European Union

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Belgium is updating its precautions for dealing with nuclear accidents.

Health Minister Maggie De Block has reviewed current rules on the distribution of iodine pills from 20km from the epicenter of an accident to 100km. That is in effect the Belgian population as a whole, the Minister explained.

But, there is no reason to worry. In joining Germany and the Netherlands in extraordinary measures to deal with a nuclear accident, Belgium is simply updating its readiness plans.

According to Minister De Bock, this is a reaction to the lessons learned in March 2011 in Fukushima rather than a reaction to concerns raised by Germany and the Netherlands regarding the safety of Belgian nuclear reactors.

Belgium is reflecting on the lessons learned by a nuclear accident triggered by a quake and a subsequent tsunami, which leads policy makers to the conclusion that Iodine tablets must be distributed in a bigger radius from the highly implausible accident, the energy regulator assures the public.

Residents of the region around Fukushima were indeed handed iodine pills after the accident, which provides some protection against radioactive iodine and, therefore, thyroid cancer. Other radioactive elements of course will remain active.

On April 20th, the German government asked Belgium to shut down two nuclear reactors citing security concerns. The German Environment Minister, Jochen Flasbarth, said that this was indeed an unprecedented request, but it reflects serious concerns. German authorities are not satisfied the two reactors are safe. Belgian authorities are completely satisfied that the two reactors are safe.

Concerns by Germans and Dutch focus on Tihange-2 and Doel-3 atomic plants. They were put back in operation in November 2015, after being closed for 20 months pending a safety probe. Belgium’s regulator AFCN stands by the view that the two reactors are safe, but they would work with German counterparts to address concerns Bloomberg reports. It is unclear whether such fears have been addressed.

What is clear is that the Netherlands reviewed its policy on iodine tablets in March, so that pregnant women and minors are given the pills within 100km of the Borssele and Doel reactors.

The German city of Aachen, on the border with Belgium and the Netherlands, keeps in store 300,000 iodine tablets to ward off thyroid cancer. The city is pursuing litigation action against the reactors.

And Belgium is now taking its own precautionary measures.

Belgium has planned to gradually phase out its nuclear sector by 2025. Until that time, Electrabel, plans to make the most out of its assets. Nuclear power provides 50% of Belgium’s domestically produced electricity.  The two reactors in question are operated by Engie, Elactrabel’s Belgian subsidiary. The two reactors currently produce 14% of Belgium’s electricity.

(BBC, Bloomberg, DW)

The post Belgium prepares for a nuclear accident, but there’s nothing to worry about appeared first on New Europe.

DRAFT REPORT on EU strategic communication to counteract propaganda against it by third parties
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Anna Elżbieta Fotyga

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

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In an interview published by the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter on Friday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warns that Russia will be scaling up “military-technical” measures against Sweden if Stockholm moves closer to NATO.

“It is every country’s right to decide the arrangements for their safety, but one must understand that if the military infrastructure closer to Russia’s borders , then we will of course take the necessary military-technical measures. Nothing personal in it, it is just pure business,” Lavrov said.

Lavrov was clear that if Sweden moved from neutrality to NATO relations would change, not because Sweden would be seen as an aggressor but because its military infrastructure would be integrated with NATO’s supreme command.

The nature of measures to be taken were not specified.

Responding to criticism of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Lavrov argued that that was a direct response to an “armed coup d’etat in Kiev.”

He went on to accuse Foreign minister Margot Wallström to have opened a window to ”Russofobia,” not least by joining economic sanctions against Russia. Defiantly, he said that Russia did not need the rest of the world.

“I just want to say that now we can only rely on ourselves , we have all that is needed . Thankfully left God and our ancestors us a country can be self-sufficient,” Lavrov said.

This is not the first time Moscow has issued stark warning against Stockholm’s closer relations with NATO. In September, Russia’s ambassador to Sweden, Viktor Tatarintsev, was invited to explain a Russian Foreign Ministry warning that if Sweden were to join NATO there would be “consequences” and “countermeasures.”

