European Union

In two weeks, Bavarians will go to the polls, in a closely watched election expected to show a never-before-seen downfall of the CSU and a never-before-seen rise of the Bavarian Greens. Will the unthinkable become reality: a coalition between the two?

EPP MEP and lead candidate for Jean-Claude Junker's job as the next European Commission president, Manfred Weber, threw down the gauntlet on Friday (28 September), suggesting that he may support a breakup of Facebook and Whatsapp.

The result of Sunday's referendum in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on whether to accept a name deal with Greece provided a "crucial political benefit" for its prime minister despite a low voter turnout, Nikos Xydakis, an influential parliamentary representative in the Greek house, told EURACTIV.com.

A man is seeking EU support to release his parents from Egyptian prisons, where both have been detained without charge for over 450 days, the mother in solitary confinement. The pressure comes amid EU plans to increase cooperation with Cairo.

France's finance minister Bruno Le Maire warned Italy on Monday that all eurozone countries must respect the EU's budget rules - as Rome pledged to boost spending despite warnings from Brussels. "I just want to make very clear that there are rules, and the rules are the same for every state, because our futures are linked," he told reporters ahead of a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Luxembourg.

While road fatalities have more than halved since 2001, 25,300 people still lost their lives on EU roads in 2017 and another 135,000 were seriously injured. The Commission is proposing that new models of vehicles are equipped with advanced safety features.

A diplomatic tussle has broken over the European Union's flagship defence cooperation pact, amid warnings that the bloc could cut itself off from major allies like the US and post-Brexit Britain.

In Austria, Pamela Rendi-Wagner is the new woman leading the social democrats. But what does the largely unknown doctor stand for? EURACTIV Germany reports.

The United States and Canada forged a last-gasp deal on Sunday (30 September) to salvage NAFTA as a trilateral pact with Mexico, rescuing a three-country, $1.2 trillion open-trade zone that had been about to collapse after nearly a quarter century.

Written by Marcin Szczepański (1st edition),

© Pixelot / Fotolia

For the next long-term EU budget framework (2021-2027), the Commission is proposing a new, dedicated €4 billion programme aimed at empowering and protecting consumers, and enabling Europe’s many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to take better advantage of a well-functioning single market. The financial envelope will be supplemented with the additional allocation of €2 billion under the InvestEU Fund, in particular through its SME window.

The new programme aims to strengthen and streamline the governance of the EU’s internal market. It will support the competitiveness of business, and promote human, animal and plant health and a safe food chain, as well as financing European statistics to provide reliable data relevant to the single market. The proposal consolidates and streamlines a wide range of activities that were previously financed separately, and bundles them into one programme. The aim here is to generate benefits in terms of flexibility, simplification and synergies, and eliminate overlaps.

Versions

• October 2018: ‘Supporting the single market beyond 2020‘ (1st edition)

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the programme for single market, competitiveness of enterprises, including small and medium-sized enterprises, and European statistics and repealing Regulations (EU) No 99/2013, (EU) No 1287/2013, (EU) No 254/2014, (EU) No 258/2014, (EU) No 652/2014 and (EU) 2017/826 Committee responsible: Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) COM(2018) 441
7.6.2018 Rapporteur: Nicola Danti (S&D, Italy) 2018/0231(COD) Shadow rapporteurs:

  Inese Vaidere (EPP, Latvia)
Jasenko Selimovic (ALDE, Sweden)
Igor Šoltes (Greens/EFA, Slovenia) Ordinary legislative procedure (COD) (Parliament and Council on equal footing – formerly ‘co-decision’) Next steps expected: Publication of draft report

 

 

 

 

 

Estimated breakdown of the single market programme elements

The power struggles in Germany's grand coalition, such as the Maaßen case, are eyed with growing concern from abroad. What does the EU think about the state of the Bundesregierung? EURACTIV Germany reports.

The EU's Justice Commissioner Věra Jourová has put pressure on Facebook to disclose further details of the massive security breach that impacted around fifty million users last week.

Italy's coalition government made up of the Five Star Movement and the League wants to add 27 billion euros to the public debt to finance the expansion of the welfare state. The money, which amounts to 2.4 percent of the GDP, would be used to fund basic security benefits for the poor and an early retirement scheme. EU Commissioner for Economic Affairs Pierre Moscovici called Italy's fresh debt plans "explosive". Commentators, too, warn of consequences that could rock the entire EU.

The referendum on the future name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (Fyrom) has failed owing to low voter turnout. Since the vote wasn't binding the issue can now be presented to parliament for it to give its verdict. Commentators are still hopeful that the compromise negotiated with Athens will be successful.