European Union

The US has now imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from the EU, Mexico and Canada. Several of the countries affected by the measure have already made it clear that they plan to take concerted action against the measures. In Canada too, journalists are calling for a tough stance against Trump. But one European country is particularly concerned about the situation.

Normalising relations between Kosovo and Serbia is "the most complicated process in the Balkans at the moment", according to the head of the EU's office in Pristina. But both sides need steady encouragement from the international community to reach a final solution and progress towards EU membership.

The European Defence Agency’s Steering Board has given its green light to the development of a European Military Airworthiness Platform for Safety Information Exchange (EMAP SIX). This central database will enable participating Member States operating the same aircraft types to exchange airworthiness related safety information with relevant stakeholders on a need to know basis and in a secure environment. 

The database will make airworthiness related safety information in the military domain available on a single central platform at European level. As such, the database will facilitate cooperation between Member States, with relevant civil aviation safety stakeholders, and further increase trust in European Military Aviation. 

In a pilot phase, the MRTT and A400M common aircraft systems will be used for the initial development of the database. Subject to an evaluation of the results in the context of the European Military Airworthiness Authorities (MAWA) Forum, a further extension of the database to other aircraft systems is envisaged. 
 

Backgound

Operating common aircraft types in various national fleets also entails the existence of common technical safety risks. To mitigate identified 'unsafe conditions' effectively and to prevent hazardous or catastrophic events, competent airworthiness authorities coordinate the necessary measures with certificate holders and manufacturers by releasing mandatory safety information through the so-called ‘Airworthiness Directives’. 

Currently, the responsibility for processing this information is split between participating Member States' national authorities and other relevant aviation safety stakeholders. The establishment of a central database facilitating a uniform and consistent exchange of oversight information and obligations will provide for the further harmonisation of administrative processes used by participating Member States’ National Military Airworthiness Authorities, reduce the related administrative burden and contribute to maintaining a high safety level. Beyond that, it will support further cooperation among EU Member States when joining efforts in development, procurement and operation of military aircraft systems.

 

It is consequential that this year’s European Development Days, which start in Brussels today, are focused on women and girls. Gender equality is not only a moral imperative, but also key to progress for the economy, the environment, and social development, argues Melanne Verveer.

National justice ministers are pushing to create new powers for law enforcement authorities to intercept communication data in real time as part of their criminal investigations.

France v Parliament
Law governing the institutions
Advocate General Wathelet proposes that the Court should annul only the act by which the President of the Parliament declared in Brussels, and not in Strasbourg, that the general budget of the EU for 2017 was definitively adopted

Wirtschaftsakademie Schleswig-Holstein
Approximation of laws
The administrator of a fan page on Facebook is jointly responsible with Facebook for the processing of data of visitors to the page

Coman and Others
Citizenship of the Union
The term ‘spouse’ within the meaning of the provisions of EU law on freedom of residence for EU citizens and their family members includes spouses of the same sex

The Channel Tunnel provides a fast, frequent and reliable route accounting for €138 bn of trade and 21 million passengers each year. It has changed the way transport and logistics operate across the continent.

The UK Brexit bill will return to the House of Commons on 12 June, after the House of Lords rejected 15 amendments to the bill forcing the parliament to vote on them. MPs are expecting a "marathon session", with the vote going into the early hours of the following day. Shadow Brexit minister Jenny Chapman criticised having just a day to debate the bill.

Maros Sefcovic, Slovakia's EU commissioner confirmed on Monday that he is interested in succeeding Jean-Claude Juncker as the EU commission's president after the European elections next year. Speaking in the margins of the European Nuclear Forum in Bratislava he confirmed that he would seek the nomination as 'Spitzenkandidat' for European social democrats, promising to work for better relations between old and new member states.

Brussels should set a good example for saving, says Austria's chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, proposing in a Welt interview to downsize the European Commission from 28 to 18 members and to have only one seat for the European Parliament. "I think if we want to save in Europe, Brussels should set a good example and also reduce administrative spending," he said. Austria's takes over the EU presidency on 1 July.

UK prime minister Theresa May's promise to publish "ambitious and precise" plans for Brexit ahead of the EU summit on 28-29 June will be broken due to cabinet infighting. Senior government officials told UK press that the 150-page white paper would not be ready for the summit, because ministers remain deadlocked over future customs relationship with the EU and how to avoid a hard border in Ireland.

"We do not aim to divide anything or anyone in the EU," Russia's president Putin has said ahead of a visit to Vienna on Tuesday. "The more problems within the EU, the greater the risks and uncertainties for us," he told Austria's ORF station. Last week EU commission president Juncker said that "Russia-bashing has to be brought to an end". Austria takes over the EU presidency on 1 July.

Richard Grenell, the US ambassador to Germany, said he wants to empower other conservatives in Europe, sparking calls for his resignation.

An Obama-era climate change working group has been in limbo since Trump came into office - and other areas of transatlantic energy cooperation face major uncertainty as well.