On Thursday, 17 May, EU leaders and the leaders of the six Western Balkan partners (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) met in Sofia, Bulgaria. Security and connectivity were the themes of this first EU-Western Balkans Summit since 2003. EU Member State leaders also discussed other issues,…
The Hungarian electorate went to the polls on Sunday, 8 April to elect a new Parliament. Sunday’s election saw a high voter turnout and with 98 per cent of results reported, Fidesz-KDNP are expected to be elected for a third consecutive term in office and achieve a two-thirds majority in Parliament. Background The Hungarian…
On Thursday, 22 March, the European Council met in Brussels to discuss a wide range of issues including trade, digital taxation, Turkey and the Salisbury attack. On Friday, 23 March, leaders met in an EU27 format to discuss the ongoing Brexit negotiations and adopt guidelines on the framework for the future EU-UK relationship. On Friday,…
The Italian electorate went to the polls on Sunday to elect a new Parliament made up of the Chamber of Deputies (Lower House) and the Senate (Upper House). The centre-left Democratic Party (PD) had been in power since the last general election in February 2013. The anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) are set to emerge…
On Friday, 23 February 2018, the European Council met in Brussels at an informal meeting to discuss the EU’s long-term budgetary plans and Institutional issues. Brexit, relations with Turkey, and Syria were also discussed. The meeting took place under the Leaders’ Agenda and as the discussions were future-orientated, leaders met in an EU27 format without…
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’…