK negotiators, a Brexit deal has been struck at last – although not without serious turmoil. Most interestingly, some of the very ministers who had just backed the agreement as members of Theresa May’s cabinet, stepped down just hours later – including Brexit secretary Dominic Raab. And just when you…
Big politics has been leading the debate of these past weeks, with the most notable disruption in Germany: Chancellor Angela Merkel is stepping down as chair of the conservative CDU, after harsh losses of her party in the state elections of Hesse. Journalists and political observers now speculate about the Merkel-dawn, and it may well be. The Christian Democrat party is not short in candidates who offer themselves for…
Second thoughts in London to the delight and a lack of second thoughts to the sorrow of the European Commission are the biggest issues of these past weeks. In the allegedly second biggest demonstration of the century, about 670,000 pro-EU protesters took to the streets, requesting a second referendum on Brexit. Meanwhile, negotiations remain stalled over the Irish border and the future trade regime. Such minor details do not…
Elections remain in the focus in Brussels these weeks – not only the European ones, but also Brussels communal elections. On 14 October, Belgian and non-Belgian citizens get to elect their local representatives – after weeks of promotion to register for the mandatory voting. Quite a few EU expats even run for elections this time, which may have triggered more interest in the truly confusing Belgian political system. For…
The race for lead candidates in the European Parliament – and thus eventually for the job of the European Commission’s president – is on: after EPP chair Manfred Weber announced to run, it becomes clear that the French conservatives would like to see “Mr Brexit” Michel Barnier in this position. The Social Democrats are also getting ready: Slovakia’s EU Energy Commissioner Maros Sefkovic announced his bid, as well as…
Brussels has now gone back to full swing after the summer recess with a multitude of major annual receptions – especially the Germans enjoyed meeting over sausages at the Thuringia summer reception, and a bit less traditionally at Innogy’s, BMW’s and Burda’s events. Some of them had reason to celebrate: German MEP Manfred Weber and leader of the European People’s Party (EPP), just announced his candidacy for becoming the…
This week’s editorial comes from the former murder and drug capital, and now hipster hotspot, Medellin/Colombia! Your politjobs editor is on a travel-while-working trip – which leads to the opportunity for you politjobs readers to learn from Brussels outsiders about their perspective on the EU. But first things first: Brussels and the rest of Europe experience such an extraordinary, never-ending heat wave that the European Commission had mercy with European…
Some guests are plainly annoying, many Brussels residents must have been thinking last week. US President Donald Trump’s visit to NATO not only brought the immense noise from an army of helicopters to the town – but authorities had forgotten to inform about the dinner in the middle of the city, leading to blocked roads and houses, as well as surprised residents. Far less surprisingly, no substantial changes in…
The Brussels summer is arriving with both a meteorological and political heat wave: slowly but surely we are heading into a harsh trade war with the US, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in the middle of a showdown with her interior minister Horst Seehofer over European migration policies and was only almost saved by the latest EU summit, Poland is taken to the European Court of Justice over its…
The EU needs more money. Whilst this is no news as such, the EU this time really needs more money – with one significant member state less, the shadow of Brexit is looming over the EU’s next 7 year budget – the Multiannual Financial Framework, which is the biggest dossier that is currently occupying European Commission bureaucrats, journalists and lobbyists. This week was the big week of announcing the…