European Union

The Italian conservative Antonio Tajani has become the new president of the European Parliament. Tajani, a former spokesman for Silvio Berlusconi and ex-EU commissioner, won the runoff against the Socialist Gianni Pittella with the support of the Liberals. While some columnists see Tajani's influence as extremely limited, others believe his election will strengthen the role of the EU Parliament.

Romania's new government on Wednesday presented a draft bill for a series of emergency decrees that would restrict criminal investigations against corrupt politicians and see thousands of prisoners released. President Iohannis, however, intervened and the legislation was not passed. The public learned of the proposals and thousands of people took to the streets to demonstrate against the plan.

On 25 January, the SEDE committee invites Brigadier General Daniel Grammatico, Director Operations at the EU Military Staff and Niklas Novaky, visiting researcher at VUB Brussels, to discuss the future of EU battlegroups. In the light of the recent push for more cooperation in the field of European security and defence, these experts will exchange views with the members of the committee on what can be done to make the battlegroups more operational and their actual use more likely.
Further information
Draft agenda and meeting documents
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

How could we save Europe, help refugees and fight climate change at the same time? It would be hard to deny that the refugee crisis – caused by wars in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan – has put a terrible strain on Europe, as millions of people from these war torn regions have sought refuge within the member states of the European Union.

If populist politicians have exploited the refugee crisis – by using fear of mass immigration and terrorism to gain support – then it should be recognised that the refugee crisis is also being used to divide Europe. Images of crowdes of refugees were used by those campaigning for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union in June 2016. Perhaps the vote for Brexit would not have happened if the refugee crisis had not occured.

It is very probable that Angela Merkel will pay the price at the ballot box in 2017 for allowing over one million refugees into Germany in 2015. Likewise the refugee crisis will be used by Marine Le Pen, as an excuse to close France’s borders and pull France out of the EU if she wins the french presidential election this year. The refugee crisis is the excuse for nationalist politicians to gain power, recreate borders and put up new fences across the Schengen area.

Europe has been unable to show a united response to the refugee crisis which is both humanitarian and practical. The best way to stop the flow of refugees into Europe would be to stop the wars in the Middle East and Africa, but there are no simple ways to achieve peace in these regions. If a safe place could be found to resettle refugees until peace is restored, then the numbers of people seeking asylum in Europe could be reduced, thus easing the presure on member states of the European Union.

There is no shortage of space in a North African country such as Libya, but the problem is that Libya itself has been disrupted by war and most of the land of the country is uninhabitable desert. If new technology could bring water, agriculture, and renewable energy to new settlements in the desert then the refugees themselves could maintain these communities.

An example of cooperation between different communities to bring water to a dry region can be seen at Auja in the West Bank of the Jordan near to the Dead Sea. On 20th May 2016 an article published in the New York Times International entitled “Muslims and Jews Cooperate on Solar Project”, describes how a solar array was providing electricity to pump water to 45 Palestinian farms around Auja.

If the Sahara desert were to become fertile and habitable then solar energy could be used to provide power for desalination plants on the North African coast, and water could be brought inland by pipes to the new communities that were reclaiming the desert. First of all a pilot project of a few towns and villages could be seen as helping Libya’s economic development and providing employment for local people as well as providing acommodation and employment for refugees. The first industry of these communities would be water, the second industry would be agriculture, and the third industry would be solar energy. The pilot projects would all have to start in a small way and would need military protection against attack from terrorist groups such as Isis.

The German development bank KFW has invested in one of the world’s largest solar energy power generation projects in Morocco. In Febuary 2016 Noor I, the first of four power power plants was connected to the grid, which has the capacity to generate 160 megawatts providing electricity for 350,000 people. This is part of a plan to install four power plants close to the town of Ouarzazate in southern Morocco with an overall capacity of 580 megawatts, which according to KFW’s website will supply “power for around 1.3 million people”.

Similar schemes could be set up for building solar power plants in Libya, which would provide the electricity to power the desalination plants and pump the water to the new communities on the edge of the desert. Any scheme to resettle people would not work unless the infrastructure to support human life was put in place before people arrived. Therefore the first priority before any settlement could be built, would be water supply to the site of a planned settlement. Likewise the irrigation of agricultural land would be a priority.

