European Union

Over the past months, discussion has heated up regarding the use and safety of pesticides in Europe. All stakeholders are calling for a transparent and science-based approach. But how can policy-makers ensure that the authorisation procedure really is based on sound research?

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The European External Action Service was established following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in late 2009. It serves as a foreign ministry and diplomatic corps for the EU, under the authority of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

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The EU is set to impose €2.8billion worth in tariffs on US exports in early July in response to duties Donald Trump's administration has levied on European steel and aluminium, the European Commission confirmed on Wednesday (6 June).

Information about accreditation requirements for the European Council in June

"Who do I call if I want to speak to Europe?" The quote is associated with Henry Kissinger but he never actually said it. He knew very well who to call if he wanted to. Similarly, European institutions have no problem with reaching out to European philanthropy, Felix Oldenburg writes.

The European Commission as of 4 June is allowing Oxfam access to EU funding, which it froze following media revelations of a sex abuse scandal by the Times newspaper earlier this year. The commission says Oxfam has put in place "adequate mechanisms" to prevent, detect, and respond to cases of sexual misconduct. It says "resumption will be done on a case by case basis, contract by contract with strict monitoring."

The European Commission adopted Wednesday an update of the Blocking Statute, a 1996 regulation that allows EU companies to dodge US extraterritorial sanctions. It added to the regulation's scope sanctions the US would impose on EU companies that do business with Iran after the US pulled of the Iran nuclear deal. The EU executive also modified the European Investment Bank's mandate to allow it to support projects in Iran.

The European Commission confirmed on Wednesday that the EU will start to impose in July extra duties on US products valued at up to €2.8bn of trade, in reaction to tariffs on EU steel and aluminium that the US launched on 1 June. Member states will have to agree on which products will taxed, from a list that was prepared in March.

The Erasmus Days in October are an opportunity for the European Parliament to encourage young people to vote in the upcoming European elections next May. As many as 72% of those under 25 did not vote in the previous elections in 2014. EURACTIV.fr reports.

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EU Ministers for Transport, Infrastructure, and Communications meet on 7 and 8 June 2018 in Luxembourg to discuss topics of transport and telecommunications. The agenda includes, among other topics, key proposals on drivers' driving and rest times, the posting of road hauliers and cabotage restrictions; safeguarding competition in air transport; port reception facilities for the delivery of waste from ships; electronic road tolling and exchange of information; and the use of hired vehicles. On the second day, the Council is due to agree on a general approach on a proposed Cybersecurity Act regulation. Ministers discuss a proposal to update privacy rules for electronic communications (ePrivacy), and a draft directive to promote the re-use of public sector information.

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An international conference was held in Astana on Tuesday (5 June) to mark the 20th anniversary of Kazakhstan's new capital. Dubbed Tselinograd during Soviet times, it was renamed Astana (meaning capital city in Kazakh) in 1998 and is now rebranding itself as a go-to venue for international mediation talks.

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In this section you will find footage of the meetings of Donald TUSK, President of the European Council.

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European Union anti-fraud investigators suspect Greece and Hungary may have become the main EU centers of a multi-million-euro scam involving imports of Chinese clothing and footwear that uses the infrastructure of China’s new “Silk Road”.

Astana is celebrating its 20th anniversary as capital of Kazakhstan. A remarkable city with futuristic buildings, Astana has positioned itself as a centre that hosts many important events and is developing as a financial hub in Eurasia.

Europe and Africa need a partnership which should focus on the new realities in both regions. Europe can become the region's main partner during its transformative revolution if it listens to civil society representatives, writes Shada Islam.

Lawmakers agreed to cap the price of phone calls and SMS messages between EU countries and sealed a deal to encourage investment in fast internet networks during a late-night meeting on Wednesday (6 June).

A group of MEPs led by Dutch liberal Sophia in 't Veld and called the "Rule of Law monitoring group", is to monitor Malta's investigation into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia amid lack of faith in Maltese due process. The group, created Tuesday by the civil liberties committee in the European Parliament, has a mandate to conduct fact-finding missions and hearings until the end of the year.

The anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats (SD) party is on course to win one in five votes in elections in September, an opinion poll by the country's statistical office said Tuesday. SD polled to win 18.5 percent of votes, up 5.6 points on 2014 elections. The ruling, centre-left Social Democrats polled at 28.3 percent (down 2.7 points) and the main centre-right opposition party, the Moderates, got 22.6 percent (down 0.7).

Turkish fighter jets repeatedly violated Greek airspace Tuesday in an area overhead the Greek defence minister's visit to the Aegean island of Psaros in what Athens saw as revenge for its decision, on Monday, to free eight Turkish officers who fled there after the failed coup in Turkey in 2016 instead of extraditing them. Greece had become "a refuge for coup plotters," the Turkish foreign ministry said the same day.

Conservative Spanish prime minister Marian Rajoy took a swipe at his successor, the centre-left's Pedro Sanchez, Tuesday, in a tearful speech announcing his own resignation over a corruption scandal. He said Sanchez, who relied on the left-wing Podemos party and Catalan and Basque nationalist factions to get into power, would face a "stigma" or extremism that "will accompany this government from the first moment of its existence until the end".