At the time, the Swedish Foreign Minister, Margot Wallstrom, stated that “we don’t think anyone should be threatening us.” The ruling Social Democratic Party in Sweden has traditionally favored a distance from the Alliance or non-membership. But, Swedish support for NATO membership has been surging. The Swedish opposition too has been rethinking its defense policy, including the Centre Party that moved from its traditional position of neutrality in favor of joining the alliance in August 2015.

Funding of the armed services has increased as have violations of Swedish airspace by Russian jet fighters. At the heart of the argument is Article V and commitment to collective mobilization, that is, a deterrent that Stockholm is considering increasingly useful.

The post Lavrov warns Sweden to stay clear of NATO appeared first on New Europe.

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A wide variety of backgrounds, such as diplomats, developers, designers, NGOs, meet on 29 and 30 April, in Brussels, to  build applications that give citizens more insight and usable information about European decision-making. A Diplohack is a hackathon focused on creating synergies between the skill sets of people from these areas.

Download this video here.

Political group meetings, Brussels

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Welcome to Friday’s edition of our daily Brussels Briefing. To receive it every morning in your email in-box, sign up here.

Labour's Ken Livingstone is swarmed by reporters after a BBC appearance on Thursday.

Even by the savage standards of British political combat, the scenes that played out in central London yesterday were extraordinary. John Mann, a longstanding Labour MP, tracked down former London mayor and left-wing Labour stalwart Ken Livingstone to accuse him of being a “disgusting racist” and “Nazi apologist”, a confrontation captured by cameras from, among others, Channel 4 news and the BBC’s political correspondent Vicki Young. Just an hour later, Mr Livingstone was suspended from Labour, a party which he joined nearly 50 years ago.

The scrap was just the latest in a bitter internecine war over senior party members making remarks which many consider overtly anti-Semitic. The Mann-Livingstone feud was sparked by the previous day’s suspension of yet another Labour MP, Naz Shah,after two-year-old social media posts surfaced where Ms Shah endorsed a “Solution for the Israel-Palestine Conflict” that would “relocate” Jews from Israel to the US, touting a minimal “transportation cost”. Mr Livingstone went on BBC radio yesterday morning to defend Ms Shah, arguing she was the victim of the “Israeli lobby” and that her comments were “over the top” but not anti-Semitic. “Let’s remember when Hitler won his election in 1932 his policy then was that Jews should be moved to Israel,” Mr Livingstone continued. “He was supporting Zionism before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews.” Mr Mann angrily shouted that those remarks amounted to “rewriting history”.

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“The future belongs to those who wake up early,” say the French. The discussion during our roundtable on the Circular Economy Action Plan, which was unveiled last December, proves exactly that.

On 27 April, we had the pleasure to host Mrs. Pietikäinen, the European Parliament’s rapporteur on the 2015 Circular Economy own-initiative report, Mr. Radziejewski from European Commission Vice-President Katainen’s cabinet, as well as industry and NGO representatives for a roundtable discussion on the practical implementation of the Action Plan.

The roundtable clearly showed that no action will move forward without input from civil society and industry. Institutions – including the Council whose role was emphasised – will be looking at concrete case studies as well as proposals, in order to ensure that “Europe closes the loop”. Policy makers underlined they need to know how policy and regulation can support competitive and resource efficient business models.

Speakers and all participants who expressed their views showed genuine commitment to the Circular Economy agenda. Some of them however insisted on the extraordinary challenges that such transition present for both industry and society. These challenges will need to be addressed in the coming months.

“The future will be for those who get it & want to act” will be the institutions’ motto in the coming months, as they consult and work on turning the Action Plan into reality. The roundtable demonstrated  a clear interest and commitment to enhance dialogue between stakeholders.  At FleishmanHillard we are therefore planning further roundtables, focusing on specific actions, issues and sectors in order to mirror the institutional agendas.

Should you want to engage on this dossier or have a recommendation as far as next roundtables are concerned, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us – with Robert Anger to be precise at  Robert.anger@fleishmaneurope.com.

The FleishmanHillard Circular Economy team

General : From tomorrow, surcharges for phone calls and data usage when you’re in another EU country are capped even further, while from 15 June 2017 using your mobile phone abroad should cost the same as doing so at home. As of tomorrow non-discriminatory net neutrality rules also enter into force. Read on for more details.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : From tomorrow, surcharges for phone calls and data usage when you’re in another EU country are capped even further, while from 15 June 2017 using your mobile phone abroad should cost the same as doing so at home. As of tomorrow non-discriminatory net neutrality rules also enter into force. Read on for more details.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

AMENDMENTS 1 - 186 - Draft report containing a motion for a non-legislative resolution on the draft Council and Commission decision on the conclusion by the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement establishing a Partnership between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Turkmenistan, of the other part
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The EU police agency Europol will soon be able to step up efforts to fight terrorism, cybercrime and other criminal offences and respond faster, thanks to new governance rules endorsed by Civil Liberties Committee MEPs on Thursday. The new powers come with strong data protection safeguards and democratic oversight.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The EU police agency Europol will soon be able to step up efforts to fight terrorism, cybercrime and other criminal offences and respond faster, thanks to new governance rules endorsed by Civil Liberties Committee MEPs on Thursday. The new powers come with strong data protection safeguards and democratic oversight.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Domestic workers and carers, most of whom are migrant women, should be given an official status in the EU. Recognizing their work as "real" jobs would discourage exploitation, forced labour and human trafficking, say MEPs in a resolution voted on Thursday. MEPs recommend establishing easy-to-manage models for legal employer-worker relationships, citing examples in Belgium and France, to end precariousness and undeclared domestic work.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Domestic workers and carers, most of whom are migrant women, should be given an official status in the EU. Recognizing their work as "real" jobs would discourage exploitation, forced labour and human trafficking, say MEPs in a resolution voted on Thursday. MEPs recommend establishing easy-to-manage models for legal employer-worker relationships, citing examples in Belgium and France, to end precariousness and undeclared domestic work.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : The European Commission managed its 2014 EU budget funds according to the rules, so Parliament granted it a “discharge” approval for that year, in a resolution voted on Thursday. Parliament’s own management of EU funds in 2014 was also approved. However, Parliament postponed approving spending by three joint private sector-EU partnerships in technology field, the Council of Ministers and the European Council.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : The European Commission managed its 2014 EU budget funds according to the rules, so Parliament granted it a “discharge” approval for that year, in a resolution voted on Thursday. Parliament’s own management of EU funds in 2014 was also approved. However, Parliament postponed approving spending by three joint private sector-EU partnerships in technology field, the Council of Ministers and the European Council.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : It is children who pay the price when EU member states fail to cooperate and protect children’s best interests in legal proceedings such as cross-border parental custody disputes and adoption decisions, Parliament points out in a non-binding resolution voted on Thursday. MEPs want specialised chambers within EU countries' family courts to ensure that transnational cases are processed faster.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : It is children who pay the price when EU member states fail to cooperate and protect children’s best interests in legal proceedings such as cross-border parental custody disputes and adoption decisions, Parliament points out in a non-binding resolution voted on Thursday. MEPs want specialised chambers within EU countries' family courts to ensure that transnational cases are processed faster.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

On 28 April 2016, the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) agreed, on behalf of the Council, its negotiating stance on a proposed regulation establishing a structural reform programme to help member states implement reforms.

The programme would be established for the period from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2020, with a financial envelope of €142.8 million. 

Coreper asked the Netherlands presidency to start negotiations with the European Parliament.

Objectives 

The aim of the programme is to contribute to institutional, administrative and structural reforms in the member states with a view to enhancing competitiveness, productivity, growth, jobs, cohesion, and investment, in particular in the context of economic governance processes, including through assistance for the efficient and effective use of EU funds. The programme would finance actions and activities of European added value. 

Financing 

Member states would have to submit a request for financial support by 31 October of each calendar year. The financial resources available under the programme would be redirected from other technical assistance programmes under the common provision regulation for structural funds and the Rural Development Fund.   

Monitoring and implementation 

The Commission would carry out the programme, which would build on best practices with technical assistance to Cyprus and Greece. The Commission would also monitor the implementation of actions financed by the programme. 

Plenary sessions : Benchmark interest rates that are critical to financial market stability across Europe, such as the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR), will become more reliable thanks to a new law voted in by Parliament on Thursday. This law aims to clean up the benchmark-setting process, improve transparency, and prevent conflicts of interest like those that led to the LIBOR rigging scandals of recent years.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP