European Union

With European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for people who exercise outdoors.

You do not need to be a member of a gym to exercise. City streets, parks and green belt areas offer plenty of space to walk, run, practise yoga or do other bodyweight exercises. We cannot influence the weather, but there are other ways in which the public space can be made more inviting for people who want to exercise outdoors. One is by offering more and better purpose-built facilities, such as protected cycle paths, athletics tracks, pull-up bars and outdoor ice skating rinks. The other is by improving air quality, which can be a significant disincentive to exercising outdoors in urban centres.

Twitter Hashtag #EUandME

© baranq / Fotolia

Local and national authorities take the urban planning decisions that shape facilities in public parks and the space given to walkers and cyclists, but the EU does influence those decisions by promoting greener urban planning through sustainable urban transport plans, including by handing out annual prizes and offering detailed guidance on how to improve city transport networks, step by step. The EU’s urban air quality standards are among the strictest in the world, allowing less than half as much nitrogen dioxide as the US or Canada. By encouraging people to switch to exercise-intensive transportation like cycling, and by attracting people outside with cleaner air, the EU is helping people who want to exercise outdoors.

Further information

• EPRS publication on cleaner air for Europe, 2017, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2017/603237/EPRS_BRI(2017)603237_EN.pdf
• EPRS publication on moving cycling forward, 2016 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2016/582033/EPRS_IDA(2016)582033_EN.pdf
• EPRS publication on EU sport policy, 2015 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2015/565908/EPRS_IDA(2015)565908_EN.pdf
• EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service: www.epthinktank.eu

A no-deal Brexit is not an option for Britain’s car industry, given the costs and disruption that carmakers and consumers would suffer, the head of the country’s automobile industry group said today (31 July). Mike Hawes, chief executive of the...

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt will visit Paris and Vienna this week to discuss Brexit and warn of the costs to Britain and the European Union of failing to reach a transition deal, his office said on Tuesday.

Romanian police on Monday confiscated the number plates and driving licence of a man who registered his car in Sweden with letters featuring an obscene insult to the left-wing ruling party.

Agriculture will be part of the negotiations between the United States and the European Union, whether Brussels wants to discuss it or not, US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said Monday (30 July).

Macedonia's parliament yesterday (30 July) set 30 September as the date for a referendum on changing the country's name to the Republic of North Macedonia, a high-stakes vote aimed at resolving a long-running row with Greece and clearing the path to join NATO and the EU.

US President Donald Trump traded smiles, handshakes and compliments with Italy's populist leader Giuseppe Conte Monday (30 July), as the two rightists presented a united front on everything from Russia to immigration.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has included Morroco's pending demands of resources for border management, in a letter addressed to the European Commission requesting further emergency assistance to tackle the surge in migrant arrivals.

The Council has extended the mandate of the EU training mission until 19 September 2020 and expanded its scope.

The Council extended the mandate of EUNAVFOR Somalia Operation Atalanta until 31 December 2020. It relocated the OHQ to Rota (Spain) and the MSCHOA to Brest France, and appointed Vice Admiral Antonio Martorell Lacave as new Operation Commander as of 29 March 2019.

The meeting of the European Council will take place on 18 October 2018 in the Europa building in Brussels. The press centre is located in the Justus Lipsius building.

The headquarters of the EU’s anti-piracy missions off the coast of Somalia will be moved from the UK to France and Spain next year as the latest consequence of Brexit.

Written by Agnieszka Widuto (1st edition),

© Thomas Reimer / Fotolia

The European Commission adopted the proposal on the establishment of the Reform Support Programmeon 31 May 2018, as part of the package for the upcoming multiannual financial framework for 2021-2027. The programme will provide financial and technical support for Member States to implement reforms aimed at increasing the resilience and modernising their economies, including priority reforms identified in the European Semester.

The overall budget for the programme is €25 billion. It comprises three elements: a reform delivery tool (financial support); a Technical Support Instrument (technical expertise, building on the current Structural Reform Support Programme 2017-2020); and a convergence facility (preparation for adopting the euro). The Reform Support Programme will be open to all Member States on a voluntary basis, with no co-financing required.

In the European Parliament, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and Committee on Budgets (BUDG) will work jointly on this file under Rule 55 of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure. The next step is the publication of the draft report, expected in autumn 2018.

