European Union

EU crop based biofuels are currently the primary tool in the decarbonisation of transport in Europe: no small task. Their direct displacement of oil, high sustainability; huge GHG reductions and addition of high protein animal feed to the food chain...

A coalition of activist groups on Monday announced a campaign to break up Facebook, arguing that the huge social network "has too much power over our lives and democracy."

The EU's foreign policy chief warned Monday (21 May) there was "no alternative" to the Iran nuclear deal, after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed unprecedented sanctions against Tehran following Washington's withdrawal from the pact.

This week's Clean Energy Ministerial must send clear signal on the role renewables can play in raising climate action targets, writes Jennifer Morgan.

A host of UK packaging organisations have called for more recycling collection points, tax reliefs for recycled content and a universal list of acceptable materials as part of a desired regulation reform to make it easier for consumers to recycle packaging waste. EURACTIV's media partner edie.net reports.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s meeting on Tuesday afternoon (22 May) with European Parliament leaders is “the right thing for himself” after the company’s recent data collection scandal, EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova said in an interview.

Italy's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the far-right League on Monday (21 May) proposed Giuseppe Conte, a little-known law professor, as prime minister to lead their big-spending coalition government.

The European Union is starting to think in earnest about how to reduce the impact of transportation on the environment. But are plans to tackle a sector whose emissions continue to grow too strict or not ambitious enough?

The European Commission wants to triple the amount of money for migration in the next EU budget. Earlier this week, EU agencies, NGOs, and the mayor of Athens gave their views at a European parliament public hearing.

It is very unlikely that the climate target of the Paris agreement can be met without a system that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – we need negative emissions.

Based on figures from 2016, nearly 26.4% of children across the EU are experiencing, or are at risk of experiencing, poverty or social exclusion. But the EU has one potential policy development to deal with this worrying trend, write Joanna Hofman and Katie Stewart.

With great power comes great responsibility. Various versions of this quote were attributed throughout history to Churchill, Roosevelt and more recently to Spiderman.

There is a strong possibility that Poland will build a floating Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in Gdańsk, according to Fred H. Hutchison, who says “a lot of gas” can come to Central European markets this way.

On 7 May the ‘Cities4Europe – Europe for citizens’ campaign was officially launched in partnership with the BOZAR and the city of Brussels, and with the support of the campaign's partners.

The European Commission will soon present its legislative proposal for the future EU cohesion policy, in the context of negotiations for a new long-term budget. But in order to define new financing instruments, it is important to understand if the existing ones worked or not.

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 patients getting treatment abroad.

Do you suffer from a medical condition that cannot be treated in your home country, or you have to wait too long for treatment? You might be interested to know whether you can access other EU countries’ health systems and if your home insurance will cover at least a part of the costs of getting treatment abroad.

EU rules on cross-border healthcare could come to your aid in such a situation. They grant patients the right to benefit from planned medical treatment, such as specialist consultation, surgery or treatment for a specific medical condition, in another EU country on the same terms and at the same cost as people who live in that country. While some countries may have restrictions in place for access to treatment for organisational reasons, these should not discriminate against patients coming from another EU country.

© satyrenko / Fotolia

And what about the issue of reimbursement? If the treatment is covered by your insurance, but is not available at all, or not in time, in your home country, your health insurer is obliged to reimburse your expenses up to the level of costs you would have normally incurred in your home country.

National Contact Points for planned medical treatment, either in your home country or in the country where the treatment is available, will help you identify the health provider offering the treatment you need. Your home National Contact Point also provides information about reimbursement options and about whether you need to ask for prior authorisation.

Further information

• European Commission Directorate General for Health website: https://ec.europa.eu/health/cross_border_care/overview_en
• European Commission Your Europe portal https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/health/planned-healthcare/get-more-info/index_en.htm
• Network of National Contact Points https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/health/files/cross_border_care/docs/cbhc_ncp_en.pdf

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 people in an emergency situation.

Hopefully it will never happen to you, but many people find themselves in emergency situations while travelling abroad, because they have a car accident, need medical assistance or fall victim to a crime, for instance. The EU has set up an emergency phone number to enable you to get help quickly: 112. You can dial it anywhere in Europe for free to summon the local police, ambulance or fire brigade to your immediate assistance.

Meanwhile, since March 2018, all new cars have to comply with EU legislation and be equipped with the eCall on-board emergency call system. The system will be activated by sensors if you have a serious car accident and will automatically call the 112 number, communicating your car’s location, the time and the direction of travel, even if you are unconscious or unable to call. You can also trigger it manually by pushing a button in the car, for instance if you witness a serious accident. It is estimated that the system could save up to 2 500 lives a year.

