European Union

Safeguarding Europe's position starts with recognising the unpleasant reality that Europe's power is waning. Behind the facade of European cooperation, national self-interest still predominates and that has never been any different.

The first ever report on the state of the rule of law in the EU due to be published this week by the European Commission marks a significant change in its mindset.

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

Hessischer Rundfunk
Economic policy
According to Advocate General Pitruzzella, EU law provides that creditors have an obligation in principle to accept cash in euros for the payment of monetary debts

Spain's Supreme Court has barred the regional president of Catalonia, Quim Torra, from holding office because he displayed separatist banners from a government building during Spain's general election last year. He "repeatedly and stubbornly disobeyed the orders of the Central Electoral Board to remove certain symbols," the court said. Torra said the ruling violated his "free speech". His predecessor in the post, Carles Puigdemont, lives in self-exile in Belgium.

Taiwan has thanked the EU for help in a sensitive name dispute with China, Reuters reports. The Brussels-based Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy had listed six Taiwanese cities as being in China, but Taiwanese complaints saw their location changed back to Taiwan. And the EU "helped us in this effort" Taiwan foreign minister Joseph Wu told his parliament Monday, risking China's diplomatic wrath.

Belarusian writer and opposition activist Svetlana Alexievich has left the country to seek medical treatment, but her trip was not linked to politics and she planned to return home, her aides said on Monday. EU diplomats in Minsk have been helping to shield her from harassment. French president Emmanuel Macron will also meet Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in Lithuania on Tuesday, raising hopes of French help in the crisis.

Environment Committee MEPs quizzed Executive Vice-President Timmermans on the new 2030 Climate Target Plan, demanding early action to reach carbon neutrality.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

Environment Committee MEPs quizzed Executive Vice-President Timmermans on the new 2030 Climate Target Plan, demanding early action to reach carbon neutrality.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

Length of video : 88'

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, 2020 - EP

MEPs’ demands on how digital services, including online platforms and marketplaces, should be regulated were set out in a vote in the Internal Market Committee on Monday.
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

Mairead McGuinness and Valdis Dombrovskis appear before parliamentary committees on Friday, before a plenary vote on changes in the European Commission.

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

Length of video : 122'

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, 2020 - EP

Civil liberties committee members questioned how the new Asylum and Migration Pact proposed by the European Commission would function during a debate on 24 September.

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

Inauguration of the European Public Prosecutor's Office

An opinion by Jolyon Gumbrell.

Photo of CE mark on plug taken by Jolyon Gumbrell.

The CE label that appears on many products shows that a product complies with EU health, safety and environmental standards. Although the United Kingdom left the EU on 31st January 2020 these standards still apply to products sold in the UK until the end of the transition period on 31st December 2020. After that date UK consumers will no longer be protected by European health, safety and environmental standards, unless these protections are written into a future trade agreement between the EU and the UK.

Why is this important? Because once the transition period for the UK ends at the end of 2020, items such as “active implantable medical devices” and “invito diagnostic medical devices” as well as other “medical devices” used by the NHS might be below standard, and thus endanger the lives of patients in the UK. This situation will be exasperated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Concern has already been shown over the accuracy of 90-minute rapid coronavirus tests procured by the UK Government. In an article by Sarah Boseley published in The Guardian on 8th August 2020 entitled: ‘UK’s rapid Covid-19 test not passed by regulator and no data on accuracy’, it said: “The test, from Oxford Nanopore, a young biotech company spun off from Oxford University, has not yet gained a CE mark. Before Covid-19, Oxford Nanopore had been involved only in research, not tests for patients.”

The article went on to mention another company DnaNudge that was granted an “emergency exemption by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency” from having to display the CE mark. According to the article DnaNudge was awarded a £3.2 million contract in April and a £161 million contract on 1st July from the government. If either of these – Oxford Nanopore and DnaNudge – testing systems were unreliable, then it could mean that some people would receive the wrong results for their Covid-19 tests.

What will happen to the people of the UK when they finally lose the protection of European law on 31st December 2020? One of the consequences of this will be the loss of the CE mark for consumer products sold in the UK, so the British public will no longer know how safe or reliable a product – such as an plug on an electrical device, a kettle, light bulb, laptop, mobile phone, or child’s toy – is, that they are purchasing from a retailer or online supplier.

The CE mark does not mean that a product has been manufactured within the European Economic Area (EEA). An electrical device could have been made in China for example and still display a CE label, but when the product was imported into Europe it would have had the CE marking placed on it by the manufacturer’s authorised representative in Europe. The product would have had to comply with European health, safety, and environmental standards before it could legally be distributed for sale to consumers living in the EEA area.

If high standards of protection are to be maintained for consumers living in the UK next year, then the UK will either have to stay in the EEA along with EU and EFTA member states or come to a bilateral relationship with the EU similar to that of Switzerland. Either way no trade deal will take place between the UK and EU unless the UK Government accepts these high standards as recognised with the CE mark.

Sources

https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/ce-marking_en

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ce-marking

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Glossary:European_Economic_Area_(EEA)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Economic_Area

Boseley, Sarah; (08.08.2020) ‘UK’s rapid Covid-19 test not passed by regulator and no data on accuracy’ The Guardian.

©Jolyon Gumbrell 2020

The post Remember the CE mark appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

OPINION on a new EU-Africa Strategy – a partnership for sustainable and inclusive development
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Anna Fotyga

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

The Subcommittee on Security and Defence will discuss the current challenges and upcoming landmark decisions to be taken in relation to the EU's engagement in the Common Security and Defence Policy, with Ambassador Charles Fries, Deputy Secretary General of the EEAS for CSDP and Crisis Response. The debate will be held on 28 September and is expected to focus in particular on the future Strategic Compass, which should ensure coherence and cost-efficiency in the field of security for EU citizens.
Meeting agenda and documents
Live Streaming
EU Fact Sheets: Security and defence
Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

MEPs hold hearings to evaluate commissioners-designate, vote on recommendations for the Digital Services Act and present the Sakharov Prize 2020 nominees.

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP