Against @aftenposten.no's editorial, I argue Norway’s Epstein scandal does not show “precisely that key institutions are working”, but in fact shows 30 years of neglect. Now is not the time for Norway’s institutions to pat themselves on the back. www.aftenposten.no/meninger/deb...

I think very few outside Norway have realised how bad the country’s spiralling Epstein scandal really is. It strikes the very pillars of Norway's peace broker platform – the Oslo Accords, the Peace Prize, even the whole foreign ministry – and it's growing www.euractiv.com/news/the-sca...

Weekly MFF update: ◇ EU leaders Thursday “competitiveness summit” will feed into the size and design of the €234 billion ECF and the budget at large www.euractiv.com/news/budget-...

...And what did von der Leyen have to offer? A "roadmap on the single market" and "targeted" initiatives, to pave way for changes later. This isn't the first time leaders reach for a 'two-speed Europe' to find a way forward either www.euractiv.com/news/von-der...

I wouldn't get too excited about this week's competitiveness push. Europe's problems are well-known and hard to change www.euractiv.com/news/why-eu-...

Starting point for EP's internal negotiations on the next EU budget (in constant 2025 euros and not counting covid loan repayments) Find the agriculture-cohesion split and more here: www.euractiv.com/news/in-numb...

#EUBudget: Socialist MEPs want the old #EU budget back, by @wulffwold.bsky.social | Euractiv www.euractiv.com/news/sociali...

MEPs weapon of choice to finance the EU budget is a digital services tax, but Trump is a major political obstacle www.euractiv.com/news/meps-un...

S&D wants separate budget lines for - health (EU4HEALTH, €8.9bn) - climate (LIFE, €6.2bn), - social policy (ESF+, €125bn), - regional development (ERDF, €227bn), - the poorest regions (CF, €31bn) - rural farmer subsidies (CAP P2, €83.8bn) www.euractiv.com/news/sociali...

Here's a write-up of the financing part www.euractiv.com/news/can-the...

Weekly MFF update: ◇ Countries, MEPs and EU auditors are debating how to finance the budget. I dissect the real political function of new EU own resources here www.euractiv.com/news/budget-... ...

UN rights chief to EU: Hands off human rights law

Weekly MFF update: ◇ Italy’s Giorgia Meloni is emerging as a key power broker for the budget, showcased in her joint declaration with Merz last week www.euractiv.com/news/budget-...

The long-overdue Competitiveness Coordination tool is facing further delays, obstructing Council work on the new €234 billion European Competitiveness Fund and the €175 billion Horizon research programme www.euractiv.com/news/eu-dela...

"It is becoming more difficult for us," Norway's Foregin Minister Espen Barth Eide told me. Norway’s once-cherished independence leaves it vulnerable to coercion, tariffs and, in a worst-case scenario, interference with its sovereign wealth fund. www.euractiv.com/news/nobel-i...

Weekly MFF update 🧵 ◇ MEPs had their first full NRPP debate yesterday, showing many are still in denial regarding the merge of farmer and regional subsidies www.euractiv.com/news/budget-...

#EUPolitics & #EUBudget: The #MEPs shaping the #EU’s next budget, by @wulffwold.bsky.social | Euractiv www.euractiv.com/news/the-mep...

And if there was any doubt, Meloni is claiming victory x.com/i/status/200...

...And there it is! VDL proposes to give countries access "to up to two thirds of the amount normally available for the midterm review" – some €45bn – to boost farmers in 2028. Mercosur unlocked? @sofiamazzanaro.bsky.social www.euractiv.com/news/von-der...

Weekly MFF update: ◇ The Commission is expected to suggest budget tweaks this week to appease farmers, in exchange for Italy signing the EU-Mercosur trade deal www.euractiv.com/news/budget-...

Weekly MFF update 🧵 ◇ EU leaders will discuss the budget for the first time in the European Council this week, hoping to agree on an ambitious negotiation timeline www.euractiv.com/news/budget-...

NEW: Italy threatens to block the only substantive MFF-point in the draft EUCO conclusions over paybacks to the richest EU countries www.euractiv.com/news/italy-t...

Parliament’s budget committee finally resolved its fight over who should lead work on the MFF files, easing tensions between political groups. REGI and AGRI still need to find a compromise on Monday. www.euractiv.com/news/meps-en...

"The current GNI corrections will be [discontinued] OR [maintained]" reads the new Council negotiating box, a change from previous versions that grants Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and Austria a powerful bargaining chip. www.euractiv.com/news/rich-eu...

Weekly MFF update: www.euractiv.com/news/budget-... Tensions are high as MEPs fight to resolve a spat over who should be rapporteurs on the €865 billion national plans. Group leaders of EPP, S&D and Renew meet today.