Versions:

• July 2018: Reform Support Programme 2021 2027 (1st edition)

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of the Reform Support Programme Committees responsible:

Rapporteurs:

 

  Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and Budgets (BUDG) (jointly under Rule 55)

Caroline Nagtegaal (ALDE, the Netherlands)

Eider Gardiazabal Rubial (S&D, Spain)

  COM(2018) 391 of 31.5.2018

2018/0213 (COD)

Ordinary legislative procedure (COD) (Parliament and Council on equal footing – formerly ‘co-decision’) Next steps expected: Publication of draft report

 

EU states have decided to move the HQ of their Atalanta anti-piracy mission from the UK to Spain and France due to Brexit.

While Twitter and EU bubble publications are flooded with photos of protesting crowds and "chains of light" in front of the presidential palace, the Law and Justice-controlled senate has adopted a law restructuring the electoral code for 2019's European elections.

The Macedonian parliament adopted on Monday the question for the referendum on 30 September on the agreement with Greece about the country's name: "Are you in favour of European Union and NATO membership by accepting the agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Greece?" Under the agreement, signed in June, the country's official name will be North Macedonia.

The implementation of a 2016 cybersecurity directive - meant to protect vital services - is facing delays.

Acceleration of technological development provides huge opportunities for qualified employees. In an interview with EURACTIV Poland, Christian Bodewig from the World Bank Group explains how non-routine skills and competences not yet possessed by machines become increasingly relevant.

As Europe is waking up to the Chinese party-state’s growing influence inside its territory, China experts in Europe need to make themselves heard, write Tabitha Speelman and  Matej Šimalčík.

Written by Tatjana Evas,

Fotolia

As a follow-up to the European Parliament resolution of 9 June 2016 calling for an open, efficient and independent European Union administration – 2016/2610(RSP), rapporteur: Heidi Hautala (Greens/EFA, Finland) – the Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) asked the European Parliamentary Research Service’s European Added Value Unit to carry out a public consultation. The aim of the consultation was to survey public opinion, first, on general perceptions and attitudes towards the EU administration; second, on personal experience in dealing with the EU institutions; and, third, on further action that the EU should take in the area of EU administrative law to address the shortcomings identified.

In response to the consultation, the Parliament received 166 fully completed online responses from 20 EU Member States. Incomplete responses were not taken into consideration for analysis but not for statistical purposes. Among the 166 completed responses, 155 contributions came from individuals and 11 from organisations.

The key findings of the public consultations are summarised in figure 1 below:

Specific trends:

General perceptions of the EU administration were mixed: 52 % had a positive perception while 36 % had a negative perception of the functioning of the EU institutions. Professional interests, direct experience and media were three main sources of information underpinning the opinions formed by respondents regarding the EU administration. Perceived general awareness of what services the EU institutions provided for the public and companies was high: 73.5 % of respondents indicated that they knew what services were provided by the EU institutions. At the same time, only 45.8 % of all respondents indicated that they were familiar with their right to submit a petition to the European Parliament.

Experiences with the EU institutions were also mixed: 24 % of respondents had a negative experience, 30 % mixed and 46 % positive. The European Commission, European Parliament and EU agencies were the administrations with which respondents had had most direct contact. Access to documents (46 %); requests for general information (44 %) and EPSO competitions (31 %) were the top three reasons for respondents having had contact with the EU administration. The three main problems contributing to negative experiences included the length of the procedure (42 %), difficulty in finding information (37 %), and the quality of the reply received (30 %).

There was a high level of support from the respondents (76 %) for additional measures at EU level to reinforce EU administrative procedures. The two main reasons why respondents would like the EU to take action were: to improve efficiency (57 %), and to improve the transparency (50 %) of the EU administration. In response to the question on how the EU should best reinforce the functioning of the EU administration, 82 % of respondents were in favour of adopting a new law (52 % supported a new law setting out minimum standards, while 30 % supported a new law with full harmonisation). The proportion of respondents who supported the adoption of a non-binding code of conduct was low (7 %). While not in favour of a new law, 23% of respondents would prefer the EU to improve existing legislation; similarly, 23 % did not support a new law but would rather see measures focusing on technical ways to simplify public access to the EU administration.

Read the complete study on ‘EU law for an open independent and efficient European administration: Summary report of the public consultation‘.