Ecolo

The presentation by the European Commission of their proposal for the post-2020 EU budget was the central point of May’s first plenary session, which also included a debate with Belgian PM Charles Michel on the Future of Europe.

French President Emmanuel Macron won a fair share of praise but also a dose of criticism during his much-awaited ‘Future of Europe’ speech at Strasbourg’s plenary last week. It formed the centre-piece of proceedings that also included debate around protection for journalists, the Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal, money laundering and other topics.

Support for the Dutch GreenLeft party (GroenLinks) surged in local elections last week. It is now the biggest party in 13 towns across the Netherlands, including Amsterdam and Utrecht.