German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble used his acceptance speech when awarded the Charlemagne Prize to detail his future vision of the European Union, arguing for a directly-elected Commission president.

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Arnaud Montebourg, the newly-appointed French minister for "industrial revival" who has built a reputation for his fierce attacks against globalisation, has promised to revive old plans by Nicolas Sarkzoy for a carbon tariff at the EU's borders, an idea previously rejected as protectionist among France's European partners.

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In order to re-establish confidence in Europe’s power sector as an actor in the European quest to cut carbon emissions, a few conditions need to be met. These include concrete intermediate reduction targets and an emissions trading scheme capable of delivering a clear CO2 price signal, writes Giuseppe Montesano.

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Laurent Fabius, who led the Socialist opposition to the draft European Constitution, has been tapped by Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault to head France's foreign ministry. A close aide, Bernard Cazeneuve, will manage European affairs. EurActiv France reports.

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In an old harbour crowded with houseboats, Amsterdam is looking to the future with plans to construct low-energy homes in a climate-neutral neighbourhood.

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The threat of a bank run in Greece, where savers have started pulling money from their personal accounts over fears of a return to the Drachma, is having an effect on voting intentions ahead of a snap election next month.

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Europe could strengthen its monetary union by giving European politicians the power to declare a sovereign state bankrupt and take over its fiscal policy, the former head of the European Central Bank said yesterday (17 May) in unveiling a bold proposal to salvage the euro.

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If Greece were to exit the eurozone, expansionary fiscal policies and successive competitive devaluations will not work, as they have not worked in the past. The root of the crisis is not austerity, but the fact that Greece essentially ceased its efforts to reform after the adoption of the euro, writes Nikos Chrysoloras.

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Shareholders should have the power to curb bosses' pay and set caps on executive bonuses, the European Union's top regulatory official said on today (16 May), adding to pressure on banks and companies over excessive management pay deals.

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Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said his country was “taken hostage” over the case of his imprisoned predecessor, Yulia Tymoshenko, which he said was overblown because of a “foreign plot” to prevent the country from getting closer to the EU.

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Conservation groups have condemned a move by European agricultural ministers to tone down some of the most controversial environmental proposals in the next phase of the EU's farm support programme.

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel is opposing economic stimulus policies that rely on new debt, amid calls to relax austerity measures from centre-left opponents in Germany and newly elected French President François Hollande.

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France's new president François Hollande arrived in Berlin for his first meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel only hours after his inauguration yesterday (15 May). The two expressed broad agreement over the necessity to kick-start the European economy but they also had to acknowledge differences over their concepts of growth.

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The German Social Democrats passed the message to French President François Hollande that they will support him for adopting a European pact to boost growth, but would like to keep it separate from the fiscal compact treaty, EurActiv Germany reports. 

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Greece abandoned a nine-day hunt for a government yesterday (15 May) and called a new election that may hand victory to leftists who might cut the nation's financial lifeline, pushing it closer to bankruptcy and out of the eurozone. 

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The European Commission is planning to force energy, transport and financial companies to invest more in their cyber security and to report on breaches suffered, two EU officials said.

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European healthcare systems are defying budget cuts and the bite of continent-wide austerity programmes to deliver improving performances, according to the sixth Euro Health Consumer Index.

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Rules designed to beef up bank capital in the wake of the financial crisis were agreed by EU finance ministers in Brussels yesterday (15 May) after the UK won a concession enabling it to preserve control for national supervisory authorities.

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European leaders’ boycott of the Euro 2012 football tournament in Ukraine is no great loss, but if they want to truly pressure Kyiv on human rights, they should use the full means at their disposal rather than symbolic posturing, argues Ky Krauthamer. 

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Though a Socialist, François Hollande’s relations with Angela Merkel are likely to remain within the framework of France’s long-term ‘Gaullist’ strategy of maintaining European power in the world and French influence in Europe, argues George Friedman.

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