European Union

Makhlouf v Council
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The Court of Justice confirms that the fund-freezing measures imposed on Rami Makhlouf, cousin of Bashar al-Assad, must be maintained for the period 2016-2017

Italy's EU minister has said the euro was "indispensable", reassuring markets amid uncertainty over populist rule in Rome.

Norwegian MPs to vote on providing €29.5m in funding for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project.

Next month Supreme Court judges could be removed in Poland - due to a controversial reform seen as a judicial purge by a government that wants to control the courts. The European Commission wants Warsaw to act now.

Four steps towards making globalisation work better, and improving cooperation between China and the EU.

The EU commission on Wednesday presented plans to spend more money on defence and security in the next long-term EU budget 2021-2027. A €13bn European Defence Fund will be invested in areas such as encrypted software and drone technology. A new €10.5bn European Peace Facility, will be set aside to improve the EU's ability to prevent conflicts, build peace and guarantee international security.

Winner of 'World's Best Mayor', Mechelen's Bart Somers has invited Hungary's PM to visit. "You know, in the whole of Hungary with 10million inhabitants, they have less Muslims than we have in a small city of 90,000," he told EUobserver.

The prosecutor's office in Braunschweig, Germany, has fined car giant Volkswagen €1bn for selling 10.7 million cars between 2007 and 2015 that had emissions-test-cheating software installed. The car firm admitted responsibility for the diesel scandal and said it did not plan to appeal against the fine, but expected it to end criminal proceedings in Europe. The fine does not exclude civil claims or claims by vehicle owners.

A large majority in the European parliament agreed on Wednesday to cut the number of members from currently 751 to 705 after Brexit. Of the 73 current UK seats, 27 will be redistributed among 14 countries currently under-represented, while 46 seats are held in reserve for new member states to join the bloc. EU leaders are expected to greenlight the plan at their summit in Brussels on 28-29 June.

Following Italy's rejection of migrant rescue ship Aquarius, a US navy ship that rescued 41 migrants off the coast of Libya on Tuesday is waiting to been assigned a port of safety. German aid organisation Sea-Watch pledged "for the sake of the people" that "the nearest port of safety can be entered". A US navy spokesman said that negotiations with the "international partners" on how to proceed are underway.

Written by Svetla Tanova-Encke,

© Shutterstock / Sunny studio

More than ever, science and new technologies surround us in our daily lives. Equally, more than ever, it seems that nobody understands enough about this. Digital communications, artificial intelligence, big data: you do not have to be a high-tech geek to see the impact new technologies are already having on our lives. However, how can average citizens find their way through scientific or pseudo-scientific claims, whom should they trust in the post-truth world, where even issues on which scientists are virtually unanimous, like climate change or vaccines, are heavily questioned and debated?

‘Science is not finished until it’s communicated’, Mark Walport, who was Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK government, once said. ‘Communication to wider audiences is part of the job of being a scientist, and so how you communicate is absolutely vital.’

In this context, science communication plays an important role in helping citizens understand the issues at stake. A constant dialogue between the actors involved in the scientific endeavour – scientists, communicators, policy-makers and journalists – is essential. The European Science-Media Hub (ESMH), newly launched by STOA, should serve as a platform for such dialogue between the European Parliament, the scientific community and the media.

Creating a network

The first task of the Science-Media Hub is to establish contacts with partners from the scientific community, among science journalists and from other relevant stakeholders.

It is important to work across disciplines and across institutions. The Science-Media Hub has already set up an Interinstitutional Advisory Board consisting of representatives from the European Parliament (STOA and DG COMM), the European Commission (DG RTD, DG CONNECT and the Joint Research Centre (JRC)), the European Institute of Innovation &Technology (EIT) and the European Research Council (ERC) Executive Agency.

Monitoring media and innovation

The ESMH will monitor the trends in media coverage of science topics as they happen. Via media monitoring tools the Hub will work to identify the most debated topics in different scientific categories across a wide variety of mainstream media. The team will use additional means to take a closer look at the information streamed on social media. In parallel, the ESMH will identify science-based information, scientists and scientific articles on specific topics, gathering information from scientific publications.

Online platform and knowledge sharing

In the meantime, the ESMH team is working on an online platform for the Hub. The webpage will provide articles on popular topics in the field of science and new technologies, written in a citizen-friendly style. The webpage will also disseminate trustworthy sources of information and promote EU and EP research.

Training for journalists

The ESMH would like to empower quality science journalism through access to such trustworthy information, as well as contacts with scientists and policy-makers. The main target group of the ESMH will be science journalists, young media representatives, science communicators, writers, bloggers and other communication practitioners.

For this audience, the ESMH will organise training and workshops on current technological developments, both as subjects of their reporting and as means of facilitating their work. The first of these will be organised in the autumn by the ESMH team, together with their colleagues in STOA and DG COMM of the European Parliament, and will look into the issue of how big data and algorithms can influence elections.

Many more interesting events are to come, so stay tuned and be sure to follow the activities of the European Science-Media Hub via the EPRS blog and Twitter!

The Bulgarian public channel bTV released footage of busloads of Turkish nationals of Bulgarian origin, coming to their country of birth to vote for the 24 June election.

Greece and its creditors are getting closer to a deal on a debt relief package to be sealed during the next Eurogroup meeting on 21 June, senior EU officials said on Wednesday (13 June).

Two draft laws which will be voted on during the European Parliament's plenary session on Thursday (14 June) could lead to more job insecurity for lorry drivers. EURACTIV.fr reports.

Almost two decades after the NATO bombing of Serbia, local authorities there have launched an investigation to determine whether depleted uranium bombs were used, which could explain in surge in autoimmune diseases. EURACTIV.rs reports.

The adoption of an outcome-based approach regarding the remuneration of medicines should take into account the entire chain, including the distributors, René Jenny, President of the European Healthcare Distribution Association (GIRP), told EURACTIV.com.

Germany's foreign minister called for the European Union to become a more self-confident global actor, prepared to take counter-measures when the United States crosses "red lines" and able to respond to Russian threats and Chinese growth.

Talks on renewable energy policy in Europe reached un unexpected breakthrough early this morning after negotiators from the European Parliament and  EU member states were able to reach a compromise on a 32% headline objective and a complete phase out of palm oil use in transport by 2030.

The EU wants to pay for military equipment, including lethal weaponry, for partner countries in crisis zones such as Africa's Sahel region as part of a €10.5-billion "peace facility" launched on Wednesday (13 June).

The representatives of the governments of the member states appointed two judges to the Court of Justice of the European Union.