European Union

Plans to update EU type approval rules and emission limits for internal combustion engines in non-road mobile machinery (NRMM), such as lawn mowers, bulldozers, diesel locomotives and inland waterway vessels, were backed by the Environment Committee on Wednesday. These plans had already been agreed with the Dutch Presidency of the Council. 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, 2016 - EP

Plans to update EU type approval rules and emission limits for internal combustion engines in non-road mobile machinery (NRMM), such as lawn mowers, bulldozers, diesel locomotives and inland waterway vessels, were backed by the Environment Committee on Wednesday. These plans had already been agreed with the Dutch Presidency of the Council. 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, 2016 - EP

On 28 April 2016, the Council gave its green light for new rules that aim to improve domestic rail passenger services in the EU. It endorsed the deal concluded by the presidency with the European Parliament on 19 April.

"During the negotiations the interest of travellers always came first. Together we have been able to reach an ambitious agreement. The quality and efficiency of railway services will improve because of this package".

Sharon Dijksma, Dutch Minister for Infrastructure and the Environment

Opening national rail markets to competition

The revised rules - known as the 4th railway package market pillar - will open up domestic rail passenger markets in the member states. Railway companies will have non-discriminatory access to the network across the EU provided that public service contracts are not compromised. This means that it will be easier for new operators to enter the market and offer their services. For the award of public service contracts competitive bidding will become the rule, although exceptions to this rule are still possible.

Quality of service, for instance the punctuality and frequency of trains, will have more of an influence on the award of contracts to operators. For public service contracts - which currently account for over 90% of EU rail journeys - direct award will continue to be allowed provided it leads to better quality of service or cost-efficiency.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

On 20 April, SEDE exchanged views with Florence Gaub, EUISS, and Anar Valiyev, ADA University, Baku on how to combat ISIL in the Eastern and Southern Neighbourhood Countries. The attacks in Paris and Brussels have demonstrated the recklessness and tenacity of the terror organisation "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)". Their jihadist ideology has become the blueprint for aspiring terrorist groups and organisations in the Eastern and Southern neighbourhood of the EU.
Further information
Draft agenda and meeting documents
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : The European Parliament hosted a conference in Brussels on Tuesday 26 April, focussing on the role of women in tackling radicalisation and promoting de-radicalisation in Europe. Participants also assessed national and European strategies on the ground and held an open discussion on the way forward.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : The European Parliament hosted a conference in Brussels on Tuesday 26 April, focussing on the role of women in tackling radicalisation and promoting de-radicalisation in Europe. Participants also assessed national and European strategies on the ground and held an open discussion on the way forward.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The European Commission's proposal for automatic exchange of corporate tax information among national tax authorities was welcomed by Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee MEPs on Tuesday as a positive step in the fight against aggressive corporate tax planning. But MEPs also advocated adding further safeguards in the text to ensure that competition in the single market is not distorted by advantageous national tax deals with multinationals.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The European Commission's proposal for automatic exchange of corporate tax information among national tax authorities was welcomed by Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee MEPs on Tuesday as a positive step in the fight against aggressive corporate tax planning. But MEPs also advocated adding further safeguards in the text to ensure that competition in the single market is not distorted by advantageous national tax deals with multinationals.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

- New Blog Post by Alexandros Kyriakidis: “Is the IMF necessary for the 3rd Greek Program?“

The post NEWS appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

New rules to curb the growing influx into the EU of plant pests such as Xylella fastidiosa, which has been devastating Italian olive groves in 2013, were endorsed by the Agriculture Committee on Tuesday. Factors driving this influx include increased trade and climate change. The draft rules, informally approved by Parliament and Council negotiators in December 2015, would govern preventive measures for imported plant pests and rapid response mechanisms for high-risk ones.
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

New rules to curb the growing influx into the EU of plant pests such as Xylella fastidiosa, which has been devastating Italian olive groves in 2013, were endorsed by the Agriculture Committee on Tuesday. Factors driving this influx include increased trade and climate change. The draft rules, informally approved by Parliament and Council negotiators in December 2015, would govern preventive measures for imported plant pests and rapid response mechanisms for high-risk ones.
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : MEPs scrutinise how money has been spent by the European Commission and the other EU institutions and agencies in a procedure known as discharge. Over the years, the procedure has become a very important tool to check how public funds have been spent and EU projects carried out. The European Parliament has the exclusive right to approve the budget implementation of the EU institutions. On 27 April MEPs debate the discharge of the 2014 annual budget and vote on it the following day.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

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King Felipe, left, meets with Mariano Rajoy during coalition negotiations earlier this year

It’s been four months since Spanish voters went to the polls and delivered a result so inconclusive that most political observers – including incumbent prime minister Mariano Rajoy himself – have been predicting another round of elections almost since the results were first counted. Unless King Felipe can pull a rabbit out of the hat today when he meets the heads of the four largest parties for a final time, Spaniards are likely to head to the polls again on June 26 to have another try.

Would another election change anything? Recent opinion polls show that Mr Rajoy’s centre-right Popular party may gain a little more than the 28.7 per cent it won in December, and the second-place Socialists would lose a bit on their 22 per cent take. But the numbers have held pretty steady throughout the four-month drama. Which would suggest that the parties should hunker down and find a coalition that works rather than risk a repeat. But several hurdles have prevented any agreement, particularly within the Socialists and the far-left Podemos insurgent party.

The Socialists have resisted Mr Rajoy’s repeated entreaties to form a grand coalition, and one only need to look at what happened to the centre-left Pasok party in Greece to understand why: joining in a grand coalition in Athens led by the centre-right allowed far-left Syriza to claim the mantle of the left from Pasok, and the Spanish Socialists are deathly afraid of Podemos repeating the feat in Madrid. But Podemos has been equally resistant, blowing up the only long-shot coalition attempt that was seriously tried during the talks – a Socialist-led government with Podemos and the upstart centrist Ciudadanos party joining in – when its membership voted overwhelmingly to reject it earlier this month.

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