Tag: Brussels bubble
Brussels power couples 2024 – POLITICO
A conservative Estonian activist made history last fall by proposing to his girlfriend in the European Parliament.
Yet while Kuldar Lepp, 26, and Marta Schönberg, 18, were the first to get engaged in such a manner, they are hardly the first love story to begin in the house of European democracy.
Lawmakers, assistants, lawyers, and others have long met while at work and gone on to form an ever closer union. And they’re just a subset of the power couples
Can anybody stop Ursula von der Leyen? – POLITICO
BRUSSELS
For a brief moment last year, it looked like Ursula von der Leyen’s bid for a second term as European Commission president just might be in trouble.
In an unscheduled trip to Israel in October, she had stood next to Benjamin Netanyahu and expressed unreserved solidarity in the country’s battle against Hamas.
Her statement would not have been out of place in the mouth of a U.S. president or, indeed, a German politician (which is, after all, what von
The golden couple at the heart of Europe’s Qatargate scandal – POLITICO
BRUSSELS — Eva Kaili and Francesco Giorgi had left nothing to chance.
The duo that would later become the most famous — many would say infamous — couple in the European Union capital had been gearing up for this moment for years.
As Qatar prepared to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, they were among the Gulf state’s fiercest advocates in Brussels, defending its record on human rights and fending off criticism of its treatment of migrant workers.
And now,
Brussels summer survival guide – POLITICO
In this episode, we unpack what to expect in Brussels this August as EU decision making grinds to a halt. Also, we explore how extreme weather in Europe is weighing against tourism demands, and how politicians are responding.
Host Suzanne Lynch is joined by Nicholas Vinocur, POLITICO’s editor at large, and EU politics reporter Gregorio Sorgi. They explain the European Commission’s “designated survivor” concept, which keeps the legislative body afloat thanks to a few (unlucky) commissioners stuck in the Berlaymont.
Château Breton! French commissioner has bought a castle – POLITICO
Thierry Breton, the internal market commissioner, has bought a castle in the French countryside, his team told POLITICO on Wednesday, confirming local media reports.
Located in the verdant central French village of Gargilesse-Dampierre — ranked among the prettiest places in France — along the Creuse river, Gargilesse Castle was built by the Counts of Gargilesse in the 8th century.
Breton purchased the building from a local painter, Annick Thévenin, who had bought the castle in 1998 to use as an
Ursula von der Leyen’s going on vacation. Who’s she leaving in charge of the EU? – POLITICO
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BRUSSELS — It’s officially August, which means the last Eurocrats are heading out of town to their favorite summer retreats, and most of Brussels is “out of office.”
But a few commissioners have the questionable honor of being on the summer roster, staying behind as the person on duty should an emergency arise. Former Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker introduced the system in 2017 to show that the EU never
The Potemkin lobby shaping the EU’s agricultural policy – POLITICO
BRUSSELS — The European Union’s biggest farming lobby claims to represent all the bloc’s agricultural workers, but Stela Zămoiu doesn’t believe it speaks for farmers like her.
Zămoiu, 61, remembers when the land around her was full of smallholders. Today, her three hectares in eastern Romania are surrounded by large, industrial farms. When she dies, she expects her property to be swallowed up by one of her neighbors.
“The village has grown old,” she says. “After the elders die, the
The making and unmaking of Eva Kaili – POLITICO
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BRUSSELS — Eva Kaili was unhappy with the seating plan.
It was a few days before POLITICO’s P28 gala dinner — a splash of glitter on the Brussels social calendar unveiling a ranking of the most powerful people in Europe — and the Greek lawmaker wanted to make sure she would be seated at a high-level table.
In a flurry of emails, her office in the European Parliament lobbied
The murky world of undercover EU lobbying – POLITICO
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At first glance, EU Reporter looks like just another media outlet reporting from Brussels on the European Union.
The website publishes articles about the European Commission’s latest proposals. It offers analysis of global events, like last month’s United Nations report on climate change. It provides almost daily updates on the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the company’s promotional material tells a different story.
In a glitzy YouTube video with Queen’s “A Kind of Magic” as
How the Zoom revolution will transform the Brussels bubble – POLITICO
This article is part of After Corona, a series exploring how the pandemic has changed the world.
The hottest debate in Brussels this fall won’t be about rule of law or the budget. It’ll be about teleworking, hot desking and online voting.
Organizations around the world are grappling with how to apply lessons from the pandemic and adapt to the Zoom revolution. And the European Union’s two largest institutions are no exception.
Debates have broken out in the European Commission