Presidential elections took place in the Republic of Cyprus over the course of two rounds of voting, with the first round taking place on 28 January 2018. Nine candidates stood for election, including the incumbent President, Nicos Anastasiades. Voters went to the polls once again in the run-off on Sunday, 4 February, re-electing President Anastasiades…
Presidential elections were held in Finland on Sunday, 28 January 2018, with eight candidates contesting the election. Finnish President, Sauli Niinistö, was re-elected for a second term as President. For the first time since 1994, there was no second round run-off as President Niinistö secured more than 50 per cent of the first round vote…
Presidential elections took place in the Czech Republic over two rounds of voting, which took place on 12-13 and 26-27 January. Nine candidates stood for election, including the incumbent President, Miloš Zeman, who was re-elected for a second term in office. Background The President of the Czech Republic is elected every five years, using…
On 1 January, the Republic of Bulgaria took over the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union from Estonia, marking the first time Bulgaria has held the Presidency since joining the EU in 2007. In 2009, the Lisbon Treaty established a system whereby a trio of Member States consecutively hold the Presidency, working…
On Thursday 15 June, a new EU Regulation relating to roaming charges for mobile phone users within the European Union (EU) and the wider European Economic Area (EEA) came into effect which largely abolishes roaming charges. This follows a number of previous EU Regulations aimed at reducing roaming charges. The new ‘roam like at home’…
A parliamentary election took place in the United Kingdom (UK) on Thursday, 8 June 2017. The Conservative Party had held a majority since the previous election in May 2015. Conservative Party leader, Theresa May, served as Prime Minister since July 2016 following the resignation of former Prime Minister David Cameron after the UK’s vote to…
On Saturday 29 April 2017, the EU27 leaders met in Brussels for a Special European Council where they adopted guidelines for the Article 50 negotiations on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU. The guidelines outline the framework for the negotiations, setting out the broad EU principles for the talks, which will be conducted…
On Saturday 25 March 2017, the leaders of 27 EU Member States met in Rome, Italy, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. At the ceremony, EU leaders adopted the Rome Declaration on the future of Europe in which they pledged to make the EU “stronger and more resilient, through even greater…
Elections took place in the European Parliament on Tuesday, 17 January 2017 to replace the outgoing President, Martin Schulz. President Schulz, a member of the Socialists and Democrats group, had held the position since January 2012. Antonio Tajani of the European People’s Party group was elected as the 30th President of the European Parliament and…
At the Paris climate conference in December 2015, 197 Parties, including Ireland and the EU, agreed the first universal, legally binding climate deal. The Agreement sets out a global action plan to avoid the adverse effects of climate change by limiting global warming to below 2˚C. The EU ratified the Agreement on 5 October 2016…