European Union

In the aftermath of US President Trump's withdrawal from the landmark nuclear arms-control accord earlier this month, NATO allies on Wednesday (13 January) met in Brussels to plan for a future that includes a “Russia with more missiles.”

The future of online copyright is set to be radically transformed as Parliament and Council negotiators struck an agreement on the controversial Copyright Directive on Wednesday (13 February) evening, over two years after the measures were first introduced by the Commission.

© artjazz / Fotolia

The European Parliament regularly receives enquiries from citizens about how to stand as a candidate in the European elections.

The conditions people must meet to stand as a candidate in the European elections are set out both by national legislation, and by European legislation, with certain common rules applicable in all EU countries.

Under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, citizens of a European Union country have the right to vote and to stand as candidates in elections to the European Parliament and in municipal elections in the Member State where they live, under the same conditions as nationals of that State. The detailed arrangements for exercising this right are laid down in 1993 legislation, amended in 2012 (see Article 10).

Nationals of another EU country must be resident in the EU country where they wish to stand as a candidate and comply with the same conditions as set out for nationals. No person may stand as a candidate in more than one EU Member State at the same election.

For specific countries’ electoral procedures, please refer to the national authorities organising the elections in the country where you live.

Continue to put your questions to the Citizens’ Enquiries Unit (Ask EP)! We reply in the EU language that you use to write to us.

Further information

• 2019 European elections: National rules, European Parliamentary Research Service, 2018.
• Your Europe: European elections, European Union.

Getting a loan is the biggest problem faced by young farmers in Romania, especially when they are unable to provide guarantees as back-up, EURACTIV Romania reports.

Plenary session, Strasbourg

Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

One year after the High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance released its final report, the follow up on its recommendations is lagging somewhat behind, writes Catherine Howarth.

A new Franco-German cooperation plan on battery cell production will include the construction of two factories, one in France and one in Germany, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday (13 November). France will invest €700 million over the next...

The Presidency of the Council reached a provisional agreement with the European Parliament on an amendment to the gas directive.

EU ambassadors endorsed the agreement reached on a proposal for a pan-European pension product (PEPP), making it easier for people to save for their retirement

'The EU needs a reality check; power is not a dirty word," Mark Rutte declared, in a speech on foreign policy in which he explicitly ruled out a European army.

Plenary session, Strasbourg

Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Written by Joanna Apap,

© Andrew Kazmierski / Fotolia

At the 72nd United Nations (UN) General Assembly on 18 September 2017, 120 countries expressed their commitment to the reforms proposed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Since 1946, the UN has undergone a number of reforms either in whole or in part. The term ‘reform’ has proved troublesome for UN member states on account of its lack of clarity and the lack of consensus as to execution. This is particularly apparent in the scepticism expressed by the United States (US) in 2018 regarding the need for global governance, the importance of UN Security Council decisions such as the Iran nuclear deal, and the efficiency of the United Nations.

This briefing explains how the current reform differs from previous ones, in as much as it focuses on management and addresses the criticisms of a lack of accountability and transparency, ineffectiveness, and the deficit in trust between the organisation and its member states in the current system. The United Nations reform agenda centres on three key areas: development, management, and peace and security. First, development reform will bring a bold change to the UN development system in order to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This will be centred on the creation of a new generation of country teams led by an independent team of UN country experts (‘resident coordinators’). Second, the simplification of processes, increased transparency and improved delivery of mandates will form the basis of a new management paradigm for the secretariat. Third, peace and security reform will be underpinned by placing priority on conflict prevention and peacekeeping, increasing the effectiveness and coherence of peacekeeping operations and political missions.

Two years after its launch, the reform process is starting to bear fruit, with implementation set to begin in 2019 and a focus on streamlining, accountability, transparency and efficiency. However, the reform process does not make explicit mention of bolstering human rights. This briefing also explores the possibility of capitalising on the current reforms so as to boost the indivisibility of human rights, while taking stock of stakeholders’ reactions to the UN reforms under way.

Read the complete briefing on ‘United Nations reform‘ on the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

The European Parliament's Italian president referred to Croatia and Slovenia as former Italian regions at the weekend, sparking outrage. Although Antonio Tajani apologised, somer former leaders and MEPs are now calling for his resignation.

The European Parliament approved on Wednesday (13 February) the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSTFA), the bloc's first bilateral trade agreement with a southeast Asian country.

Germany will need to make sure EU rules are being followed by Russia's controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, currently under construction, it was decided in negotiations between EU institutions on Tuesday evening.

Scottish Green MEP Alyn Smith on Wednesday wrote to ask Jorg Monar, the rector of The College of Europe, to provide assurances that the institute has not received "financial contributions from the Saudi authorities in any form" in its efforts to set up meetings with the EU institutions. The query follows EUobserver revelations that the College of Europe is organising a high-level Saudi visit in February.

The day after the new leader of the Christian Democrats, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, distanced herself from Angela Merkel's migration legacy, economists published a report showing that Germany needs at least 260,000 migrants a year by 2060 if the country is to meet its skilled labor needs.

The revised EU gas directive agreed on Tuesday night (12 February) gives guarantees that the EU’s interests are preserved, by giving the European Commission a key role in the permitting process of all pipelines linking Europe with foreign countries, including Russia, says MEP Jerzy Buzek.

The European Commission has included Saudi Arabia and Panama in an extended ‘blacklist’ of uncooperative jurisdictions in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, in an effort to regain citizens’ trust in the fight against financial crimes.

Serbia has been given the go-ahead to build a section of the Turkish Stream pipeline from the Bulgarian to the Hungarian border, so long as not only Russian gas is transmitted through the pipeline. EURACTIV Serbia reports.