© vchalup / Fotolia

If you fall sick while travelling in Europe, EU legislation gives you the same right to state-provided healthcare as people insured in the country concerned, and if you carry the European Health Insurance Card, you can avoid paying upfront in most EU countries.

Another example of EU provision for people in emergency situations is the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, which supplies coordinated assistance to victims of natural and man-made disasters. This can include health assistance from the European Medical Corps, who send doctors and medical equipment in response to emergencies in and outside the EU.

Further information

• European Commission’s Directorate General for Communications, networks, content and technology https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/policies/emergency-and-support-lines
• European Commission’s Directorate General for mobility and transport, https://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/its/road/action_plan/ecall_en
• European Commission’s European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, http://ec.europa.eu/echo/what/civil-protection/mechanism_en

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 small farmers.

Most of the farms in the EU are small, although the term includes a wide diversity of operations. Although small farms produce only a portion of the total EU agricultural output, their contribution in creating rural employment, supporting rural societies and landscapes, and ensuring that traditional and local production continues, makes them a cornerstone of European agriculture.

© ronedya / Fotolia

Because small farms are generally run by the family, who often consume what is produced themselves, they have few assets and few opportunities to innovate. They generally have very little bargaining power in the food supply chain. However, many small farmers are flexible enough to diversify their farm activities, or take on another job to increase their income.

As a small farmer, the EU recognises your important role and grants smallholdings a simplified scheme that cuts the administrative burden for accessing EU direct payments. This scheme is implemented in more than half of the EU countries, including those where small farms outnumber large ones. EU rural development policy also benefits small farmers by financing rural investments that improve the quality of life in the countryside, diversify rural economies, and offer services in remote areas that are important to the many elderly and female farmers among smallholders.

Further information

• EPRS publication on ‘Small farms’, europarl.europa.eu/RegData/bibliotheque/stspotlight/2014/140794/LDM_STS(2014)140794_REV1_EN.pdf
• European Commission fiche on ‘The Small Farmers Scheme’, ec.europa.eu/agriculture/sites/agriculture/files/direct-support/direct-payments/docs/small-farmers-scheme_en.pdf
• European Commission brief on ‘What is a small farm?’, www.ec.europa.eu/agriculture/sites/agriculture/files/rural-area-economics/briefs/pdf/02_en.pdf

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 film makers.

If you go to the cinema more than twice a year, you are already doing better than the average European. If so, you must have noticed that American productions make up three quarters of the films on offer. This situation is disconcerting, not least because US-based companies produced ‘just’ 789 feature films in 2016, for instance – compared to 1 740 European productions in the same period…

© Sunny studio / Fotolia

The strong US presence in the EU film market explains why public support is provided to assist European cinema in gaining a competitive edge. Since 2013, state aid rules allow the level of support to film production, distribution and promotion to reach 50 %, and up to 60 %in the case of co-productions funded by more than one EU country. By contrast, there are no limits on aid for script writing or film-project development, or for difficult audiovisual works, as defined by each EU country.

Creative Europe – the EU programme supporting the cultural and creative sectors until 2020 – will dedicate more than €800 million to cinema. In addition, €210 million has been made available since 2016 for a new financial guarantee facility, which should make it easier for small companies to access bank loans.

Helping overcome distribution barriers for European films is one of the goals of the European Parliament’s LUX Prize, awarded annually since 2007. The winner does not receive a direct grant. Instead, the three films in the final stage of the competition are subtitled in the 24 official EU languages and are screened in more than 40 cities and at 18 festivals, allowing many Europeans to see them.

Further information

• EPRS publication on ‘2015 – A record year for European cinema’, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/ATAG/2016/593514/EPRS_ATA%282016%29593514_EN.pdf
• Official website of Cineuropa – the best of European cinema, http://www.cineuropa.org/
• Official website of the International network of cinemas for the circulation of European films, https://www.europa-cinemas.org/en/
• EPRS publication on ‘LUX Prize: Ten years of support for EU cinema’, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/ATAG/2016/593521/EPRS_ATA%282016%29593521_EN.pdf

The Facebook CEO will brief MEPs on data protection - but only behind closed doors. Meanwhile EU leaders are scratching their heads on how to deal with US president Trump's erratic decisions on trade and the Iran deal.