Freedom of movement, including the opportunity to cross state borders without unnecessary obstacles, is of great significance in people’s lives. For this reason, visa policy should not be used as a political instrument, writes Peter Van Elsuwege.

Former Romanian MEP George (Gigi) Becali has been sentenced to three years in prison for abuse of power in connection with a land exchange deal with the Romanian Defence Ministry 15 years ago.

EU leader will meet tomorrow (22 May) to discuss how to lower energy prices and improve industrial competitiveness, at a time when other developed countries are rushing to invest in shale gas.Second issue on the agenda is tax evasion, which every year deprives EU governments of roughly €1 trillion.

While cheap energy prices in industrialised countries can be seen as a short-term reprieve for industries under competitive pressure from low-cost countries, they have negative consequences in the long run, writes Karl Aiginger. He argues that a new industrial policy should support Europe's competitive advantage in clean technology.

As the EU and Japan enter an important phase of negotiations for a free-trade deal, the European Commission is trying to lure exporters to tap into the potential of the Japanese market through an executive training programme.

Financially strapped Cyprus should be able to lure tourist revenue with it pristine bathing waters, which along with Luxembourg are ranked as some of the EU's cleanest in an environmental report published today (21 May).

If European Union countries implemented existing waste-management regulations, they could create some 400,000 jobs and save diminishing resources, a senior Commission environment official said.

The roughly 58% of the EU's industry not covered by its Emissions Trading System falls under the bloc's Effort Sharing Decision (ESD). If this were stepped up, it could become a powerful tool to drive emissions reductions, writes David Holyoake.

Monsanto’s “Bee Summits” and Bayer AG’s “Bee care centre” are the latest examples of how pesticide makers are competing to showcase their goodwill to policymakers in Europe and the US that they are taking the necessary steps to protect bee populations. The companies say their pesticides are not the problem, but critics say science shows the opposite.

Europe has some of the most innovative countries in the world, Intel executive Christian Morales says in a video interview, but investment must be maintained across energy, health and other sectors to ensure that the continent keeps its competitive edge.

Even if the West decides not to use the 2014 Ice Hockey World Championship in Belarus as a means of pressure over the country’s dictatorial regime, Alexander Lukashenko will highlight the fact that he carried out the sports event in his 2015 re-election campaign, writes Uladzimir Matskevich.

Policymakers need to understand how the real economy is operating, especially with industry under pressure, says the commissioner for industry and entrepreneurship, Antonio Tajani. In a video interview, te tells EurActiv that getting European funds out to SMEs is critical to the target of increasing industrial output to 20% of European GDP by 2020.

Germans lamented their unexpectedly poor showing at the Eurovision Song Contest, blaming Chancellor Angela Merkel's tough stance in the eurozone crisis for their failure to win any points from 34 of the 39 countries voting.

A draft law that a group of European Union lawmakers voted for on Monday (20 May) would shield small depositors from losing their savings in future bank rescues, but customers with more than €100,000 in savings when a bank failed could suffer losses.

Prime Minister David Cameron called upon Britain's overseas territories to "get their house in order" over the sharing of tax information, and told business leaders to stop using “smoke and mirrors” to avoid paying taxes. The fight against tax evasion will be the main topic of an EU summit in Brussels tomorrow (22 May).

German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler said the European Commission made a "grave mistake" by agreeing to impose punitive import duties on solar panels from China and urged the Commission to work to prevent the eruption of a trade conflict.

Environmental concerns over the practise of hydraulic fracturing to tap shale gas will be on the European Union's agenda this year, EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger told a German newspaper.

As production and sales move underground, governments lose their ability to regulate, assess and control alcohol distribution. This can result in serious public health risks, especially for the poorest and heaviest drinkers, writes Marjana Martinic.

Italy said French President François Hollande's call for a joint European economic government should be considered, Foreign Minister Emma Bonino said on Friday (17 May).

European business organisations joined forces at the European Business Summit on Thursday (16 May) to press for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.