Piet Ruig

Jul 12, 2024 | euobserver.com | William Glucroft |Martin Gak |Piet Ruig

The results are in and France has gotten itself into a bit of a mess. But seeing that the alternative would have been getting itself deeper into the far right, I guess we can call that a win. But not call it a day — because now comes the hard part. Like most centrist liberals, Emmanuel Macron is no fan of lefty ideas. The left, for its part, is not great at keeping its parts together. So this is definitely a talk-amongst-yourselves moment for all parties involved.

Jun 21, 2024 | euobserver.com | Piet Ruig |Elena Sánchez Nicolás

Ursula von der Leyen’s bid for re-election as EU Commission president is increasingly under pressure from group reshuffles in the European Parliament. Though the solid victory for von der Leyen’s European People’s Party (EPP) in the European elections two weeks ago seemed to shore up

Jun 4, 2024 | desmog.com | Piet Ruig |Coen Ramaer |Phoebe Cooke |Clare Carlile

Farmers were left dispirited – and sleepy – after anti-EU protests in Brussels proved lacklustre. Over a thousand protesters with five hundred tractors gathered at the Atomium on Tuesday (June 4) on the outskirts of Brussels to protest against the EU’s agricultural and climate policies. Farmers held banners with messages such as “Europe Green Deal = No proper meal” and “No Farmers No Food”, while some also waved flags for far-right and populist groups.

Jun 4, 2024 | euobserver.com | Piet Ruig |Coen Ramaer |Phoebe Cooke |Clare Carlile

Farmers were left dispirited – and sleepy – after anti-EU protests in Brussels proved lacklustre. Around a thousand protesters with five hundred tractors gathered at the Atomium on Tuesday (June 4) on the outskirts of Brussels to protest against the EU’s agricultural and climate policies. Farmers held banners with messages such as “Europe Green Deal = No proper meal” and “No Farmers No Food”, while some also waved flags for far-right and populist groups.

Apr 23, 2024 | euobserver.com | Piet Ruig

The European Parliament overwhelmingly voted in support of a ban on products made with forced labour, during their plenary session on Tuesday (23 April). Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum supported the law, which Dutch Renew MEP and co-rapporteur Samira Rafaela hailed as “groundbreaking and unique”, adding that forced labour - effectiv...