European Union

Luka Modrić has been named Best Fifa Footballer of the year. The Real Madrid midfielder and Croatian national team captain dethroned Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who have shared the honour for the past decade. Commentators - in particular the Croatian ones - are delighted at the distinction and that someone else has won the trophy.

While France seems to be in the process of getting back on track with regard to international solidarity, some ambiguities in the 2019 budget are a cause of concern for NGOs. EURACTIV France reports.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) released fresh data, which re-confirm the toxicity of copper compounds, pesticides that are used in organic farming.

EDA’s 2018 Military Airworthiness Conference, organised in Madrid with the support of the Dirección General de Armamento y Material (DGAM) of the Spanish Ministry of Defence, was opened on 26 September by EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq.

The two-day event brings together key stakeholders from national authorities, industry, European agencies and international organisations, to exchange views and best practices related to the harmonisation of European military airworthiness rules and standards. Common airworthiness approaches and standards are viewed as critical enablers for enhanced European defence cooperation. 

In his opening speech, EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq thanked the Spanish authorities for hosting the event and for their strong support and involvement in the MAWA Forum. He recalled the creation of the Forum 10 years ago and stressed that since then, a comprehensive set of European Military Airworthiness Requirements (EMARs) was developed and implemented by Member States. 

“Although the levels of EMAR-implementation vary from country to country, based on this harmonised approach a total of 40 recognitions between military airworthiness authorities have been signed in the last five years and are now viewed as cornerstones for the structural cooperation between authorities. I would call this a remarkable result”, Mr Domecq stated.

In addition, the MAWA initiative is getting stronger attention outside Europe, on a global level. “Several non-EDA participating nations (e.g Norway, Denmark, Switzerland and Australia) have embraced the same approach, are in the process of implementing EMAR’s in their national systems and are engaged in mutual recognitions with National Military Airworthiness Authorities”, he said.

Furthermore, Member States are now acknowledging that harmonised safety requirements are beneficial for everyone, even beyond the airworthiness domain. “As a result, Member States have tasked EDA to develop a proposal for the progressive introduction of a Total System Approach to Military Aviation on the basis of two pilot projects, notably RPAS and military transport aircraft. This proposal, that should give a new impetus to the harmonisation of safety requirements in military aviation, will be presented to Member States at the end of this year”, the EDA Chief Executive announced. 

He also stressed the “outstanding cooperative relationship with NATO” in the area of military aviation. 
 

Background

The Military Airworthiness Authorities (MAWA) Forum oversees the development and maintenance of the European Military Airworthiness Requirements (EMARs) and promotes ways and means to harmonise the military airworthiness oversight across Europe. 

A central theme of this year’s conference is the implementation of a new airworthiness roadmap as a next step in the progressive alignment of airworthiness approaches in Europe. In this context, participants exchange views on the impact the EMARs have had so far, both on the regulated community and the military airworthiness authorities. The conference also addresses the challenges of transitioning towards EMAR-based regulations in the coming years. Other topics on the agenda are the evolution of the cooperation framework between national military airworthiness authorities, as well as global developments.

Rittinger and Others
State aid
Advocate General Campos Sánchez-Bordona proposes that the Court of Justice declare that the amendment to the criterion used for charging the fee which finances public service broadcasters in Germany does not constitute unlawful State aid

Philips and Philips France v Commission
Competition
In the context of the cartel in the smart card chip market, the Court refers the case involving Infineon Technologies back to the General Court to assess the proportionality of the fine imposed, and dismisses the appeal lodged by Philips

The UN general assembly in New York, the world's largest diplomatic event, turned into a show of EU solidarity with Russia and China against the US on Tuesday.

UK prime minister Theresa May has ruled out calls for holding a general election before Brexit day. Speaking to reporters on her way to New York for the UN General Assembly she said elections "would not be in the national interest". She also maintained that Britain would reach a Brexit deal despite the current stalemate in talks with Brussels, and ruled out a second Brexit referendum.

Former French prime minister Manuel Valls on Tuesday announced his candidacy as the Spanish centre-right anti-independence party Ciudadanos' candidate to become mayor of Barcelona. Valls was prime minister between 2014 and 2016 for socialist president Francois Hollande. He was born in Barcelona and has French and Spanish citizenship.The election will be held on 26 May 2019.

German chancellor Angela Merkel's close ally for the past 13 years, Volker Kauder, was Tuesday ousted as head of her CDU party's parliamentary group in an internal party ballot. The surprise victory of his deputy, Ralph Brinkhaus, was interpreted by German media as a sign Merkel's rule might be coming to an end.

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Oban sent thank-you letters to MEPs who opposed triggering the so-called article 7 against Hungary in a vote in the European parliament on 12 September. "I appreciate the support you've shown towards national sovereignty and solidarity during the vote," said the letter. A large majority voted 448-197 to invoke article 7 against Hungary for serious breaches of EU values.

Written by Magdalena Pasikowska-Schnass,

© Zubada / Fotolia

The citizens of the European Union communicate in its 24 official languages, approximately 60 regional and minority languages, and 31 national and regional sign languages. Some of these have many millions of native and foreign speakers, whereas others are spoken by just a few thousand people each.

Dominant languages can threaten the survival of ‘smaller’ ones with many fewer native speakers and which thus need protection. Multilingualism policy in areas such as language teaching and learning, and translation and interpretation, is necessary to facilitate communication among various language communities and for supporting languages with fewer speakers. Moreover, unaddressed language barriers hinder the economy of individual Member States and the EU in general.

The digital shift and ICT technologies open rich possibilities of expression and business, yet these are not spread equally across language communities. Smaller languages are under-represented in digital environments, which could entail their digital extinction. New technologies can facilitate language learning, translation and interpretation. However, paradoxically, the smaller languages, which could benefit the most from these technologies, are the least resourced in data, in researchers specialising in both language and technology, and in human and financial means.

Some solutions to these challenges could emerge from EU-supported and coordinated projects, a clear focus on language technologies in EU policies, and dedicated funding, provided in the clear awareness that these challenges not only have a human dimension but also economic implications for the digital single market and the economy of the EU as a whole.

Read this briefing on ‘Languages and the Digital Single Market‘ on the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

German high-end carmaker BMW said Tuesday (25 September) that new stricter emissions tests for cars as well as refits to older vehicles and global trade tensions would leave revenues and profits short of its full-year forecast.

Music streaming services Spotify and Deezer joined European business and industry bodies in calling on EU regulators to take tougher action to curb what they say are the unfair practices of online platforms.