Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has hailed the nomination of Ursula von der Leyen for the European Commission Presidency.

German politics faces a potentially murky future if it doesn’t sort out the succession of its long-sitting chancellor, writes Leonid Bershidsky.

Early analysis of election results is usually a risky business but even at this stage, as the last do-or-die seats are still in contention, it seems a few headline lessons cannot be ignored.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has defended planning for a no-deal Brexit and said it is up to Britain to commit to an agreement.

The euro hit new year-to-date lows against the dollar last week as the currency’s political sensitivity returned to the forefront of investor concern.

As usual Ireland’s presidential election was a fractious affair, which demonstrates just how worked up and vitriolic people can become in relation to an issue that is of trivial significance, at best, writes Jim Power.

Deep divisions within Europe are increasingly threatening the values upon which the European project of “ever closer union” is based.

There is room for a special deal on the North in any Brexit deal. 

The chancellor’s failure to form a coalition may lead to fresh elections, and a power vacuum in Berlin would have a knock-on effect in Paris, writes Philippe Legrain

World markets spluttered, irked by the failure of German coalition talks which sent the euro and the price of oil lower.

A key potential ally in Germany's next government is insisting Chancellor Angela Merkel's party should not keep the finance ministry because that gives her too much power.

Europeans must find solutions to shared problems, with Germany and France leading the way as they did in the past, says Guy Verhofstadt.

Despite a worldwide economic crisis, the left showed few gains in the last decade as the centre right reacted quicker to the shift in the electoral base, writes Leonid Bershidsky.

The euro and European government bond yields slipped after the EU’s most powerful leader, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, won a fourth term but faced a fractured parliament as support for the far right surged.

Germany has spoken and, as ever since 1945, it sends in its election results mixed messages, thanks in part to a constitution designed to prevent one party getting an overall majority in the Bundestag.

The French president has to build consensus across the spectrum to make his eurozone vision work, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

Before UK prime minister Theresa May surprised markets with a snap general election, 2017 was already the year of political risk for Europe.

As Germany tries to come to terms with the latest terror attack to hit Europe, Angela Merkel must ready for the populist hard-right declarations, writes Josh Lowe

Your letters, your views...

A woman with a rare brittle bone condition, and who has been languishing in agony on a ‘luxury’ hospital trolley for over a week, has pleaded directly to the Minister for Health for help.

Describing any situation as ‘critical’ is obviously a subjective exercise: what I deem to be an emergency might not meet your definition.

Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed to press on with her refugee policy despite seeing her Christian Democrats (CDU) party punished by voters who flocked to the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Sunday’s three regional polls.

A nationalist, anti-migration party has powered into three German state legislatures in elections held amid divisions over chancellor Angela Merkel's liberal approach to the refugee crisis.

German chancellor Angela Merkel’s allies in Bavaria stepped up criticism of her open-door refugee policy yesterday, with their leader demanding a cap of 200,000 migrants a year, about a fifth of last year’s level.

Merkel responds to concerns of migrant influx at party congress

With Slovenia threatening to become the latest EU country to fence off its borders against refugees, Commission president Jean Claude Juncker will try to prevent the Union’s open borders policy from completely disintegrating at a meeting tomorrow.

Many of Germany’s top figures have a history with the car industry, including the chancellor, Angela Merkel, and regulations have been lax as a result, writes Noah Barkin.

Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel’s leadership during the Greece crisis has given her conservatives a chance of winning an absolute majority if an election were held next week, an opinion poll yesterday showed.

Ukraine is in a dire financial situation, but there seems little international will to help this huge pro-European country, writes John Bruton 

EU lawmakers will likely vote on Thursday on a motion proposing the break-up of Google and other internet technology companies, increasing political pressure on the bloc’s anti-trust regulators to take a stronger line on the group.

The eurozone has to keep improving competitiveness if it wants to kickstart economic growth, according to the German EU Commissioner Günther Oettinger.

Yesterday’s assertion by German MP and economic policy spokesman for Angela Merkel’s ruling CDU party, Dr Joachim Pfeiffer, that we have "no chance" of getting a deal on the €64bn used to rescue insolvent banks is at the very least chastening.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny compared Ireland’s turning around of its economy with what was needed in the EU generally, but said the country had some way to go to secure lasting growth and job creation.

The centre has held in Europe with the pro-EU parties taking most of the seats, says Europe Correspondent Ann Cahill.

The eurozone is at an inflection point. The crisis may have abated compared with the daily whirlwind that convulsed both markets and governments up to the middle of last year.

There will be no change to the German approach to the resolution of the eurozone crisis if the CDU/SPD parties form the next government, according to Financial Times’ associate editor, Quentin Peel.

The troika has ended its final review of the economy but wants the Government to address the repeated budget overruns in the health service.

HAS Pope Francis fudged his response to the first real test of his papacy? Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, Bishop of Limburg — dubbed the “Bishop of Bling” by the German media — appears to have got off lightly after splurging €31m on a luxurious new home.

Ireland was advised not to apply for additional aid from the EU’s rescue fund as it exits the bailout programme by the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble.

Any hopes that Ireland had of recouping some of the money it put into its banks, or having the banks borrow to cover any shortfall that shows up in the current asset tests, appear to be dashed by the big German political parties.