European Union

DRAFT OPINION on Towards a new trade framework between the EU and Turkey and the modernisation of the Customs Union
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Kati Piri

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

On behalf of the European Council, I wish to congratulate you on your appointment as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria.

I am confident that during your term Bulgaria will continue contributing constructively to the further development and improvement of the European Union. The many challenges facing the European Union, such as migration, economic recovery and geopolitical threats, are the same ones Bulgaria is confronted with. Bulgaria's dedication in addressing these challenges is an inspiration to the rest of Europe.

I look forward to working closely with you, and I wish you every success.

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EU-Lebanon relation is laid down in the Association Agreement which was adopted in 2002, entered into force on 1 April 2006 and open the way to fully incorporate Lebanon into the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).

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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, 2017 - EP

Good afternoon. Today I warmly welcome Prime Minister Duško Marković to Brussels. Let me use this opportunity to congratulate the Prime Minister on his appointment, I can assure you of my full support to Montenegro's Euro-Atlantic ambitions,  which are also in the strategic interest of the European Union.

The recent parliamentary elections in Montenegro under the new legislative framework, were competitive and respected fundamental freedoms.

In our meeting today, Prime Minister Marković updated me on the current political and economic situation in the country. I encouraged the Prime Minister to nourish a close dialogue with the opposition for the benefit of the whole country and to clarify some remaining questions surrounding the so-called coup attempt. This could help to restore trust and promote dialogue.

We also discussed bilateral relations: Montenegro remains a frontrunner in accession negotiations. I encouraged him  to re-double efforts so that recent reforms on the rule of law the fight against corruption and against organized crime are felt by ordinary people. It is an important benchmark by which our Member States and also Montenegrin citizens, will judge the success of this government. I know that with your personal experience and determination you will succeed.

In foreign policy, Montenegro is already a de-facto EU Member. You are steadfast in protecting our values and interests, your troops serve alongside ours off the coast of the Horn of Africa and soon in Mali and you apply our sanctions against Russia. I thank you for your loyalty and support.

As I said last May in Podgorica, you have built your independence wisely and patiently, without needless victims. And after gaining it, you pursued good relations with your immediate neighbours in a most mature way. I expressed the wish that  your neighbours could follow you on this peaceful track and turn towards the future.

Unfortunately, today, nationalistic rhetoric and populism is gaining ground across Europe, including in the Western Balkans. The enemies of liberalism despise  our freedoms and free trade, they promote national egoism, speak of violence and disregard the rights of their peers and neighbours. They stand against your Euro-Atlantic future, they  speak of alternatives to Europe.

Yet, there is no better alternative for the Western Balkans than the European Union and all that it represents. We know this from experience: the European Union  has the potential to unite countries and peoples in the region, to overcome the hatred of the past for the sake of a common future and to bring stability and reconciliation.

Thank you for your efforts, Mr Prime Minister. Not only for me, but in Brussels and in Europe, Montenegro is the best example that a positive scenario is still possible in our continent.

Location : Brussels JAN 2Q2Further information
Programme
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

On 26 January 2017 the Council, led by the Maltese presidency, reached a preliminary political agreement with the European Parliament on a draft regulation defining the specifications of fishing vessels.

The new rules repeal and recast Council regulation No 2930/86 in line with the European Union's  commitment to simplify and clarify EU law in order to make it clearer and easier to understand. 

Hon. Roderick Galdes, Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Animal rights welcomed the agreement and said that 'such an early agreement under the Maltese Presidency, the first of the year, confirms Malta's commitment to the fisheries sector and is a demonstration of our determination to bring forward better regulation.' 

The new regulation keeps the content of its 1986 predecessor, which was amended several times, but brings it up to date and adapts it to the current legal framework. It also grants the Commission additional powers to bring  the requirements for determining continuous engine power in line with technical developments and possible changes in the international ISO standards. 

Next steps 

The agreement still needs to be approved by the Council's Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper). After formal endorsement by the Council, the new  legislation will be submitted to the European Parliament for a vote at first reading and to the Council for final adoption.

This should enable the new regulation to enter into force by mid 2017.

The priorities of the Maltese Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers are being outlined to parliamentary committees by Maltese ministers at a series of meetings taking place in January.
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
Committee on Transport and Tourism
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
Committee on Regional Development
Committee on Culture and Education
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
Committee on Development
Committee on Legal Affairs
Committee on International Trade
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

The priorities of the Maltese Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers are being outlined to parliamentary committees by Maltese ministers at a series of meetings taking place in January.
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
Committee on Transport and Tourism
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
Committee on Regional Development
Committee on Culture and Education
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
Committee on Development
Committee on Legal Affairs
Committee on International Trade
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

The priorities of the Maltese Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers are being outlined to parliamentary committees by Maltese ministers at a series of meetings taking place in January.
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
Committee on Transport and Tourism
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
Committee on Regional Development
Committee on Culture and Education
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
Committee on Development
Committee on Legal Affairs
Committee on International Trade
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Hope, when so many despair, has been rekindled by the choice of António Guterres as the United Nations’ new Secretary-General. Hope in a reinforced UN that is more efficient and able to intervene against whoever wages war. Hope for global security and conflict resolution. Hope for economic regulation, social justice, sustainable development, human rights and the international rule of law.

A former Portuguese prime minister, a former president of the Socialist International and a former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Guterres is highly intelligent, good-hearted but also has sang froid. Thanks to his personal and political journey through national, European and international institutions, he has been able to polish his exceptional diplomatic skills and in-depth knowledge of the UN machinery and of the many fields where it operates.

All of this contributed to his nomination by acclamation by the Security Council after an unprecedented selection process for the post of secretary-general, the most open and scrutinised ever allowed by its five permanent members, known as the P5. But what made Guterres win in all voting rounds – overcoming the ‘obstacles’ of being neither a woman (how ironic) nor from eastern Europe – was  the transformative and strategic ambition that he proposes to give back to the UN.

At a time of unprecedented challenges − from cyber warfare to the ‘post-truth’ information age, from a Putin-Trump duet aiming at destroying the European Union to the denial of climate change – it is only by sticking with the UN that we can generate some degree of legitimate and efficient multilateralism and global cooperation. This is not possible with the G7, G8, G20 and other groups that have no moral or binding power.

“One cannot change the world all at once, but there is a moment in time when change begins”

But clearly the UN does not currently match up to this challenge. This is mainly because the P5 have blocked urgently-needed reform of the Security Council, which, paralysed by vetoes, has left humanity to drown in the criminal and impudent slaughter of children and other innocent civilians in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, South Sudan, and elsewhere.

In such troubled times, can any secretary-general make the difference, especially with P5 members who are increasingly entrenched in the defence of indefensible privileges? Can any secretary-general make the difference when the post-Second World War architecture is under attack by some of those very same powers that shaped it?

If anybody can make the difference, if anybody can face up to these tremendous challenges, it is António Guterres. He fights for values, has strategic insight and has an abundance of political courage. Given the transparent process to which he was submitted, he has legitimacy and responsibility.

But humanity’s most representative institution cannot satisfy itself with self-congratulation on the smoothness of the process. It has to show results. One cannot change the world all at once, but there is a moment in time when change begins. It is when hope is rekindled. Change began when the international community managed to agree on António Guterres as the new Secretary-General.

Now, he must use his voice, influence and actions to press all member states to live up to their commitments according to the UN’s principles – an existential issue at a time when Trump and Putin seem willing to expose mankind to civilisational regression.

IMAGE CREDIT: CC/Flickr – UN Geneva

The post The new UN chief is an ambassador of hope appeared first on Europe’s World.

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EU Finance ministers meet in Brussels on 27 January 2017.

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EU Finance Ministers of the eurozone meet in Brussels on 26 January 2017 to discuss Greece's economic adjustment programme, recommendations for the euro area in 2017, interim results of the IMF Article IV consultation with the euro area and Lithuania's and Spain's draft budgetary plans.

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Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

The provisional deal with the Council on the updated EU firearms directive was endorsed by Parliament’s Internal Market Committee on Thursday by 25 votes to nine, with two abstentions. The revised law tightens the controls on blank firing and inadequately deactivated weapons like those used in the Paris terror attacks. It also requires EU countries to have a monitoring system in place for the issuance or renewal of licences and to exchange information with one another.
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

The provisional deal with the Council on the updated EU firearms directive was endorsed by Parliament’s Internal Market Committee on Thursday by 25 votes to nine, with two abstentions. The revised law tightens the controls on blank firing and inadequately deactivated weapons like those used in the Paris terror attacks. It also requires EU countries to have a monitoring system in place for the issuance or renewal of licences and to exchange information with one another.
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

The provisional deal on the revision of the EU firearms directive, which sets out the conditions under which private persons may lawfully acquire and possess guns or transfer them to another EU country, was backed by the Internal Market Committee on 26 January 2017. The vote by the full Parliament is expected to take place in March.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

The provisional deal on the revision of the EU firearms directive, which sets out the conditions under which private persons may lawfully acquire and possess guns or transfer them to another EU country, was backed by the Internal Market Committee on 26 January 2017. The vote by the full Parliament is expected to take place in March.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Aloys F. Dornbracht v Commission
Competition
The Court of Justice dismisses the majority of the appeals brought by companies that participated in the cartel on the bathroom fixtures and fittings market

Place:          Europa building, Brussels
Chair:         Edward Scicluna, Minister for Finance of Malta 

All times are approximate and subject to change. 

from 08.00 
Arrivals (live streaming) 

+/- 08.30    
Doorstepby Minister Scicluna 

+/- 09.00    
Ministerial breakfast (Roundtable) 

+/- 10.00    
Beginning of the Council meeting
Adoption of the agenda

VAT fraud - "reverse charge" mechanism (public session)
Presidency work programme (public session)
Approval of non-legislative A items
Economic governance - 2017 European Semester
Banking reform - Basel Committee
EU budgetary own resources                  

At the end of the meeting
Press conference (main press room JL building) (live streaming)