European Union

The European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) is the single authoritative voice on advertising self-regulation in Europe, working with regulators and industry representatives to ensure ads work both for consumers and business.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called on Europe to "stand up" to the far-right during a speech at the opening session of the European Week of Regions and Cities on Monday (8 September).

The European Commission's proposal to oblige tech firms to pay a 3% levy on revenues faced a further setback on Sunday (7 September), as Ireland joined a growing list of member states opposing the measures.

There is currently no country in the world where men and women are truly treated equally. At the current rate of progress, according to indicators from the World Economic Forum, it will take an estimated 217 years to achieve full gender parity. We cannot afford to wait that long, writes Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca.

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.

Written by Marketa Pape (1st edition),

© madpixblue / Fotolia

Strong, modern, and reliable infrastructure is essential to secure jobs, growth and competitiveness in the European Union. Given this need, the EU supports the development of high-performing, sustainable and interconnected trans-European networks in three areas: transport, energy and digital infrastructure.

The trans-European networks policy was consolidated in 2013 and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) set up as a dedicated financing instrument to channel EU funding into infrastructure networks, help eliminate market failures and attract further investment from the public and private sectors.

Following a mid-term evaluation, which confirmed the CEF programme’s capacity to bring significant EU added value, the European Commission proposes to renew the programme under the next long‑term EU budget. The European Parliament and the Council are expected to discuss the changes and proposed budget to ensure that, once adopted, the programme can stimulate the necessary infrastructure development, while also helping to achieve the EU’s climate change objectives.

Versions

• October 2018: ‘Connecting Europe Facility 2021-2027: Financing key EU infrastructure networks‘ (1st edition)

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Connecting Europe Facility and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1316/2013 and (EU) No 283/2014 Committees responsible: Transport and Tourism (TRAN)
Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE)
(joint committee procedure, Rule 55) COM(2018) 438
6.6.2018 Rapporteurs: Marian-Jean Marinescu (EPP, Romania)
Henna Virkkunen (EPP, Finland)
Pavel Telička (ALDE, Czech Republic) 2018/0228(COD) Next steps expected Vote in committee Ordinary legislative procedure (COD) (Parliament and Council on equal footing – formerly ‘co-decision’)

Committee meetings, Brussels

Source : © European Union, 2018 - EP

Europe has an easy decision to make soon: either save trillions of euros, prevent the deaths of thousands of people and do its part to save the planet from climate oblivion. Or keep going the way we are. Staggeringly, the former option is not everybody’s first choice.

France wants to make compliance with the Paris Agreement on climate a precondition to signing European trade agreements. However, this is an issue where France is struggling to get the other 27 members to make progress on. EURACTIV France reports.

Partial renewal of the membership of and entry into office of six new Members of the Court of Justice

To create trust, companies have to be transparent in what they are doing and how they treat employees.

Industrial sectors such as cement and steelmaking will continue emitting CO2 even if they switch to 100% renewable energy, says Camilla Skriung who calls on the Norwegian government to take action now – without waiting for EU funding – in order to get the first projects off the ground.

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows keeping global warming below 1.5°C is necessary, feasible and beneficial. Rich countries must now commit to ensure their economies reach net zero emissions before 2050, writes Nick Mabey.

Written by Alina Dobreva,

© tai111 / Fotolia

The budget of the European Union (EU budget) provides the EU with the means to finance its policies and to respond to challenges which occur. Due to its scope, the perception of the EU budget is linked to citizens’ perception of the EU as a whole, its legitimacy and reputation, as well as the performance of the EU institutions. This briefing analyses public opinion surveys related to the EU budget, in particular citizens’ preferences for greater EU financial means and their evaluation of the EU budget as ‘good’ or ‘poor’ value for money. It sets the analysis of public opinion in the context of debate on reforming the EU budget and on setting the next multiannual financial framework.

According to recent Eurobarometer data, 37 % of Europeans support the EU having greater financial means given its political objectives, and 31 % think that the EU budget gives good value for money for EU citizens. Although the demand for greater support and the positive opinion of the EU budget both have positive trends over time, there is still much to be addressed.

A closer look at the data demonstrates significant differences between the opinions across the Member States. Although a more sceptical trend can be observed amongst net contributor Member States, the diversity in the data cannot be explained only by the positioning of a country on the net contributor-net beneficiary continuum. The opinions of citizens across Member States vary in their values as well as in their direction of change over time. In addition, the opinions on the EU budget can be linked to personal factors – younger Europeans tend to express stronger support for greater EU financial means than older ones.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Public opinion and the EU budget – Who supports the EU budget? ‘ on the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

In the wake of the Danske Bank scandal, Estonia's central bank has had to clarify cross-border payments made over the past ten years, amounting to approximately €900 billion. EURACTIV France’s media partner La Tribune reports.

With the European Week of Regions and Cities starting on 8 September, the debate on Cohesion Policy and its future in the EU's long-term budget 2020 is at the forefront. The European Economic and Social Committee will play a determining role in the debate and the final agreement on the proposal.

Italy's deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini on Monday described European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and economy commissioner Pierre Moscovici as enemies of Europe. "The enemies of Europe are those sealed in the bunker of Brussels. It's Juncker and Moscovici who have brought fear and job insecurity to Europe," Salvini said at a joint press briefing with French far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

Britain signed a military cooperation agreement with Germany on Friday (5 October), emphasising London's commitment to helping shield Europe from future security threats at a time when negotiations over its own exit from the EU are reaching a crunch time.

The US Senate has voted by the slim margin of 50 to 48 votes to nominate Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, whose judges are appointed for life. Whereas many commentators see the vote as a victory for the Republicans, others point out that it is by no means a defeat for the Democrats.