European Union

A number of public health NGOs have decided to leave the European Commission-led EU Platform for Diet, Physical Activity and Health, in protest at the lack of progress in combatting obesity and related diseases.

Written by Paul De Ryck,

© metamorworks / Fotolia

Looking back on 20 years of the euro, it is widely acknowledged that it has proved successful as the common currency of the euro area, and that it has also developed into a vehicle for international trade, having become the second most widely used currency in the world.

However, this growing international role is not reflected in the external representation of the euro in international financial fora, notably the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Over the years, various attempts have been made to change this. The latest of these attempts came in the wake of the Five Presidents’ Report of 2015, which subsequently led to a Commission proposal for a Council decision on unified representation of the euro area in the IMF.

The proposal aims to secure representation of the euro area on the IMF’s Executive Board through the creation of a single euro-area constituency, and by the Eurogroup in the remaining IMF bodies.

Member States have shown reluctance to give up the current form of representation on the IMF Executive Board in favour of a unified euro-area constituency.

Their objections are mainly geopolitical in nature. They tend to consider that their national interest is best served in the framework of the existing IMF governance structure.

Although the proposal has been on Council’s table since 2015, there has been no visible progress to date, with the 2025 implementation deadline proposed by the Commission now called into question.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Towards unified representation for the euro area within the IMF‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Listen to podcast ‘Towards unified representation for the euro area within the IMF‘.

Italian socialist, David Sassoli, was Wednesday elected president of the European Parliament for two and a half years, replacing another Italian, Antonio Tajani. In a second ballot, Sassoli, secured 345 votes, with 334 needed to win it. The national-conservative's Jan Zahradil, got 160 votes, Green Ska Keller got 119 votes and the leftist candidate, Sira Rego, 43 votes. A total of 667 votes were cast, 37 of which were blank.

Parliament‘s constitutive session

Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Social media platforms in Germany are obliged to report hate speech and other illegal content. Germany's Federal Office of Justice is expected to slap a €2 million fine on Facebook for reporting only a fraction of such activity on its platform. EURACTIV Germany reports.

President Donald Tusk announced the appointments of new EU leaders for the next institutional cycle.

The Special European Council, which started on 30 June 2019, adopted conclusions on appointments for the next institutional cycle.

At a special meeting on 30 June-2 July 2019, the European Council appointed new leaders for the next institutional cycle.

Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the alignment of certain third countries with Council Decision (CFSP) 2019/797 of 17 May 2019 concerning restrictive measures against cyber-attacks threatening the Union or its member states.

The EU heads of state and government have agreed on who should get which top job. German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen was nominated as Commission president, Belgian Prime minister Charles Michel as EU Council president, IMF boss Christine Lagarde was chosen to head the ECB, and Spain's top diplomat Josep Borrell is to become the EU foreign policy chief. Europe's press assesses the outcome of prolonged and tense talks.

Carola Rackete, captain of the rescue ship Sea-Watch 3, has been released. She was arrested after docking a ship carrying 40 migrants in Lampedusa despite a ban. Politicians and prominent public figures harshly criticised Rome for her arrest. Observers say the episode highlights Europe's division and failures in migration policy.

Housing shortages, low interest rates and real estate speculation have been causing rents in Europe's big cities to skyrocket in recent years. In many places people are taking to the streets to protest. In Portugal and Berlin new laws have been proposed to stop the trend. Can they work?