European Union

Plenary sessions : Parliament gave its green light on Thursday to grant €1,095,544 in EU aid to Belgium to help 412 workers made redundant by two glass manufacturers to find new jobs. A further 100 young unemployed people should also benefit from the plan. The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) aid still needs to be endorsed by the EU Council of Ministers.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : A ceasefire that halts attacks against civilians, medical and aid workers, ground fighting and shelling in Yemen is urgently needed to allow life-saving aid to reach the Yemeni people, said MEPs in a resolution voted on Thursday. They also called on all parties in Yemen’s civil war and their foreign backers to engage in a new round of peace negotiations and seek a political settlement.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : A ceasefire that halts attacks against civilians, medical and aid workers, ground fighting and shelling in Yemen is urgently needed to allow life-saving aid to reach the Yemeni people, said MEPs in a resolution voted on Thursday. They also called on all parties in Yemen’s civil war and their foreign backers to engage in a new round of peace negotiations and seek a political settlement.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

As outbreaks of avian flu and mad cow disease have shown in the past, animal diseases can prove harmful to animals and people alike. The agriculture committee agreed this week new measures to prevent and stop future outbreaks of these diseases. Apart from the health risk, there is also an economic cost. For example, the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the UK in 2009 ended up costing €10.7 billion. Check out our infographics for more details.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : An EU deal with San Marino, which will make it harder for EU citizens to hide cash from the tax man in bank accounts there, was endorsed by Parliament in a vote on Thursday. Under the deal, the EU and San Marino will automatically exchange information on the bank accounts of each other's residents, starting in 2017.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : An EU deal with San Marino, which will make it harder for EU citizens to hide cash from the tax man in bank accounts there, was endorsed by Parliament in a vote on Thursday. Under the deal, the EU and San Marino will automatically exchange information on the bank accounts of each other's residents, starting in 2017.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : The European Parliament made the case on Thursday for EU-wide data sharing on the registration of cats and dogs to tackle the illegal trade in pets that are often badly bred and at risk of spreading diseases. Trafficking of pets, including wild and exotic animals, is increasingly linked to organised crime and poses a public health risk, say MEPs.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : The European Parliament made the case on Thursday for EU-wide data sharing on the registration of cats and dogs to tackle the illegal trade in pets that are often badly bred and at risk of spreading diseases. Trafficking of pets, including wild and exotic animals, is increasingly linked to organised crime and poses a public health risk, say MEPs.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Parliament's economic, social and single market priorities for 2016 were adopted on Thursday in three separate resolutions. MEPs gave their input to the upcoming March economic summit, focusing on the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact, its social aspects and how to further exploit the economic potential of the single market.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Parliament's economic, social and single market priorities for 2016 were adopted on Thursday in three separate resolutions. MEPs gave their input to the upcoming March economic summit, focusing on the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact, its social aspects and how to further exploit the economic potential of the single market.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : A law to revamp the European Employment Services (EURES) network with an EU-wide database of job seekers and vacancies was approved by Parliament on Thursday. The aim is to help fight unemployment by better matching labour market supply and demand. Updated rules, already agreed with the Council, will also pay more attention to cross-border regions and young people.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : A law to revamp the European Employment Services (EURES) network with an EU-wide database of job seekers and vacancies was approved by Parliament on Thursday. The aim is to help fight unemployment by better matching labour market supply and demand. Updated rules, already agreed with the Council, will also pay more attention to cross-border regions and young people.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

This is the Thursday edition of our Brussels Briefing. To receive it every morning in your email in-box, sign up here.

Mr Orban announcing Hungary's migration referendum in Budapest on Wednesday

Now it’s Hungary’s turn. Viktor Orban, the polarising Hungarian premier, announced yesterday that his country would be holding a referendum on whether it should be forced to take in refugees as part of EU policies to relieve Greece and other overwhelmed frontier countries suffering the biggest influxes of migrants from the war-torn Middle East. By our count, that would make five countries holding referenda on EU policies in the course of about a year: Greece’s “oxi” on a the terms of a third eurozone bailout; Denmark’s “no” on opting-in to EU policing and judicial policies; an upcoming April Dutch referendum on the EU integration deal with Ukraine; Britain’s June plebiscite on EU membership; and now Mr Orban’s migration poll.

Throw in two more referenda – an Italian one in October on a non-EU domestic reform issue, and the always referendum-happy (but non-EU member) Switzerland – and you have a continent that seems to have gone delirious for direct democracy. As Tom Nuttall, the Economist’s Brussels-based Charlemagne columnist, pointed out in January, it’s not as if referenda are a new phenomenon. But when political leaders begin applying it to EU policies – which are always the product of multilateral horse-trading in Brussels – it could grind the already slow-moving European legislative machine-work to a halt.

In some ways, the rash of referenda is a bit of birds coming home to roost. Founders of the European project were overtly elitist about how they went about integration. “I thought it wrong to consult the peoples of Europe about the structure of a community of which they had no practical experience,” Jean Monnet, the intellectual godfather of the EU, once famously said. In more recent times, referenda results were either worked around – after France and the Netherlands rejected the EU’s “constitutional treaty” in 2005 it was largely rebranded the “Lisbon treaty” with tweaks that made plebiscites unnecessary – or re-run. Ireland voted twice on both the Nice and Lisbon treaties after rejecting them the first time around.

