European Union

Two regional summits held in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan last week had a common denominator: the support from Russia and China to Iran in the face of US threats after two oil tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman.

EU trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said on Monday (17 June) that a trade agreement with Mercosur countries could be concluded by the end of this mandate but “not at any price” as other trade partners await the outcome with “great attention”.

UPDATE: The European Commission warned EU countries today (18 June) that draft national plans for the coming decade are insufficient to achieve the bloc’s 2030 energy and climate targets. "Substantial" gaps have been identified on renewables and energy efficiency.

Now is the time to be bold in our approach and for leaders to take a positive and decisive stance in welcoming refugees.

Despite securing a place among the very few European leaders with a landslide victory under their belt in the EU election, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán is not celebrating, write Balázs Jarábik and Dániel Bartha.

FoodDrinkEurope is ready to step up to the plate!

The decision-making for the top jobs in the European institutions bears some similarity to how Roman Catholic Cardinals elect the new Pope. There is a lot of unpredictability and a long wait for the outcome of a less than transparent process.

"Systemic failings" marked by serious operational and transparency shortcomings, electoral security problems and a low turnout was the verdict of the European Union’s election observers on February’s presidential, parliamentary and governorship elections.

The guessing games have come to an end as Austria's former Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache announced on Monday (17 June) he will remain politically active in Vienna and won't take up his MEP seat in Brussels. An analysis by Herbert Vytiska for EURACTIV Germany.

With the current Socialist & Democrats group leader, Germany's Udo Bullman pulling out of the race, Spanish MEP Iratxe Garcia is likely to become the next leader of the second biggest group in the European Parliament.

A number of newly elected members of the European Parliament committed to joining forces in the upcoming five-year term in fighting disinformation, during an event organised by EURACTIV foundation.

Will the EU honour its word to Tirana and Skopje or will Brussels – not for the first time – leave the Western Balkans stewing in its own juice? All eyes are on the reaction of EU foreign ministers to last week's inflammatory rhetoric by two Balkan leaders, writes Denis MacShane.

The EU commission will discuss on Tuesday a deal over its future relationship with Switzerland, but is not expected to make a proposal on extending the Swiss stock exchange's access to the EU market, which expires at the end of June. "At this stage, we do not anticipate decisions will be taken, but a lot can change," a commission spokeswoman said. The two sides held inconclusive talks last week.

The Green Energy Platform, led by the think tank Farm Europe, organised a workshop in Brussels on Wednesday (12 June) to present the results of the ‘2030 Transport Decarbonisation Options’ study, conducted by the consultancy firm Navigant.

Slower oil demand growth in 2019 is expected to lead to a glut of oil next year, which could have significant impacts on energy prices in Europe.

The European Parliament concluded the last plenary session of its 8th term on 18th April

Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Austrian far-right ex-leader Heinz-Christian Strache, who quit as vice-chancellor over a video showing him offering to fix state contracts to someone who posed as a Russian oligarch, said Monday he would not take up a European Parliament seat. He stepped down as the Freedom Party's leader last month after German media published the secretly filmed 2017 footage. Strache got enough preferential votes to get a seat in the parliament.

Germany, France and Spain inked on Monday (17 June) a framework agreement for the joint construction of Europe's largest arms project to date, the so-called Future Air Combat System (FCAS).

Although the new renewable energy directive (REDII) set compromise minimum targets helping to decarbonise the transport sector, the EU executive reserves the right to take action on the matter again if necessary, a Commission official has said.

The European Parliament regularly receives enquiries from citizens as to how it ensures that elected Members do not hold any office that is incompatible with the office of Member of the European Parliament.

Incompatibilities

© Bluedesign / Fotolia

As laid down in the Act concerning their direct election, the office of Member of the European Parliament is incompatible with certain mandates. These include being a member of the government of an EU country or a member of the European Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Ombudsman, or sitting on the European Central Bank’s Board of Directors.

Since the 2004 European elections, the office is also incompatible with that of member of a national parliament.

Procedure

After each European election, the competent authorities in EU countries notify the European Parliament of the names of newly elected Members, so that they may take their seats at the opening of the first sitting. The elected Members must declare in writing that they do not hold any incompatible office.

Based on the official notification of the full results of the election received from each EU country, the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs prepares a report on the verification of credentials. The European Parliament subsequently rules on the validity of the mandate of each Member. It also decides on any disputes on incompatible offices, other than those that fall under EU countries’ national provisions. Where it is determined that a Member cannot take their seat in Parliament because they hold – and wish to retain – an office that is incompatible, the European Parliament establishes that there is a vacancy for that seat.

Throughout the legislature, the European Parliament also verifies the credentials of individual Members who replace outgoing MEPs.

Continue to put your questions to the Citizens’ Enquiries Unit (Ask EP)! We reply in the EU language that you use to write to us.

Further information

• Verification of new MEPs, Frequently Asked Questions put to Parliament’s Spokesperson’s Department
• Rule 3: verification of credentials, Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament, July 2018
• Handbook on the incompatibilities and immunity of MEPs, Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional affairs, European Parliament, August 2014