This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. New measures to improve data exchange between EU information systems for border, security and migration management were backed by the Civil Liberties Committee. The measures, adopted by Civil Liberties MEPs on Monday, would facilitate the tasks of border guards, migration officers, police officers and […]Security: better access to data for border control and migration management
October 16, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. New measures to improve data exchange between EU information systems for border, security and migration management were backed by the Civil Liberties Committee. The measures, adopted by Civil Liberties MEPs on Monday, would facilitate the tasks of border guards, migration officers, police officers and […]Deal on protecting workers from exposure to harmful substances
October 12, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. A deal on new EU rules to better protect workers from exposure to carcinogenic and mutagenic substances was struck by Employment Committee MEPs and the Council. 12 million workers in the EU potentially exposed to diesel engine exhaust emissions (DEEE) will now be better […]A new bioeconomy strategy for a sustainable Europe
October 12, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today the Commission has put forward an action plan to develop a sustainable and circular bioeconomy that serves Europe’s society, environment and economy. As announced by President Juncker and First Vice-President Timmermans in their letter of intent accompanying President Juncker‘s 2018 State of the […]The future of international election observation missions
October 11, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. “Our citizens gain from living in a world with more democracies and fewer authoritarian regimes” said President Tajani at a high-level conference on electoral observation. “The first mission was carried out in 1994 in Belarus. To date, there have been 209 electoral observations conducted […]Facebook: MEPs demand a full audit by EU bodies to assess data protection
October 11, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. EU bodies should be allowed to fully audit Facebook to assess data protection and security of users’ personal data, said Civil Liberties MEPs on Wednesday. MEPs take note of the privacy improvements undertaken by Facebook after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, but recall that the […]Plastic Oceans: MEPs back EU ban on polluting throwaway plastics by 2021
October 11, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Single-use plastic items such as plates, cutlery or cotton buds, making up over 70% of marine litter, will be banned under plans backed in the Environment Committee. Single-use plastic products such as cutlery, cotton bud sticks, plates, straws, beverage stirrers and balloon sticks will […]Humanitarian visas to avoid refugees’ deaths
October 11, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. EU countries should be able to issue humanitarian visas at embassies and consulates abroad, so people seeking protection can access Europe without risking their life. With 39 votes to 10, the Civil Liberties Committee agreed on Wednesday to ask the European Commission to table, […]A Europe that Protects: Commission calls for decisive action on security priorities
October 11, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Commission is reporting on the progress made towards an effective and genuine Security Union, calling on the European Parliament and the Council to finalise their work on priority security initiatives as a matter of urgency. To maintain the positive momentum set […]Fisheries: Commission proposes measures to conserve stocks of deep-sea species in the North-East Atlantic
October 10, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today the Commission has proposed Total Allowable Catches (TAC) for a number of species for 2019 and 2020, in an effort to restore deep-sea fish stocks in the North-East Atlantic. Based on scientific advice, these new measures will enable stocks to gradually rebuild to […]Western Balkans: MEPs take stock of 2018 progress
October 10, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. In resolutions adopted on Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Committee MEPs mark the progress made in five Western Balkan countries on their path towards possible EU accession. Serbia In a report adopted by 49 votes to 3 with 6 abstentions, MEPs welcome Serbia’s continued engagement on […]EU Budget 2019 to focus on young people
October 10, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Budgets Committee MEPs demanded an EU budget for 2019 capable of tackling the numerous challenges that the EU continues to face, in a vote on Tuesday. MEPs’ priorities for next year’s budget are “sustainable growth, innovation, competitiveness, security, tackling the root causes of refugee […]Main results of Environment Council of 09 October 2018
October 10, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Couincil. CO2 emission standards for cars and vans Meeting in Luxembourg on 9 October, environment ministers succeeded in reaching an agreement on the proposed regulation on CO2 standards for cars and vans (recast). They agreed on the Council position on the text and set new […]Portugal: Budget MEPs back €4.66 m in job-search aid for 730 redundant workers
October 10, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Following the dismissal of 1,161 textile workers in three regions, the most disadvantaged among them should receive EU aid worth €4,655,883 to help find new jobs. The measures, co-financed by the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF), would provide the 730 workers facing the greatest […]MEPs back update of rail passenger rights across EU
October 10, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Transport MEPs backed strengthened rail passengers’ rights, such as higher compensation rates for delays and better assistance to persons with reduced mobility. EU rail passenger rights rules have been in force since 2009. Today’s vote is an important step towards improving and updating those […]EP President praises Nobel Peace Prize award to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad
October 8, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Following the award of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize to former Sakharov winners Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad, EP President Antonio Tajani stated: “The courage and resilience of Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad, in their fight for common human values, richly deserve the Nobel […]Quicker freezing and confiscation of criminal assets to fight organised crime
October 5, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. MEPs adopted on Thursday new rules to speed up the freezing and confiscation of criminal assets across the EU. The new rules, already informally agreed between Parliament’s negotiators and EU ministers in June, will make it quicker and simpler for EU member states to […]MEPs condemn attacks on civilians, including children, in Yemen
