European Union

Plenary sessions : An emergency proposal to relocate 120,000 asylum seekers from Greece, Italy and Hungary to other EU member states will be put to a vote, as a matter of urgency, at 10.00 on Thursday. This recourse to the urgency procedure (Rule 154) was proposed by President Schulz and approved in a plenary vote at the opening.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : An emergency proposal to relocate 120,000 asylum seekers from Greece, Italy and Hungary to other EU member states will be put to a vote, as a matter of urgency, at 10.00 on Thursday. This recourse to the urgency procedure (Rule 154) was proposed by President Schulz and approved in a plenary vote at the opening.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : Countries will this year shape and adopt the development agenda that will build on the Millennium Development Goals. A Parliament delegation will take part in the UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York where countries will approve the new goals. Ahead of the plenary debate on Wednesday 16 September, we spoke with development committee chair Linda McAvan, a UK member of the S&D group, about future goals and what has been achieved so far. Watch the debate live from 16.30 CET.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : Countries will this year shape and adopt the development agenda that will build on the Millennium Development Goals. A Parliament delegation will take part in the UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York where countries will approve the new goals. Ahead of the plenary debate on Wednesday 16 September, we spoke with development committee chair Linda McAvan, a UK member of the S&D group, about future goals and what has been achieved so far. Watch the debate live from 16.30 CET.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

On 16 September 2015, the Council's Permanent Representatives Committee backed a Commission proposal to help Greece maximise its use of EU funds and improve liquidity for boosting growth and creating jobs. The proposal's main objective is to address the lack of public funds available for much needed investments in Greece, and to ensure that the concerned European structural and investment funds deliver their benefits as rapidly as possible on the ground. The approved measures are exceptional and designed to respond to the unique situation created by the financial crisis in Greece.

The draft regulation would improve the liquidity of Greece by around €2.0 billion. This would be achieved in the following ways:  

• An increase in advance payments by a total of 7 percentage points in 2015 and 2016 for the funding of the 2014-2020 period. This concerns the European social fund, the European fund for regional development, the cohesion fund and the European maritime and fisheries fund. This measure would make available an additional €1 billion in 2015 and 2016. Advance payments are made by the Commission to the member states automatically after the adoption of each operational programme to accelerate the implementation of the planned measures.
  
  
• An increase in the maximum EU co-financing rates to 100% for the 2007-2013 programmes financed by the cohesion fund, the European social fund and the European fund for regional development. Greece already benefits from a higher EU co-financing for this period: in many cases the EU covers 95% of the total investment costs, rather than the usual 85%. In addition, there would be an early release of the last 5% of the remaining EU payments normally retained until the closure of the programmes for the 2007-2013 period. Together with the increase of the co-financing rates this would make available an additional €1 billion in 2015 and 2016.

The total €2 billion would be frontloaded within the 2014-2020 period and be budgetary neutral over the same period.

Next steps 

The position agreed by the Council serves as a mandate for the Luxembourg presidency to hold discussions with representatives of the European Parliament. Once an agreement between the Council and the Parliament is reached both institutions have to formally approve the outcome.

Background

The purpose of cohesion policy is to reduce disparities between the levels of development of the EU's various regions by promoting economic growth, job creation and competitiveness.

The EU funds are the biggest source of foreign direct investment in Greece. Under the 2007-2013 programming period almost €42 billion are allocated to Greece. They consist of around €24 billion from EU structural and cohesion funds, the fisheries and rural development funds, and around €17 billion for direct payments to farmers and support measures for agricultural markets. Until now, Greece has received €38.4 billion, corresponding to 17.5% of average annual Greek GDP over that period. An amount of nearly €2 billion for cohesion policy is still available; if it is not used by the end of 2015 it would be lost.  

For the 2014-2020 period, more than €35 billion have been earmarked for Greece. They consist of € 20 billion European structural and investment funds and over €15 billion for direct payments to farmers and support measures for agricultural markets. Out of this foreseen allocation, €4.5 billion have already been paid between 2014 and July 2015.

