European Union

An outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes in five EU countries - Finland, United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark and Austria - has cost ten people their lives, with the latest victim, a Danish patient, on Thursday confirmed to have died from the bacteria, according to the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration. Frozen corn and vegetables from Hungary are the likely source of the outbreak, according to the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA).

After a meeting in Vienna on Thursday (5 July), Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz welcomed Germany’s decision to send back rejected asylum seekers to the EU countries where they first came in – namely Italy, Greece and Spain.

So-called “capacity mechanisms” are being set up across EU member states to remunerate power stations that remain on standby in case of demand peak. While a European framework is needed to regulate those schemes, Fabien Roques believes they should be adapted to local circumstances. EURACTIV.fr reports.

According to an article by French daily Le Monde, Austria, which currently holds the  six-month rotating presidency of the EU, sent troubling proposals to EU member states to reform the right of asylum. EURACTIV.fr reports.

The EU and China are speeding up preparatory work for their bilateral summit in Beijing in mid-July. The two sides are trying to agree on a joint position despite differences on trade issues including subsidies and market access.

This week, proper migration solution still a pipe-dream, angry interpreters let off some steam, and the Parliament copyright vote saves the meme… for now.

The promise of future integration in the European Union helped many states on their journey to full democracy, writes Ditmir Bushati.

The leaders of the European Parliament’s political groups decided on 5 July to grant the Environment Committee “shared competence” with the Agriculture Committee in the environmental aspects of the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

German interior minister says European solution is "a matter for the heads of government" - throwing the gauntlet back to his boss, Angela Merkel.

At this critical time, with climate change increasingly urgent and with reactionary, anti-science forces threatening processes of cooperation, the EU climate mission can reassert the common values and aspirations which Europeans share.

German chancellor Angela Merkel warned her British counterpart, prime minister Theresa May, that "time is growing short" to find a Brexit deal, as the pair met in Berlin on Thursday. "The negotiations are reaching a decisive phase," Merkel said as she welcomed May to her office. "The political framework has to be declared already in October, so the British government's decisions over the next few days will be important."

Croatia joined the EU five years ago to the month but what has bloc membership done for the Balkan nation over the last half-decade?

Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has mooted the prospect of EU leaders agreeing to extend Article 50 talks with the UK in a bid to avoid a ‘no deal’ Brexit that analysts say would have a serious negative impact on the economy on both sides of the Channel.

Though the EU has lately been busy dealing with issues such as Brexit and the migration crisis, it has found time to talk of the integration of the Western Balkans. A steady integration of the region is good news indeed as this could lead to a federalised Europe and a complete Union, writes Bernard Kouchner.

A thin majority of MEPs blocked a controversial copyright bill from moving on to the next phase of negotiations in a dramatic vote on Thursday (5 July) that followed weeks of intense lobbying from tech companies, publishers, musicians and internet rights campaigners.

The European Parliament decided to take more time studying proposed changes to the EU's copyright regime, amidst fears of 'upload filters' - and accusations of scaremongering.

Non-EU countries that export animals and animal products to the bloc will have to abide by new rules on veterinary medicines when it comes to the use of antibiotics, according to the European Commission.

While French President Emmanuel Macron fights the corner of climate diplomacy, actions carried out by the French government led by Edouard Philippe mainly defend industrial interests. EURACTIV.fr reports.

Written by Angelos Delivorias (1st edition),

© designer491 / Fotolia

Investment funds are products created to pool investors’ capital and to invest it in a collective portfolio of securities. In the European Union, the characteristics of a range of different types of investment funds have been established in Union law, and most funds on the market are categorised as one of these types. The market in the EU is smaller than in the United States, despite there being far more funds in the EU. This is the reason why the European Commission has adopted two legislative proposals: one for a regulation aligning national marketing requirements and regulatory fees and harmonising the process and requirements for the verification of marketing material by national competent authorities, and the other for a directive harmonising the conditions under which investment funds may exit a national market and allowing European asset managers to engage in pre-marketing activities.

Versions

• July 2018: ‘Cross-border distribution of investment funds‘ (1st edition)

Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2009/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to cross-border distribution of collective investment funds;
Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on facilitating cross-border distribution of collective investment funds and amending Regulations (EU) No 345/2013 and (EU) No 346/2013 Committee responsible: Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) COM(2018) 92
COM(2018) 110
12.3.2018 

2018/0041 (COD)
2018/0045 (COD)

Ordinary legislative procedure (COD) (Parliament and Council on equal footing – formerly ‘co-decision’) Rapporteur: Wolf Klinz (ALDE, Germany) Shadow rapporteurs:

  Alain Lamassoure (EPP, France)
Mady Delvaux (S&D, Luxembourg)
Syed Kamall (ECR, UK)
Matt Carthy (GUE/NGL, Ireland) Next steps expected: Publication of draft report.

A solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is possible but hostile rhetoric is counter-productive argues Hikmat Hajiyev.