Political philosophy

Bulgarian Mina Andreeva is appointed to temporarily be the chief spokesperson of the European Commission, Andreeve told a press conference on July 19. She was currently deputy chief spokesperson, but the incumbent Margaritis Schinas is to be nominated by Greece to the next Commission, reports BNT,

The second session of the newly elected European Parliament began in Strasbourg. The most important item on the agenda is the vote tomorrow evening on the candidacy of the German politician Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen as President of the European Commission.

Voting is secret, and Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen must be supported by 374 MEPs to be elected.

The European Union will put on hold high-level talks with Ankara and negotiations on an air transport agreement, as well as freeze funding for Turkey next year, over "illegal" drilling for gas and oil off Cyprus, according to a draft statement seen by Reuters.

The deputies reiterated the Black Sea Coast Planning Act.143 deputies voted for the bill, 66 against and 1 abstained.

Then, in November, Christine Lagarde is set to succeed Mario Draghi as president of the European Central Bank.

The good news is that each of these candidates would strengthen the EU at a time of global insecurity. The bad news is that the EU itself will continue to face significant challenges from within.

President Klaus Iohannis states in a message conveyed on Sunday, on the occasion of Justice Day, that the recent years have been marked by repeated attempts to subordinate justice to politics, through hasty amendments to the legislation organizing the judiciary, the statute of magistrates and the criminal law, but this "assault" has triggered the prompt reaction of citizens and magistrates.

The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom has invited German lawmaker Grigoris Aggelidis in Athens to present his view about the future of liberalism in Europe and Greece.
Aggelidis, who is of Greek origin, is a politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP).

Finland takes over the rotating EU presidency for six months, reported BTA. 

European Union leaders were negotiating non-stop overnight into July 1 to fill top Brussels jobs, as a Franco-German compromise ran into stiff opposition.    

In Czech Republic, scandal-hit Prime Minister Andrej Babis shows no sign of stepping down following the country's biggest street protests since the fall of communism, writes Tim Gosling. On Thursday, Babis survived a no-confidence vote.