Europe's drones sector offers exciting opportunities for growth, however new rules are needed to ensure they can be used safely, but without deterring investment. The transport committee adopted a report on this on 15 September. Find out more about the opportunities, the need for proper training and what should be done about the privacy issue in our video interview with Jacqueline Foster, who is in charge of steering the new rules through Parliament.
Committee on Transport and Tourism

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Europe's drones sector offers exciting opportunities for growth, however new rules are needed to ensure they can be used safely, but without deterring investment. The transport committee adopted a report on this on 15 September. Find out more about the opportunities, the need for proper training and what should be done about the privacy issue in our video interview with Jacqueline Foster, who is in charge of steering the new rules through Parliament.
Committee on Transport and Tourism

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Commission v Slovakia
Freedom of movement for persons
By limiting entitlement to disability benefits and the Christmas bonus for persons on a low income to Slovak residents, Slovakia has not failed to fulfil its obligations under an EU regulation

AMENDMENTS 1 - 169 - Draft opinion The situation in the Mediterranean and the need for a holistic EU approach to migration
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Draft rules to cut emissions of major air pollutants from non-road mobile machinery (NRMM), ranging from lawn mowers to bulldozers, tractors and inland waterway vessels, were backed by Environment Committee MEPs on Tuesday. NRMM engines account for about 15% of all NOx and 5% of particulate emissions in the EU.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Draft rules to cut emissions of major air pollutants from non-road mobile machinery (NRMM), ranging from lawn mowers to bulldozers, tractors and inland waterway vessels, were backed by Environment Committee MEPs on Tuesday. NRMM engines account for about 15% of all NOx and 5% of particulate emissions in the EU.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : EP President Martin Schulz praised Sweden's response to the refugee crisis during a visit to the country on Monday 14 September. Migration and the refugee crisis topped the agenda when he met his counterpart Urban Ahlin, the Speaker of the Swedish Parliament. Schulz also had meetings with King Carl XVI Gustaf and with Prime Minister Stefan Löfven.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : EP President Martin Schulz praised Sweden's response to the refugee crisis during a visit to the country on Monday 14 September. Migration and the refugee crisis topped the agenda when he met his counterpart Urban Ahlin, the Speaker of the Swedish Parliament. Schulz also had meetings with King Carl XVI Gustaf and with Prime Minister Stefan Löfven.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

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Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

 

The deadline for applications closed recently for a plumb new job in Brussels – the head of the new airline trade association representing Europe’s five largest airlines – AirFrance-KLM, easyJet, Lufthansa, IAG and Ryanair.

Following the tumultuous weeks before the summer that led to the fracturing of the airline association world in Brussels, the chosen candidate could be forgiven for wondering how she/he is going to bring the membership together to successfully advocate industry positions in Brussels. The timing for the sector is critical, especially with the European Commission currently preparing its Aviation Strategy for release in early 2016.

Reflecting upon the best practices we have seen with associations that FleishmanHillard supports, our transport team has identified five things that will be important for this new airline advocacy body to incorporate into its work.

1. Think beyond the traditional when it comes to airline positions

Traditional airline associations in Brussels have tended to focus on traditional airline issues, be it emissions trading, passenger rights, Single European Sky or state aid in the sector. Such industry specific issues will of course remain central priorities for the new association. However, policy-makers in Brussels, fixated on Europe’s future recovery and growth, are increasingly asking more of the major industry associations in Brussels than simply positions on core industry issues – a central role for the new association will be to convey its members’ vision for the future of the industry. Whether it be the digitalisation of services in the single market, the approach to multi-modal travel solutions or the future of carbon reductions for the industry, the new association will need to be able to convey forward-thinking and positive measures that mirror the agendas of the policy-makers themselves.

2. Leverage airlines’ national footprint in Brussels conversations on policy

The ability to collectively leverage the national influence that its membership provides will be a critical, especially as national interests more and more dominate the new Brussels environment. From the European Parliament, where MEPs and their offices are always alive to listening to their own national constituents, through to national ministry officials negotiating in Council working groups, the ability of the airlines to mobilise the national as well as European audience can serve well the advocacy goals.