Another problem would be dealing with the extreme heat of the Sahara desert, people cannot work outside during the day under these conditions. Tent like structures would be needed to protect workers from the sun and working hours would have to be reduced, to help those involved cope with the difficult and dangerous conditions. Progress would be slow but bringing water to the desert could be a sustainable way of fighting climate change, increasing agricultural yields for a growing world population, and dealing with the consequences of war. These projects would require the cooperation of many individuals from different countries including scientists and engineers from Europes’ universities and technical colleges.

Sources

James Glanz and Rami Nazzal, (20th May 2016) ‘Muslims and Jews Cooperate on Solar Project’, The New York Times International Weekly.

https://www.kfw-entwicklungsbank.de/International-financing/KfW-Development-Bank/News/News-Details_338561.html

©Jolyon Gumbrell 2017

The post Water, Agriculture and Renewable Energy appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

On 25 January, the AFCO Committee and the SEDE Subcommittee will hold a joint meeting to discuss the amendments tabled to the own-initiative report 'Constitutional, legal and institutional implications of a common security and defence policy: possibilities offered by the Lisbon Treaty'. The report examines the legal possibilities offered by the Lisbon Treaty as well as the necessary institutional set-up to make CSDP more operational.
Further information
Draft agenda and meeting documents
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : Antonio Tajani was elected as the president for the second half of the parliamentary term during this week's plenary session while MEPs also chose 14 new vice-presidents. In addition they called for emergency aid to help refugees cope with freezing temperatures and told the European Commission to redraw its lists of countries at risk of money laundering as it was too limited. Read about this and more in our article.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : Antonio Tajani was elected as the president for the second half of the parliamentary term during this week's plenary session while MEPs also chose 14 new vice-presidents. In addition they called for emergency aid to help refugees cope with freezing temperatures and told the European Commission to redraw its lists of countries at risk of money laundering as it was too limited. Read about this and more in our article.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Written by Krisztina Binder (3rd edition),

© boldg / Fotolia`

Since 2011, Jordan’s economy has suffered from the negative spill-overs of the on-going regional conflicts and the Syrian refugee crisis, weakening the country’s fiscal and external financing position. In line with the EU’s objective to support the stability and development of Jordan’s economy, the European Commission has presented a proposal to grant the country a second package of macro-financial assistance (MFA). Amounting to a maximum of €200 million, the assistance would help the country cover a part of its external financing needs. The first MFA package, worth €180 million, was approved in 2013 and fully disbursed in 2015. In addition to the significant resources mobilised by the multilateral and bilateral donors, this second MFA, adopted in December 2016, will, by strengthening the economy, contribute to Jordan’s overall stability, which is a high priority for the EU. The Commission will, if appropriate, put forward a new proposal in 2017 to extend and increase this MFA to Jordan. EU aid will complement the International Monetary Fund’s new programme of about US$723 million, focusing on the country’s economic and financial reform programme.

See also our at a glance note
‘Parliamentary elections in Jordan‘

Versions

• January 2017: ‘EU pledges further aid to Jordan‘ (3rd edition)
• November 2016: ‘EU pledges further aid to Jordan‘ (2nd edition)
• September 2016: ‘EU pledges further aid to Jordan‘ (1st edition)

Proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council providing further macro-financial assistance to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Committee responsible:

Rapporteur:

Shadow rapporteurs:

 

 

 

 

  International Trade (INTA)

Emmanuel Maurel (S&D, France)

Salvatore Cicu (EPP, Italy)

Sander Loones (ECR, Belgium)
Marielle de Sarnez (ALDE, France)

Lola Sánchez Caldentey (GUE/NGL, Spain)

Klaus Buchner (Greens/EFA, Germany)

David Borrelli (EFDD, Italy) COM(2016)431 of 29.6.2016, 2016/0197(COD)

Ordinary legislative procedure (COD) (Parliament and Council on equal footing – formerly ‘co-decision’) Procedure completed Decision (EU) No 2016/2371

OJ L 352, 23.12.2016, p. 18

Filed under: International Relations, PUBLICATIONS Tagged: briefings, EU Legislation in Progress, European neighbourhood policy, Jordan, Krisztina Binder, Mediterranean and Middle East

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Now for the main event. Donald Trump finally takes office today after a noisy transition that served only to amplify many of the most unsettling questions that surround his incoming administration.

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Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Written by Mihalis Kritikos and Nera Kuljanic,

Sergey Nivens / Fotolia

Scientists have new technological answers to the twin challenges of limiting emissions and feeding a growing population which is simultaneously shrinking the space left for cultivation. However, these answers in turn pose their own ethical and risk management questions. Societal actors and a wide range of stakeholders have long sought to broaden the scope of authorisation and regulation of agricultural biotechnologies to take into account the relevant socio-economic impacts. Assessing the socio-economic sustainability, societal benefits and ethical acceptability of agricultural biotechnologies in the frame of the established risk assessment procedures has, for a long time, been debated at both EU and international levels. However, the increasingly rapid developments in the field of genetic engineering and synthetic biology trigger a need to re-examine the traditional risk assessment model and explore the deployment of methodologies that may further reinforce the responsiveness and inclusiveness of the current framework.

On 25 January 2017, STOA is organising a workshop to discuss these issues, continuing STOA’s practice of discussing the socio-ethical dimensions of techno-scientific developments. The workshop will be chaired by Marijana Petir, MEP and STOA Panel member. Former President (2010-2016) of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE), Julian Kinderlerer, will give the opening presentation on innovation and bioethics, and will moderate the event.

What to expect from the event?

The workshop will provide space for a debate on this challenging aspect of public policy and will offer the opportunity to analyse the feasibility and necessity for inclusion of socio-economic considerations into the current framework.

The various methodological options for assessment, the role of participatory involvement in risk governance and the practical steps and indicators that could be introduced in risk assessment and decision-making related to synthetic biology and genetic modification in agriculture will be discussed by Helge Torgersen, of the Institute of Technology Assessment, Austrian Academy of Sciences, and Anne Ingeborg Myhr, of the Genøk-Centre for Biosafety, Tromsø, Norway. For example, in Norway, sustainability, benefit to society and ethics are important criteria in GMO assessment prior to cultivation, import, and use as food or feed. The workshop will look at how this has evolved.

Put simply, if a measure, an action or a policy could harm the public or the environment, and there is no scientific consensus that it is not harmful, then one willing to act must prove the absence of danger. This is known as the precautionary principle, which belongs to the domain of risk management. However, there are differences in the way this is defined and applied across the world. Amir Muzur, from the School of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Croatia, will speak on the comparison between application in the EU and the USA.

How could policy-makers in the EU deal with socio-ethical considerations, as well as the regulatory challenges raised by scientific uncertainty, the speed of technological advance, technological complexity and issues related to public perception? How is this shaping decision-making in the field of agricultural biotechnologies? Register for the workshop before 20 January 2017 and take part in the discussion.

Filed under: BLOG, Events Tagged: agriculture, events, Mihalis Kritikos, Nera Kuljanic, STOA

The EU is responding to the rising demand for wireless connectivity by opening a key frequency band for mobile broadband. At the same time, the new rules take account of the continuing need for adequate bandwidth for television broadcasting. On 20 January 2017 member states' ambassadors endorsed the deal concluded with the European Parliament on 14 December 2016.

Dr Emmanuel Mallia, the Maltese Minister for Competitiveness and Digital, Maritime and Services Economy, said: "Today's decision means faster and better internet access, which is good for businesses and individuals right across Europe. We are also paving the way for the introduction of 5G technology, which will allow for greater connectivity and innovation."

Under the agreement, EU countries will reassign the high-quality 700 MHz frequency band (694-790 MHz) to wireless broadband services by 30 June 2020. This coordinated use of airwaves will promote the take-up of 4G and help offer higher speeds and better coverage even in rural areas. It will also make it easier to roll out 5G (expected from around 2020), allowing for the large-scale introduction of innovative digital services such as telemedicine, connected cars and smart cities.

If member states are unable to meet the 2020 deadline, they may delay the reallocation by up to two years in duly justified cases. The agreed text sets out the possible reasons for such a delay. These include for example financial reasons and harmful interferences resulting from unresolved cross-border coordination issues.

The 470-790 MHz range is currently widely used for digital television broadcasting and wireless microphones, for instance in theatres, concerts and sporting events.

To give the audio-visual sector long-term regulatory predictability, broadcasting services will maintain priority in the sub-700 MHz band (470-694 MHz) at least until 2030, based on national needs. Member states will have the flexibility to use this range for other purposes, including mobile internet services, but this use must be compatible with broadcasting needs.

All EU countries must adopt a national roadmap by the end of June 2018, setting out how they will implement the decision. These roadmaps will be public.

How will it become law?

Once the agreed text has undergone legal-linguistic finalisation, it must be formally approved first by the Parliament and then by the Council (agreement at first reading). The procedure is expected to be completed in spring 2017.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP