The European Union is first and foremost a community of values and a community of law. If national governments refuse to accept the common rules and standards, and if they do not recognise the authority of the independent arbiter, the EU will cease to function. …

… and why Parliament should make it happen Last week, Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri resigned. His years in office were marred by controversy and question marks over the way he ran the agency. The reason for his — reluctant — resignation is most likely a damning report by OLAF…

Verkiezingen voor het Europees Parlement zijn niet de enige Europese verkiezingen. Nationale verkiezingen zijn dat ook. In april kiest Frankrijk een president die, net als de Nederlandse premier en de Duitse Bondskanselier, lid zal worden van een oppermachtig Europees orgaan: de Europese Raad. In april van dit jaar zijn er…

Russia crisis; No holding back Europe has to deploy the full package of sanctions it has prepared in the run-up to Russia’s renewed invasion of Ukraine. Piece-meal sanctions are not the way to go. Tanks have rolled into a sovereign country’s territory; we cannot be seen scrambling for a response…

Having remembered the one year anniversary of the Capitol riots in the United States, Europeans should now turn their attention to the state of democracy over on our own continent. The problems plaguing the United States are here already; and for a political system that is not as mature as…

At yesterday’s European Council meeting, it was Dutch prime minister Rutte who grabbed everyone’s attention by suggesting that member state Hungary be kicked out of the EU. An echo of a vintage Rutte moment, when he told migrant children to “sod off” to another country if they did not want…

Premier Rutte baarde opzien bij de Europese top, door van zijn hart geen moordkuil te maken richting zijn Hongaarse collega Orbán. De boodschap was duidelijk: of Hongarije niet kon ophoepelen uit de EU. Vintage Rutte, de Europese variant van “pleur op”. Nadat de stoere soundbite op camera stond, volgden alle…

As Polish judges are being rounded up by their government for political persecution, it is becoming ever more clear: Ursula von der Leyen chooses to look away. “Our hands are tied, we need more legal consultation”, she despairs as she is tying her own hands. If anything, the European Commission…

De grote Europese keuze die momenteel voorligt is: wie sturen we namens Nederland naar de plek waar Europese besluiten worden genomen? Dat is de keuze die we als Nederlandse EU-burgers momenteel maken in de stemhokjes. We kiezen een nieuwe Tweede Kamer en indirect een nieuwe regering, met aan het hoofd…