European Union

General : EU heads of state and government met this Wednesday 23 September to discuss the migration crisis in the EU and, speaking at the start of the European Council, EP President Schulz said that the European Union "is built on de facto solidarity, out of necessity, not romanticism." "The European Parliament will now engage as a matter of priority with the Council on the proposals presented by President Juncker on 9 September, and present its own further proposals, " he said.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

ECB President Mario Draghi painted a somewhat downbeat picture of economic developments in the Eurozone but assured Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee MEPs that the ECB "will not hesitate to act if some of the downward risks weaken the inflation outlook over the mid-term more fundamentally than we project at present". He hinted at the possibility of adjusting the size, composition and duration of the ECB’s asset purchase programme, to add monetary policy impetus if necessary.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

ECB President Mario Draghi painted a somewhat downbeat picture of economic developments in the Eurozone but assured Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee MEPs that the ECB "will not hesitate to act if some of the downward risks weaken the inflation outlook over the mid-term more fundamentally than we project at present". He hinted at the possibility of adjusting the size, composition and duration of the ECB’s asset purchase programme, to add monetary policy impetus if necessary.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The environment committee said on Wednesday that Parliament's delegation to the COP 21 climate talks in Paris must call for a 40% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, a 40% energy-efficiency target and a binding 30% target for renewable energy.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The environment committee said on Wednesday that Parliament's delegation to the COP 21 climate talks in Paris must call for a 40% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, a 40% energy-efficiency target and a binding 30% target for renewable energy.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

During a first debate the state of play on Volkswagen's emission "defeat devices" with the European Commission in the Environment Committee, many MEPs highlighted the need to speed up the introduction of automotive test procedures that better reflect vehicle emissions in real driving conditions, while others compared the EU's decentralized “type-approval” system unfavourably with the US one.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

During a first debate the state of play on Volkswagen's emission "defeat devices" with the European Commission in the Environment Committee, many MEPs highlighted the need to speed up the introduction of automotive test procedures that better reflect vehicle emissions in real driving conditions, while others compared the EU's decentralized “type-approval” system unfavourably with the US one.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The EU military operation against people smugglers in the Mediterranean is about to enter its next phase. After gathering intelligence and setting up the structure, the operation will now focus on arresting traffickers and disabling smugglers vessel. The details of the operation were discussed by MEPs during a meeting of the security and defence subcommittee on 22 September.
Subcommittee on Security and Defence

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The EU military operation against people smugglers in the Mediterranean is about to enter its next phase. After gathering intelligence and setting up the structure, the operation will now focus on arresting traffickers and disabling smugglers vessel. The details of the operation were discussed by MEPs during a meeting of the security and defence subcommittee on 22 September.
Subcommittee on Security and Defence

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The EU military operation against people smugglers in the Mediterranean is about to enter its next phase. After gathering intelligence and setting up the structure, the operation will now focus on arresting traffickers and disabling smugglers vessel. The details of the operation were discussed by MEPs during a meeting of the security and defence subcommittee on 22 September.
Subcommittee on Security and Defence

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

For decades, the global human rights community has seen human rights as a matter of law, mostly international law. Economic, social and cultural rights, however, are meant to be progressively realized making use of all available resources. The violations approach and the work on their justiciability do not address the structural factors that constrain the enjoyment of these rights. Human rights are about policy and politics as much as about law. There is room for human rights advocacy outside and beyond the limits of the law.

Abstract of a chapter by Koldo Casla in Can human rights bring social justice?, book edited by Amnesty International Netherlands in the Changing Perspectives on Human Rights collection.

 

The post Dear fellow jurists, human rights are about politics, and that’s perfectly fine appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

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Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Tax competition as such cannot be avoided, but today’s system has reached its limits and led to unwanted side effects. Small firms should not have to bear the tax burden of multinationals that pay very little. Action is needed to harmonise corporate tax practices across Europe, so as to make tax competition clearer and fairer. This was the key sentiment voiced at Tuesday’s meeting of the Special Committee on Tax Rulings with finance ministers from Luxembourg, Italy, France, Spain and Germany.
Special Committee on Tax Rulings and Other Measures Similar in Nature or Effect

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Tax competition as such cannot be avoided, but today’s system has reached its limits and led to unwanted side effects. Small firms should not have to bear the tax burden of multinationals that pay very little. Action is needed to harmonise corporate tax practices across Europe, so as to make tax competition clearer and fairer. This was the key sentiment voiced at Tuesday’s meeting of the Special Committee on Tax Rulings with finance ministers from Luxembourg, Italy, France, Spain and Germany.
Special Committee on Tax Rulings and Other Measures Similar in Nature or Effect

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP