European Union

Plenary sessions : Venezuela’s government should release all political prisoners immediately and respect the constitution, including the procedures that may lead to the impeachment of the country´s President, urged the European Parliament on Wednesday. In a resolution passed by 501 votes, to 94 against with 73 abstentions, MEPs backed mediation efforts by the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) to launch a national dialogue between Venezuela’s government and opposition.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Venezuela’s government should release all political prisoners immediately and respect the constitution, including the procedures that may lead to the impeachment of the country´s President, urged the European Parliament on Wednesday. In a resolution passed by 501 votes, to 94 against with 73 abstentions, MEPs backed mediation efforts by the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) to launch a national dialogue between Venezuela’s government and opposition.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : The EU Commission proposal for an EU anti-tax avoidance directive was welcomed by Parliament in a resolution voted on Wednesday. MEPs nonetheless advocated stricter limits on deductions for interest payments and tougher rules on foreign income. They also called for more transparency for trust funds and foundations, common rules for “patent box” tax reductions on intellectual property earnings, and an EU blacklist of tax havens and sanctions against uncooperative jurisdictions.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : The EU Commission proposal for an EU anti-tax avoidance directive was welcomed by Parliament in a resolution voted on Wednesday. MEPs nonetheless advocated stricter limits on deductions for interest payments and tougher rules on foreign income. They also called for more transparency for trust funds and foundations, common rules for “patent box” tax reductions on intellectual property earnings, and an EU blacklist of tax havens and sanctions against uncooperative jurisdictions.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : A WTO deal struck by the EU and 24 countries, including Japan, China, and the USA, to stop charging custom duties on trade in 201 different high-demand information technology products, such as video game consoles, medical imaging machines and touch screens, was backed by MEPs on Wednesday. The EU has signed the deal, but now has Parliament’s green light for it to enter into force.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : A WTO deal struck by the EU and 24 countries, including Japan, China, and the USA, to stop charging custom duties on trade in 201 different high-demand information technology products, such as video game consoles, medical imaging machines and touch screens, was backed by MEPs on Wednesday. The EU has signed the deal, but now has Parliament’s green light for it to enter into force.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : The European Parliament agreed to set up an inquiry committee into the “Panama Papers” revelations, of detailed information on offshore companies and their ultimate beneficiaries, in a vote on Wednesday. The committee is to investigate alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application by the EU Commission or member states of EU laws on money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion. It will have 65 members and twelve months to present its report.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : The European Parliament agreed to set up an inquiry committee into the “Panama Papers” revelations, of detailed information on offshore companies and their ultimate beneficiaries, in a vote on Wednesday. The committee is to investigate alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application by the EU Commission or member states of EU laws on money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion. It will have 65 members and twelve months to present its report.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

RECOMMENDATION on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of a Protocol to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an Association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Lebanon, of the other part, to take account of the accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia, and the Slovak Republic to the European Union
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Ramona Nicole Mănescu

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

RECOMMENDATION on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of a Protocol to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an Association between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Lebanon, of the other part, to take account of the accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Ramona Nicole Mănescu

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

RECOMMENDATION on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Protocol to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an Association between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Lebanon, of the other part, on a Framework Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Lebanon on the general principles for the participation of the Republic of Lebanon in Union programmes
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Ramona Nicole Mănescu

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

It gives me great pleasure to again welcome the President of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili, here in Brussels. 

Overall we are seeing good progress in our bilateral relations. And the strong pro-European stance of the Georgian people is a solid base for Georgia's continued progress in implementing reforms and strengthening democracy and the rule of law.

I am pleased to note that the EU-Georgia Association Agreement will fully enter into force on the 1st of July, and I look forward to working together to reap maximum benefits from it.

We spoke about Georgia's parliamentary elections, due to take place in October. Recent reports about violence against opposition politicians and members of the parliament are of real concern to me. I welcome the fact that the perpetrators have now been charged. Obviously, all steps must now be taken to prevent such incidents in the future. Thank you Mister President for your very clear and tough assessment of these events. What I have heard is really promising.

These elections will be an important test to the strength and resilience of Georgia's democracy. It is our expectation that the Georgian authorities will make every effort to guarantee a respectful, inclusive, and orderly election environment. Free and pluralistic media is an essential precondition for that. I noted with satisfaction the planned involvement of election observers.

I also reiterated to the President the EU's support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. I underlined our firm commitment to conflict resolution and the policy of non-recognition and engagement. The EU Special Representative and the EU Monitoring Mission underscore this commitment.

Finally, we touched upon Georgia's visa-free aspirations. As you know, last December the European Commission confirmed that Georgia had achieved all the required benchmarks for a positive final decision, which I trust will be forthcoming soon. The Commission's proposal to grant Georgian citizens visa-free travel to the Schengen area is currently being discussed by the Council and the European Parliament.

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Voters are growing disenchanted with the EU – and Britain is far from being an outlier. That is the bottom line of Pew’s latest survey, which offers one of the best guides to opinion across the continent. For EU supporters it makes for sobering reading. We’ve picked out four charts.

 

Within the general decline in positive views of the EU over the past decade, one country stands out: France. While French views of the EU have see-sawed over the past few years, there was an extraordinary 17 point drop in respondents having a positive view of the EU this year. Only Greece – not included on our chart – has a more negative view (71 per cent have a unfavourable view of the union).

What explains the slide in support? Any gains that came from economic rebound seem to have been wiped out this year by the migration crisis.

Views of how the EU has handled the situation range from poor (Netherlands and Germany) to catastrophic (Sweden and Greece).

Read more

Plenary sessions : One year on from its launch, MEPs voiced sharply divided verdicts on the progress of the €315 billion investment plan for Europe, or "Juncker plan", in Wednesday's debate with EU Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen. While the EPP and S&D broadly welcomed the work of the "European Fund for Strategic Investment" (EFSI) and the Commission's announcement that it proposes to extend the lifetime of the plan, MEPs from smaller groups were sceptical about its achievements to date.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : One year on from its launch, MEPs voiced sharply divided verdicts on the progress of the €315 billion investment plan for Europe, or "Juncker plan", in Wednesday's debate with EU Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen. While the EPP and S&D broadly welcomed the work of the "European Fund for Strategic Investment" (EFSI) and the Commission's announcement that it proposes to extend the lifetime of the plan, MEPs from smaller groups were sceptical about its achievements to date.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Entry into office of new Judges at the General Court