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After last month’s exciting start into 2017, February greets us with a business-as-usual feeling in Brussels. Policymakers pride themselves of having abolished roaming fees for good last week, the new Parliamentary President Tajani has filled his cabinet. Brexit is one step closer to happening, even though the British Parliament has to vote on it – the Lower House has already approved. Whilst policymaking takes its routinely course, we do…

This week is seeing two new presidents taking centre-stage on the two sides of the Atlantic. Donald Trump demonstrates that he means business and that he will not allow obvious facts to get into his way. Antonio Tajani has made it to the top of the European Parliament, and we have yet to see in which ways he can manage to steer the institution through the tough times ahead…

2017 starts just about where the last year left us; at least with a bit more entertainment in the Brussels party-political landscape as well as in the Brexit decision’s aftermath: the liberal coalition ALDE rejected an attempt of their leader and candidate for the European Parliament presidency, Guy Verhofstadt, to accept an alliance with Beppe Grillo’s Italian 5-Star movement, and the British ambassador to the EU resigned over Theresa…

2016 has been a bumpy year for many of us – Brussels and many other cities in and outside Europe faced horrible terror attacks this year – and the latest one just devastated us in Berlin, where 12 people died in the attack of a Christmas market. A founding EU member state voted to leave the Union, and we lost a number of legendary musicians – from Lemmy Kilmister…

Europe is relieved – Austria rejected a far-right president and voted Alexander van der Bellen into office. And Europe is scared – Italy’s prime minister Matteo Renzi lost his referendum and resigned – causing a power vacuum in unstable times and adding momentum to Beppe Grillo’s Five Star movement – which also does not have solutions. At the same time, Angela Merkel is confirmed in her position as chair…

Now that the Trump-shock has settled, we cannot help but wonder what else needs to happen for our political elites to wake up. Trump as President seemed so impossible that the EU and many state governments did not bother to make contact ahead of time – and now we wonder how our relations with the United States are going to look like. It is yet another symptom of the…

The next President of the United States will be Donald Trump. After a disgustingly personal election campaign, the shock is great in Europe – leading to harsh and undiplomatic statements by German chancellor Angela Merkel and her vice chancellor Sigmar Gabriel. We are looking forward to a heart-warming US-German friendship. At the same time, the stock markets react surprisingly little, and all of a sudden, Donald Trump is seen…

Every Asterix fan may wonder these days if the little Gaul does not have some descendants who migrated to Belgian Wallonia some time ago – a small region in Europe is holding up the free trade agreement CETA. The media polarize opinions: the Wallonian government is either bashed as a dwarf holding Europe hostage, or celebrated as a hero amongst cowards. Irrespective of the – by now pretty interesting…

The future relationship to the UK remains the topic of the moment in Brussels. To the utter shock of the London financial district and Brussels bureaucrats, all signs now point to a “hard Brexit” – starting in March at the latest. Brussels stakeholders constantly debate what Brexit means for their work now. Yet even more shocking than the practical consequences in terms of the economic and political development remains…

And the Worst EU Lobby Award goes to … the European Commission! After former Commission President Barroso joined the very company he once regulated – Goldman Sachs –, Bahamas Leaks has now former Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes, who failed to declare her directorship of an offshore company in the Bahamas. In already difficult times, such revelations and moves do not help improve the EU’s reputation – politics is about…