3. Use channels that keep a drumbeat of conversation going with relevant policy-makers

At the same time as looking beyond traditional issues, the new association should also embrace the full span of channels with which to convey its messages. Meetings and events are important points in any ongoing advocacy activity, but increasingly, social media channels such as LinkedIn and Twitter allow the conversations with key policy makers to continue in-between those set-piece moments of engagement. A recent study by FH found that 61% of MEPs surveyed follow social media conversations daily in their legislative work. So to ignore such media would be to lose a huge opportunity in terms of conveying association positions.

4. Qualify contribution to jobs and growth beyond the sector

Growth and jobs are the centerpiece of the European Commission’s agenda. Under the new regime, Commissioners and Vice Presidents are litmus testing new initiatives against their contribution to jobs and growth. The aviation industry’s own contribution is well documented, most recently through ATAG’s Benefits Beyond Borders report. Such data will continue to be critical in underpinning the advocacy effort in Brussels, and demonstrating aviation’s “value add”. The sector’s positive impact of course spreads to nearly every corner of Europe’s economy – the ability of the new association to therefore harness the support of other industry sectors, that depend on aviation for their own economic well-being, will be key.

5. Deliver member value through bench-marking reputation and measuring improvement

A fresh start for an industry association provides a unique opportunity to put in place a robust system of performance bench-marking. Setting out and agreeing on a core set of measurable objectives will allow the association to clearly define its own success and calibrate its ongoing strategy. Doubtless a core aspect of the activities of the association will be to develop the reputation of the sector with policy-makers. Initially, and periodically henceforth, testing the policy-maker perceptions of the airline industry will allow a clear assessment of the ongoing effectiveness of the association in this regard.

Rob Anger

Four judges and one advocate-general to the Court of Justice were appointed by the representatives of the governments of the member states on 16 September 2015.

Ms Camelia Toader (Romania) and Mr Marko Ilešič (Slovenia) were reappointed as judges for a further six years. Mr Michail Vilaras (Greece) and Mr Eugene Regan (Ireland) were appointed as judges and Mr Manuel Campos Sánchez-Bordona (Spain) as advocate-general to the Court of Justice. All appointments apply to a term of office from 7 October 2015 to 6 October 2021.

The representatives of member states' governments appointed Mr Ian Stewart Forrester as judge to the General Court to replace Mr Nicholas Forwood (both United Kingdom) for the remainder of the latter's term of office from 1 October 2015 to 31 August 2019. They also reappointed Mr Juraj Schwarcz (Slovakia) and Mr Heikki Kanninen (Finland) as judges to the General Court from 1 September 2016 to 31 August 2022.

Background

The Court of Justice of the European Union is composed of three courts: the Court of Justice itself, the General Court and the Civil Service Tribunal.

The Court of Justice is currently composed of 28 judges and nine advocates-general. In line with a Council decision from 2013 the number of advocates-general will increase to eleven with effect from 7 October 2015. Every three years a partial replacement of judges and advocates-general takes place. The term of office of 14 judges and of four advocates-general expires on 6 October 2015. Ten judges (from Belgium, Spain, Poland, Luxembourg, Croatia, Finland, Estonia, Slovakia, Hungary, Denmark) and four advocates-general (from the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark and the Czech Republic) were already appointed on 24 September 2014, on 1 April and 12 June 2015 for the 2015 partial replacement exercise. This means that the 2015 partial replacement exercise has now been completed. However, the advocate-general from Bulgaria still needs to be appointed to take account of the increase by two in the number of advocates-general.

The General Court is currently composed of 28 judges. As in the Court of Justice a partial replacement of judges every three years takes place in the General Court. The terms of office of 14 judges expires on 31 August 2016.

The judges and advocates-general of the Court of Justice and the judges of the General Court are appointed for a term of office of six years, which is renewable. The judges of the Court of Justice elect from amongst themselves a president for a renewable term of three years. The same applies to the General Court.