October 5, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. EU countries should refrain from selling arms to all parties of Yemeni civil war to ease the world’s largest humanitarian crisis in Yemen, said MEPs on Thursday. The resolution on Yemen, passed by show of hands , notes that Yemen has been devastated by […]EU’s judicial cooperation arm, Eurojust, to become more effective with new rules
October 5, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. MEPs adopted on Thursday updated rules to clarify the role of Eurojust and improve its effectiveness. Eurojust, the EU’s judicial cooperation unit, facilitates cross-border investigations and prosecutions of serious crimes in the EU. The changes in the Agency’s functioning and structure, including a new […]Free flow of non-personal data: Parliament approves EU’s fifth freedom
October 5, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. New rules aimed at removing obstacles to the free movement of non-personal data within the EU for companies and public authorities were adopted by MEPs. This EU law, already provisionally agreed with the Council, will prohibit national rules requiring that data be stored or […]MEPs back plans to boost joint assessment of medicines
October 4, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. The new law adopted on Wednesday aims to avoid duplicating national assessments to determine a medicine’s added value that help EU countries decide on pricing. MEPs highlight that there are many barriers to accessing medicine and innovative technologies in the EU, the main ones […]Estonian Prime Minister Ratas: Europe is a thought that must become a feeling
October 4, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Outlining his vision for the future of Europe, Prime Minister Jüri Ratas called for unity, but not uniformity, stressing that Europe faces challenges which need common solutions. “By sharing our sovereignty and pooling our strength, we have been able to make a difference in […]Green light for VAT overhaul to simplify system and cut fraud
October 3, 2018 by 1 Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. MEPs on Wednesday backed the bulk of the European Commission’s proposed reform of the VAT system, while proposing some adjustments, such as to set a maximum VAT rate. Two pieces of legislation were put to the vote. One aims to facilitate trade, especially for […]Parliament pushes for cleaner cars on EU roads by 2030
October 3, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. CO2 emissions from new cars should be cut by 40% by 2030 and market uptake of electric and low- emission cars should accelerate, said MEPs on Wednesday. In the draft law voted on today, MEPs proposed setting a higher target for reducing EU fleet-wide […]Turkey: MEPs cut support by €70m due to no improvement in respect for EU values
October 3, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Parliament on Tuesday decided to cancel €70 million in pre-accession funds earmarked for Turkey, as conditions to improve the rule of law were not met. Last November, during the budgetary negotiations, Parliament and Council decided to place in reserve €70 million in pre-accession funds […]New rules for audiovisual media services approved by Parliament
October 3, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. MEPs voted on updated rules on audiovisual media services, protecting children better, with stricter rules on advertising, and 30% European content in video-on-demand. Following the final vote on this agreement, the revised legislation will apply to broadcasters, but also to video-on-demand and video-sharing platforms, […]The EU will always have a stable partner in Montenegro, says President Đukanović
October 3, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. The President of Montenegro, Milo Đukanović, addressed MEPs in a formal sitting on Tuesday. In his speech, Mr Đukanović outlined recent important developments in his country, notably on economic reform, boosting growth and foreign investment, increasing living standards and the progress made in strengthening […]Brexit and migration dominates the debate on October’s EU summit
October 2, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. During a debate on the EU summit, MEPs welcomed the EU’s unified approach on Brexit and criticised the Council’s inaction on key dossiers, such as migration and social policies. Migration should be the main topic on the agenda during the meeting of EU heads […]Fairer food supply chain: Agriculture MEPs clamp down on unfair trading
October 2, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. New draft rules to better protect farmers against buyers’ unfair trading practices were approved by the Agriculture Committee on Monday. MEPs broadened the scope of the draft law to: include all actors in the food supply chain, and not only small and medium-sized producers […]EP leaders call for negotiations on upgraded Transparency Register to continue
September 28, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Yesterday the Conference of Presidents backed continuing talks for an upgraded Inter-institutional Transparency Register following a report from lead negotiators. Parliament’s lead negotiators, Sylvie Guillaume (EP Vice-President) and Danuta Hübner (Chair of the Constitutional Affairs committee), informed group leaders of the Commission’s declared intention […]A Europe that protects: EU customs seized over 31 million fake goods at EU borders in 2017
September 27, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Although the total figures have declined since 2016, fake potentially dangerous goods for day-to-day use like healthcare products, medicines, toys and electrical goods now make up a much higher proportion of all seizures – 43% of all detained goods came from this category. Overall, […]EU Budget 2019: MEPs increase funding on youth, migration and research
September 26, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Budget MEPs increased Erasmus+ funds and restored budgets for infrastructure investments, as well as Horizon 2020, the EU research programme. On Tuesday and Wednesday, they voted through a budget totalling €166.3 billion in commitments, which is €717 million more than the original European Commission […]Netherlands: Budget MEPs back €1.2m in job-search aid for 450 redundant workers
September 26, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Following the dismissal of 1,324 workers in 20 banks in the affected regions, the most disadvantaged among them should receive EU aid worth €1,192,500 to help find new jobs. It is the first time that funds from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) would […]No improvement in respect for EU values: MEPs cut support for Turkey by €70m
September 26, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Budget Committee MEPs on Tuesday agreed to cancel €70 million in pre-accession funds earmarked for Turkey, as conditions to improve the rule of law were not met. Last November, during the budgetary negotiations, Parliament and Council decided to place in reserve €70 million in […]
