David Cameron has voiced opposition to the appointment of Jean-Claude Juncker as the next President of the European Commission. Mareike Kleine writes that while some commentators have supported Cameron’s position, most of the criticism of Juncker’s candidacy reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of …
Bulgaria’s suspension of the South Stream pipeline
Bulgaria has announced that it is to suspend construction of the South Stream gas pipeline, which is aimed at transporting Russian gas exports through the Black Sea to South Eastern Europe and beyond. Tomas Maltby writes on the background to this decision …
Europa Geht Durch Mich
Two mixes of the song from the Manic Street Preachers upcoming ‘Futurology’ album will feature on his Phantasy release on June 23. The original version of the song features German actress Nina Hoss. Her vocals lead Alkan’s ‘Mesmerise Eins’ rework, …
Moldova’s signing of an Association Agreement with the EU
Moldova is scheduled to sign an Association Agreement with the EU later this month, with Parliamentary elections also due to be held in November. Ellie Knott and David Rinnert write on the impact the Ukraine crisis has had on domestic politics and Moldova’s delicate …
Scottish independence a ‘domino effect’
Scotland is due to hold a referendum on independence from the UK on 18 September. Luis Moreno writes on the European dimension to the referendum, noting that Scotland has a more pro-EU outlook than the rest of the country. He argues that …
Media coverage in Germany and the UK
The so called ‘Spitzenkandidaten’ process, in which European-level political parties proposed formal candidates for President of the European Commission prior to the European Parliament elections, has been strongly opposed by David Cameron and the British government. This opposition has led …
The key focus for the EU should be on producing results
The results of the European Parliament elections have prompted a number of European politicians to call for a reform process aimed at enhancing democracy and solving existing issues within the EU’s institutional framework. Renaud Thillaye writes that while ‘reform’ may be the …
The breakthrough of Podemos in Spain
In contrast to other countries across Europe which saw the emergence of Eurosceptic and far-right parties during the European Parliament elections, the story in Spain was the breakthrough of the left-wing ‘Podemos’ (‘We can’), who secured eight per cent of …
Croatia’s left faces a difficult future
The coalition of the ruling Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP) came a distant second place in the country’s European Parliament elections behind the centre-right coalition led by the Croatian Democratic Union. Dejan Stjepanovic writes on the difficulties faced by the parties …
The real threat posed by the far-right
Far-right parties such as the Front National in France and Golden Dawn in Greece were predicted to make large gains in the European Parliament elections. John Gaffney writes that while some of these parties did indeed increase their share of seats, this …