The European Union has urged member countries to put health screening in place at their borders to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and also pledged a €37bn aid fund.

To combat any doubters and reap cutting-edge rewards, we need a digital transition which is European by design and nature, writes Ursula von der Leyen.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has launched a blistering attack on Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, saying his criticism of EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan was “bad-tempered” and “ill-judged”.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was forced into an embarrassing climbdown after being accused of seeking to politicise the serious injuries to a homeless man in Dublin this week.

It is truly ironic that as we approach commemoration and celebration of a century of Irish democratic rule, we endure what must be the most irrelevant government this State has ever experienced.

It's the former German defence minister's first official visit to the country since taking over the EU's top job.

Election fever has gripped political parties ahead of an expected announcement by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar that the country is to go to the polls.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is snookered. The days of the coalition have come to an end. Power is ebbing away, and time is running out.

The scale of the geo-political problems facing the EU cannot be under-estimated, as has been made clear by Ms von der Leyen.

Over the last decade, the requisite year-end reflections and predictions have become increasingly bleak.

As Britain’s electorate endorsed just one Green Party candidate to sit in one of the House of Commons’ 650 seats, EU leaders promised to deliver a major economic plan to confront the climate emergency by making Europe the first carbon-neural continent within three decades.

Reacting to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decisive victory, European Union leaders said they are hoping for a quick British parliament vote on Britain's withdrawal.

Europe is arming itself for a more lawless world of trade and the bloc’s sights are on the US.

This is the year that the powerful farming lobby became considerably more fragmented, resulting in the very fractious picketing of meat factories; the intimidation of Bord Bia personnel at the annual ploughing championships; and the picketing of retail distribution centres.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has re-stated his aim to demand up to €1bn in support from the European Union to aid border counties and Northern Ireland and the border counties of the Republic after Brexit.

The EU’s policy toolkit is not well suited for exercising power abroad, writes Daniel Gros

The changing of the guard at the European Commission and the European Council offers new opportunities as well as challenges for the EU.

It is well passed the stage when lip service is being paid to this very pressing issue.

In the past, Mr Varadkar and his predecessor Enda Kenny have travelled to EPP gatherings using commercial airlines, as the events are deemed to be party-political in nature.

Incoming EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan has said the “mood music” on a Brexit deal has changed and added he is now “cautiously optimistic” an agreement can be reached.

Before incoming European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen takes over on November 1, MEPs will scrutinise all those nominated to be in her top team.

Phil Hogan has been approved as the European Union's new Trade Commissioner.

The EU's likely next trade commissioner Phil Hogan has said he wants to secure a trade agreement with the US if he is appointed into the role - despite warning Washington "it takes two to tango" to secure any deal.

The European Commission's president-elect, Ursula von der Leyen, announced Mr Hogan's new role in a speech this morning.

It is being reported that Phil Hogan will be appointed EU Trade Commissioner.

Phil Hogan looks set to be nominated in the coming days to take over the powerful role of EU Trade Commissioner.

The new president of the European Commission has indicated that she intends to confront the climate crisis head-on. She must avoid the mistakes of her predecessor, who did not go far enough in expanding the scope for environmental policymaking, writes Johan Rockstrom

Our capacity, maybe our need, to live with paradox is a characteristic of 21st-century humanity. Many of us, some more fervently than others, invest absolute belief in systems that could not survive a courtroom cross-examination.

Many welcome the Commission president’s climate agenda, but the EU may have to initially face a frontrunner’s curse of losing jobs and wealth, writes Jean Pisani-Ferry.

And so it comes to pass. The nation that once painted the atlas in testosterone red must watch as Boris Johnson is ushered towards Downing Street as prime minister.

The price of Brent crude jumped 2% to over $63.20 a barrel and any further escalation could send prices higher.

Away from the dangerous Brexit soap opera, the EU has been reshuffling its pack of cards.

The Green MEP was speaking after the incoming Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made bold pledges on the issue.

The election of Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission president is a compromise that may yet herald an institutional power struggle, say Lionel Laurent and Paul Carrel.