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Despite its undoubted transformative potential, there still exists large swathes of people in the Brussels Bubble who just ‘don’t get’ Twitter. As a social strategist I sometimes find that pretty frustrating; there are so many great things which industries, associations and individuals could be doing, but there is just such little appetite for them. The challenge is to demonstrate to the bubble just how easy, accessible and effective Twitter is.

Although everybody knows that Twitter should be part of a successful public affairs strategy, many just don’t know how. To understand, we need to stop viewing it as this newfangled, modern tool and realize that it’s the same as other broadcasting platforms which we’ve been using for years. To explain, here are 3 similarities between Twitter and radio which demonstrate just how easy it is to build a successful social media strategy for your clients.

1. Stations with a clear direction are the most successful

In Radio, the most popular stations are often those with a clear and accessible offering. Popular stations are successful in part because they are synonymous with certain values, messages and content and they are consistent in the way they communicate all of these things. The same is true for Twitter. Too many accounts are run without a clear objective and so don’t stand out. Users who have a clear “brand” are typically successful and that’s because they have identified what works for them and have repeated it.

2. The key is being able to cut through the noise

Having a clear direction is the starting point, but it is increasingly not enough. In radio, there are a plethora of stations which occupy the same space, playing the same music and interviewing the same artists. Popular stations have to find a way to stand out. Twitter users are faced with the same problem. As I mentioned in my last post (and as our team constantly say to clients) in 2016 it’s not enough to just write tweets. Just like the best radio stations use quizzes, phone-ins and features to stand out, so Twitter users need to be bolder and more creative when it comes to communicating.

3. it’s essential to know your audience

The best radio stations are those that develop content which speaks to their own niche audience. If a station which specialized in classical music suddenly started playing Kanye West, their audience would quickly lose interest- no matter how good Ye’s songs may be. As I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, this also applies for Twitter. Interaction with an audience is useless unless it’s targeted and tailored to suit their needs. Otherwise they won’t be interested in what you say and if they’re not interested in what you say then you may as well not be tweeting to them at all.

As you can see, the similarities are as simple as they are obvious. Despite this, the majority of Twitter accounts in Brussels lack direction, produce little to no cutting edge content and fail to target their audience.

So, next time you’re typing out a tweet, think about how you can learn from your favourite radio station. If you do, you’re more likely to achieve your objective- and that’s always a good thing.

 

 

Alex Burchill

Business minister, Anna Soubry, the most enthusiastic pro-EU member of the government’s cabinet, has sent a letter to UKIP leader, Nigel Farage, with three vital questions.

She posed the questions after Mr Farage made clear that he didn’t want Britain to remain in the Single Market of Europe if the referendum resulted in a ‘leave’ decision. Instead, said Mr Farage, he wanted Britain to be “a fully independent country” (although it’s not quite clear what that means).

Subsequently, Ms Soubry sent these three questions to Mr Farage:

1. Was he happy that his policy would increase the costs for business because the UK would face the EU’s common external tariff, which stands at 10% for cars and 15% for food?

2. How long would it take for the UK to renegotiate trade deals with more than 50 countries with whom the UK trades on the basis of EU deals?

3. Did Farage accept that the UK would have to accept many EU regulations, in order to trade with the EU, while having no say over how they were drawn up?

Ms Soubry also asked Mr Farage:

“I suspect you will claim that these consequences are avoidable by our negotiating a new ‘free trade deal’ with the EU. If so, can you set out precisely the terms you would expect and any evidence that they are credible and achievable? If not, your response will be taken as a sign that you want only to cover up the serious consequences of Britain leaving Europe.”

An answer is awaited from Mr Farage.

Footnote: What interests me is why any answers from Mr Farage should be taken seriously? He is not in power. He is not a Member of Parliament. He is not in government. His party only has one MP who most often disagrees with Mr Farage on Britain’s possible Brexit terms.

If Britain decides on 23 June to leave the EU, Mr Farage still won’t be in power. What difference will his answers make (assuming he can answer at all)?

* Join the discussion about this article on Facebook.

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Other stories by Jon Danzig:

• UKIP’s fantasy island
  
• What does Brexit look like? Nobody knows
• Who do you think you are kidding, Mr Farage?
• List of the latest articles by Jon Danzig

To follow my stories please like my Facebook page: Jon Danzig Writes

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#EUReferendum 3 questions for @Nigel_Farage by #UKgov minister @Anna_Soubry See my Facebook: https://t.co/mL8IUSA513 pic.twitter.com/cFXwJ92wS2

— Jon Danzig (@Jon_Danzig) February 24, 2016

 

The post Three questions for Nigel Farage appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

On Wednesday, Vienna hosted nine countries – and 18 ministers – to discuss the migration crisis in the western Balkans. Despite the size of the diplomatic shindig, a few names were left off the list.

To the surprise and annoyance of Athens and Berlin, neither Germany (the main destination) nor Greece (the main entrance) were asked to come along. The European Commission, which has attempted to marshal the EU’s response, was not asked either.

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Plenary sessions : Leaders of the main political groups in Parliament welcomed a fair EU-UK deal as an offer to the British people to remain in the EU. But it's an "in or out" vote some said, not another phase in the negotiations. During the plenary debate on the outcome of the recent EU summit with European Council President Donald Tusk and Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, many UK MEPs voiced arguments for and against EU membership.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Leaders of the main political groups in Parliament welcomed a fair EU-UK deal as an offer to the British people to remain in the EU. But it's an "in or out" vote some said, not another phase in the negotiations. During the plenary debate on the outcome of the recent EU summit with European Council President Donald Tusk and Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, many UK MEPs voiced arguments for and against EU membership.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP