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 antibiotic users.

Antibiotics are a very useful drug when you are sick and the doctor tells you that you need to take them. However, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global threat to public health. It occurs when bacteria and other microbes, like viruses and fungi, develop resistance to drugs, especially antibiotics, used to treat the infections they cause. Although resistance appears naturally over time, it is accelerated by factors like overuse of antimicrobial medicines on humans and animals. In the EU alone it is estimated that infections caused by resistant microbes are responsible for 25 000 deaths a year. Some forecasts say that by 2050, drug-resistant infections could cause more deaths than cancer.

© Kenishirotie / Fotolia

For almost two decades, the European Union has been working on a solution to AMR. It strives to strengthen existing good practices and to support countries fighting AMR in both humans and animals. For instance, the EU promotes prudent use of antimicrobials and improved infection prevention. Every November, European Antibiotic Awareness Day promotes the responsible use of antibiotics, as many people are not aware of the risks of misusing antibiotics. The EU also aims to improve cooperation related to activities on AMR across the EU, targeting all actors who play a role in antimicrobial drug usage, such as the pharmaceutical industry. EU funds have been invested in, for example, common research efforts to develop new effective antibiotics. Moreover, the EU has reinforced cooperation with international organisations and third countries on surveillance and research.

Further information

• European Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Food Safety website, https://ec.europa.eu/health/amr/antimicrobial-resistance_en
• European Commission’s Directorate General for Research and Innovation website, https://ec.europa.eu/research/health/index.cfm?pg=area&areaname=amdr
• European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control’s website, https://ecdc.europa.eu/en/antimicrobial-resistance

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 beekeepers.

If you are one of the EU’s 600 000 professional or amateur beekeepers, offering consumers the much loved product that is honey, you are also undoubtedly well aware of the vital contribution that your activity makes to environmental conservation and food production. Indeed, your bees help to produce more than 200 000 tonnes of honey a year and, in doing so, ensure natural pollination for over 80 % of Europe’s cultivated crops and wild plants. Nevertheless, you may find it hard to keep your activity economically profitable in the face of threats to bee health and strong competition on the honey market. EU policies can play an important role in helping you cope with these challenges.

© Jaroslav Moravcik / Fotolia

For example, EU funds can cover up to half the cost of measures to address major issues such as bee health, hive management and product quality. Also, beekeeping products can benefit from promotional campaigns co-financed by the EU and from EU quality labels that can increase their economic potential on the market. More than 30 types of honey have already received an EU label of protected designation of origin (PDO) or protected geographical indication (PGI).

Furthermore, the EU policy-makers’ dialogue with stakeholders helps to define policies to support beekeeping indirectly, for example by promoting agricultural and environmental policies that prevent the deterioration of bees’ habitats, by fighting cases of food fraud, such as honey adulteration, and by funding research projects to study bee health problems and the high mortality rate registered in recent decades.

Further information

• EPRS publication ‘The EU’s beekeeping sector’, www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/ATAG/2017/608786/EPRS_ATA(2017)608786_EN.pdf
• EPRS publication ‘Les abeilles dans l’UE: un bilan de santé inquiétant’, www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/bibliotheque/briefing/2014/140792/LDM_BRI(2014)140792_REV1_FR.pdf
• European Commission’s website on honey bees, www.ec.europa.eu/food/animals/live_animals/bees_en

The EU's Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström warned at a press conference on Friday (1 June) that "the US is playing a dangerous game" and announced measures the EU will launch in "a matter of weeks" against US trade restrictions on steel and aluminium. But she admitted it was a "very difficult, dangerous situation".

Weekly schedule of President Donald Tusk 4-10 June 2018

The African, Caribbean and Pacific group of states and the EU adopted a joint declaration on climate change during the ACP-EU Council of ministers that took place in Lomé (Togo) on 31 May and 1 June 2018.

President Donald Tusk congratulated Giuseppe Conte on his appointment as Prime Minister of Italy.

President Donald Tusk congratulated Pedro Sánchez on his appointment as Prime Minister of Spain.

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

President Tusk received the letters of credentials from two new ambassadors to the European Union.

Coming weeks will be key to see how Giuseppe Conte and Pedro Sanchez can influence the bloc's policies.

Finance ministers of the EU's three Nordic countries have urged partners to shelve plans to tax large corporations for their digital turnover. The digital economy should be taxed where value is created, they say.

The European Commission has shifted responsibility of how to achieve climate goals to member states in proposed reforms to its agricultural aid budget.

Europeans, especially Spaniards and Italians, must be wrapping up this working week with a sense of dizziness.

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EU Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs meet on 4 and 5 June 2018 in Luxembourg to discuss various topics including insolvency, contract law and parental responsibility. Jointly, home affairs and justice ministers also discuss the draft legislation on e-evidence. On the second day, ministers cover different aspects of the EU migration, security and terrorism policy.

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Brexit Secretary David Davis is drawing up plans for a 10-mile area around the 310-mile border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, in the UK government’s latest bid to square the circle on its future customs relations with the EU and avoid a ‘hard border’.

The European Commission unveiled on Friday (1 June) its plans for the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy, triggering a strong reaction from EU farmers and the environmental community for cutting the budget, giving member states too much leeway and fudging environmental and climate issues.

MIgration will be back in the EU limelight as interior ministers discuss the latest proposals on asylum. Italy's new minister is a fan of Orban and has vowed mass deportations.

The European Commission proposed on Friday that recipients of EU farm subsidies should be capped at €100,000 - except if the surplus amount is spent on wages. Initially EU agriculture commissioner Phil Hogan said the maximum would be set at €60,000, but "some member states" made objections. "We don't want unintended consequences of having a very serious financial burden imposed on businesses, particularly in our eastern European countries," said Hogan.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, plagued by corruption scandals, lost a confidence vote in the Spanish parliament on Friday (1 June) and will be replaced by opposition leader Pedro Sánchez, a socialist who vowed to call elections soon.

The European Parliament calls for the accession of Romania, Croatia and Bulgaria to the passport-free Schengen area, which has suffered setbacks with the reintroduction of internal border checks since 2015. EURACTIV.fr reports.