The center-right is set to remain the biggest group in the European Parliament after May elections, according to a Parliament survey released on Monday. While traditional parties are set to retain a dominance that would allow a continuation of the broad centrist majority coalition, far right is set to gain about 14% of seats, and to further introduce policy uncertainty.

The European Commission has on Monday stepped up its “no-deal” outreach to EU businesses in the area of customs and indirect taxation such as VAT, given the risk that the United Kingdom may leave the EU on 30 March this year without a deal. The outreach campaign is in line with the European Council (Article 50) conclusions of December 2018, calling for intensified preparedness work for all scenarios.

British lawmakers have accused Facebook of "intentionally and knowingly" violating data privacy and competition laws, adding that CEO Mark Zuckerberg showed "contempt" toward parliament by not appearing before them. The report by the UK Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee concludes an 18-month investigation into Facebook and is based on an arguable cache of documents, some of which include correspondence between Zuckerberg and company executives, which stem from a lawsuit filed in California against Facebook.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said he’ll present a plan within a few days to help businesses that suffer by the Yellow vests demonstrations. Le Maire, in an interview to French newspaper Midi Libre, published on Sunday, said his proposal will include delays to tax payments and support from the treasury.

New EU rules to cut costs and formalities for citizens living outside their home country start to apply across the European Union from today. So far, citizens moving to or living in another EU country had to obtain a stamp to prove that their public documents (such as a birth, marriage, death certificate or the absence of a criminal record)) are authentic.

Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez on Friday called a snap national election for 28 April in a highly expected move after his cabinet lost a key budget vote. It will be the third general election in four years, Spanish media recall. The country also faces local, regional and European elections on 26 May.

Romania's justice minister has sent a letter to his EU colleagues accusing the country's former anti-corruption chief in “all sins” in a bid to stop her leading a new EU prosecutors' office. Tudorel Toader accused Laura Codruta Kovesi of signing “secret and anti-democratic pacts” with Romania's intelligence agencies help in her investigations.

The first ever EU mechanism for screening foreign direct investments (FDI), on grounds of protecting strategic sectors, received positive majority at the EP plenary session in Strasbourg on Thursday. The lawmakers endorsed new screening provisions, informally agreed between Parliament negotiators and the Council. EC President Jean-Claude Juncker, who proposed this tool during his State of the Union address in the fall of 2017, welcomed the outcome of the vote.

During the plenary session in Strasbourg the Chamber backed financial and overarching rules for seven European funds in regional, cohesion and social fields that, in monetary terms, account for a third of the total EU budget for the next seven years. MEPs backed simplified common rules for investing in all EU regions for the 2021-2027 period, but set against suspension of EU regional funding dependent on national economic targets.

A new law that puts an end of excessive fees for cross-border payments in Europe was propped up by MEPs on 14 February with a wide majority of 532 votes in favour, 22 against and 55 abstentions. The rules that foresee the price of wiring euros within the European Union will be no different to that of domestic transactions within an EU Member State and currently apply just for the Eurozone countries, as of 15 December will become a norm for all states across the Union.