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POLITICO Brussels Playbook Plus: Tajani the non-intellectual — Davos slogans...
ANTONIO TAJANI, THE NON-INTELLECTUAL: After months of speculation, the race is over. The European Peopleâs Party candidate, Antonio Tajani, is the European Parliamentâs 29th president. Heâs...
View ArticleJean-Claude Juncker announces new summit on ‘fair jobs and growth’
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, addressing 20 ministers and several Commissioners at a conference on social rights today, announced an EU Social Summit in Gothenburg, Sweden, on...
View ArticleCommission warns UK: Keep trade talks informal
European Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas warned the United Kingdom that it is playing with fire by opening trade talks with Australia. Addressing reports of preliminary trade talks between...
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EU’s banker warns against complacency after record year
The 2016 figures are in from the part of the EU that everyone loves to love â the European Investment Bank (EIB). When they’re out of cash but need to invest, the EIB is where politicians turn to...
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Manfred Weber trolling UK government on Brexit
If there’s one lesson to emerge from the U.K. Supreme Court ruling today, it’s that Brexit shortcuts don’t work. The U.K. government has so far been delayed by not having the right civil service teams...
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Vestager’s speech day: Competition commissioner gets political
It’s been Nordic speech day at European Commission today. Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, from Sweden, has made herself a potential target for Donald Trump by saying his trade policy is...
View ArticleNordic speech day at Commission: Vestager gets political
Catch my wrap-up of speeches from Commissioners Margrethe Vestager, Cecilia Malmström and Jyrki Katainen here.
View ArticleAntonio Tajani’s top staff selected
The band is getting back together. Diego Canga Fano, formerly chief of staff to then commissioner Antonio Tajani, currently director for quality, research and innovation, and outreach at the European...
View ArticleWhen in doubt, invite Justin Trudeau
Martin Schulz might be gone but the former European Parliament president’s tactic of bringing famous faces to plenary sessions lives on (recent invitees have included Pope Francis and a string of...
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No Rosinenpicken for the UK
Wherever one listens for the European mood music on Brexit these days, there is one phrase that keeps popping up: âno cherry-picking.â (The Germans say Rosinenpicken â âraisin pickingâ â...
View ArticleEU fights Russian fake news machine from the shadows
NATO’s secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg told Playbook that he does not believed in “fighting propaganda with propaganda.” The EU also stays out of the propaganda game (mostly) but has created a team...
View ArticleThis week’s Brexitometer
Now that Britain’s PM Theresa May has indicated her desire the leave the EU single market, there’s no looking back. But there will also be bumps on the road to a Hard Brexit, as indicated by May’s...
View ArticleSeparated at Birth — Mina Andreeva and Britney Spears
Here at Playbook we love to spot the patterns of politics and beyond. This week we compare European Commission deputy spokesperson Mina Andreeva and pop icon Britney Spears. If you know a figure in EU...
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College of Europe’s Congo culture war
The home of future Eurocrats in Bruges, a beacon of the European peace project, is the site of a brewing culture war. None other than Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker delivered the opening...
View ArticleIs there a secret European debt plan?
Playbook loves a mystery that gets Brussels tongues wagging and the German government up in arms. Today’s example stems from a story in Handelsblatt Global claiming, âthe European Commission is...
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POLITICO Brussels Playbook Plus: EU fights fake news machine — Culture wars —...
EU FIGHTS FAKE NEWS MACHINE FROM SHADOWS: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Playbook he does not believe in âfighting propaganda with propaganda.â The EU also stays out of the...
View ArticleCommission’s Better Regulation agenda slammed in new study
The European Union is concealing data used to decide if its draft legislation is justified and is failing to follow its self-imposed procedures, according to a new study. The most damning claim made...
View ArticleToday at Commission, Trump (mostly)
From today we’re going to keep you up-to-speed on the European Commission’s daily press briefing, with a condensed version on this blog, including whatever we can add from the discussions that happen...
View ArticleLeaked EU renewable energy report
Playbook has seen a Commission progress report on its renewable energy targets, to be published Wednesday. Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete told Playbook that U.S. President Trump won’t be a bump on...
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