First MFF numbers from Parliament! Size: €1.783 trillion, or 1.27% of the EU’s GNI (constant 2025 prices, not counting NGEU repayments) NRPPs: +€89bn ECF: +€24bn Horizon: +€18bn CEF: +€8bn It also floats a digital services tax, more here: www.euractiv.com/news/parliam...

No better time than today for a reminder from @elisabraun.bsky.social that Brussels' standard response to scandal is a shrug. But sometimes, the names involved "are big enough to pierce the Bubble’s thick skin," she writes. www.euractiv.com/opinion/the-...

EXCLUSIVE: Procurement fraud, corruption, and criminal conflict of interest. Latest major scandal hits the EU institutions as police raid EU External Action Service and College of Europe in sweeping fraud probe 🔗 http://dlvr.it/TPZh1K

Weekly MFF Update! 🧵 www.euractiv.com/news/budget-...

The Commission should turn its simplification agenda on itself to cut costs, say EU governments. www.euractiv.com/news/capital...

After a night of heavy Russian bombardment, a Ukrainian delegation is heading to the United States for talks with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, @wulffwold.bsky.social reports www.euractiv.com/news/ukraini...

Erasmus may become one of the few programmes that escape the Commission's recasting of everything into "competitiveness" in the next EU budget www.euractiv.com/news/an-undi...

An internal council document reveals a bitter fight between richer and poorer countries over the design of the proposed €234 billion European competitiveness fund www.euractiv.com/news/poorer-...

Weekly MFF update! 🧵 www.euractiv.com/news/budget-...

If we don't even know whether the rushed sweeping cuts to privacy will help European businesses, then what's the point? Seems like panic will just harm everyone @claudiemoreau.bsky.social www.euractiv.com/news/eus-dig...

Both Iceland and Norway have reacted strongly to the EU Commission not exempting them from new metal-trade protective measures www.euractiv.com/news/iceland... www.euractiv.com/news/norway-...

Parliament’s rebellion against the EU budget is now called off, after von der Leyen suggested legal changes to her own budget proposal. As institutional tensions ease, parliament divisions re-emerge. www.euractiv.com/news/disunit...

Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin vowed to consider legal changes after a high-stakes Wednesday meeting to prevent parliament rebellion against a key part of the Commission’s €2 trillion budget proposal. www.euractiv.com/news/commiss...

The European Commission “is ready at the technical level” to change its €2 trillion, seven-year budget plan, and MEPs will force it to do so anyway if it outright refuses, the European Parliament’s co-lead negotiator Siegfried Muresan told me. www.euractiv.com/news/intervi...

EU countries are divided on the reforms, and today's budget debate will expose whether the Danes really have the backing they need to charge ahead with the controversial new budget structure www.euractiv.com/news/danish-...

While Parliament is mired in infighting over the proposed 2028-2034 EU budget, capitals are moving ahead with the Commission’s framework, according to a draft document obtained by Euractiv. www.euractiv.com/news/eu-coun...

The Commission is open to “improving” regional involvement in their controversial budget centralised budget proposal, Fitto said on Thursday. www.euractiv.com/news/the-com...

Leaders of the political groups will delay resolving two key disputes over the EU’s long-term €2 trillion budget due to internal disagreements, several European Parliament sources told Euractiv. www.euractiv.com/news/parliam...

A parliament move to block the €865 billion national plans would be self-defeating, say analysts. The move is causing concern among EU diplomats, who fear budget talks will be hindered and politicised at a time when swift agreement is needed. www.euractiv.com/news/parliam...

Parliament is on the verge of moving to block half of the Commission's MFF proposal www.euractiv.com/news/sd-epp-...

The EU’s richest countries are rebuffing demands from the bloc’s smaller economies to "geographically balance" the proposed €234 billion competitiveness fund. www.euractiv.com/news/france-...

The proposed EU Budget lumps virtually all policy areas into only three main files, but maximum three over 20 parliament committees can lead on each of those, setting the stage for an all-or-nothing fight between the different committees. www.euractiv.com/news/meps-pr...

Exclusive: €122 billion of the Commisssion's revenue plan for the next budget may have been effectively shot down by EU countries last week. www.euractiv.com/news/for-edi...

Parliament and regions are outraged over their lack of inclusion in the Commission’s €2 trillion budget proposal for 2028 to 2034, but according to budget chief @sriso.bsky.social, it’s all just a big misunderstanding. www.euractiv.com/news/commiss...

Europe looms large in Norway's national election today – but only beneath the surface. Most Norwegians are blissfully unaware of the European dimension of their politics and their political parties are happy to keep it that way. www.euractiv.com/section/poli...