European Union

Finger pointing is dominating the political debate in Italy following the collapse of the motorway bridge in Genoa. Economic Development Minister Di Maio has blamed the motorway operator Autostrade while Interior Minister Salvini complained that EU budget constraints were making Italy unsafe. Commentators say the Italian state is also to blame for the tragedy in which 40 people died.

Russia and Germany are set to proceed with the completion of a second natural gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea between the two countries. 

Italy's interior minister, Matteo Salvini, threatened on Sunday to send "back to Libya" nearly 180 people picked up by Italian coastguard ship Diciotti. "Either Europe decides to seriously offer Italy some concrete help ... or we will be forced to do what will definitively end the human traffickers' business. That means taking the people saved in the sea back to Libya," Salvini said in a statement.

Maltese Christian Democrat MEP David Casa has come under fire for employing his uncle and his brother-in-law as local assistants on the European Parliament payroll. Speaking to Malta Today newspaper, Casa denied any breach of the rules banning the hire of close relatives, such as spouses, partners, parents, children, brothers, or sisters. He threatened to "take all necessary action permitted by law" should the newspaper publish the story.

"European values, such as freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights, are at the heart of the EU and are not subject to negotiations," Germany's foreign minister Heiko Maas told a newspaper ahead of his visit to Poland on Monday. Maas will discuss a range of issues, including the rule of law, where the European Commission says Poland has diverged from EU values and rules.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has joined forces with Germany against the US over a new gas pipeline in a symbolic reversal of the prior Western alliance against Russia's aggressive behaviour.

About 840 French bridges are at risk of collapsing, an audit commissioned by the government has warned. A third of the country's 12,000 state-maintained bridges need repairs and 7 percent - or about 840 - bridges are so badly damaged they are at "risk of collapse". The names of bridges were not mentioned in the report. Last week a bridge collapsed in Genoa in neighbouring Italy killing 43 people.

Julian Dunkerton, who co-founded the Superdry fashion label, has donated £1m to the People's Vote campaign hoping for a second EU referendum. He wrote in the Sunday Times that Brexit will be a "disaster" and that there is a "genuine chance to turn this around." The latest opinion polls show 53 percent of voters now want to remain in the EU, versus 47 percent wanting to leave.

Germany could give financial assistance to Turkey during its economic crisis, Andrea Nahles, of the German Social Democrats (SPD) said on Sunday. "A situation might arise where Germany needs to help Turkey, regardless of political tensions with president Recep Tayyip Erdogan," she said. Germany, the second biggest foreign investor in Turkey, has urged Ankara to accept an IMF aid program amid its lira crisis.

UK Brexit secretary Dominic Raab travels to Brussels this week to continue negotiations with the EU about Brexit. In the coming months he is going to publish around 70 technical notices to "clearly set out the steps that people, businesses and public services need to take in the unlikely event that we don't reach an agreement" he said, according to the BBC. The European Union already published 68 technical notices.

A long-standing cooperation between the EU and China on carbon capture and storage has fallen off the political agenda – with the European Commission not having any comment available when asked for an update.

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 residential property buyers.

Many if not most Europeans looking to purchase their first apartment, or thinking of buying a bigger apartment or house to fit a growing family, take out mortgages for the purpose. Under these contracts, the purchased property secures the mortgage and, should repayment obligations not be fulfilled, allows the loan provider (usually a bank) to seize the property and sell it to pay off the loan. Taking out a mortgage loan is therefore a very important financial decision, entailing a financial commitment that can last for decades and carrying risks for both the buyer and the bank.

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The Mortgage Credit Directive is designed to ensure that anyone taking out a mortgage to purchase a property is adequately informed and protected against the risks. The directive applies to all loans made to consumers in order to buy residential property.

The directive states that lenders are required to provide consumers with clear and detailed information on loan conditions, as well as to assess their creditworthiness according to common EU standards. Furthermore it sets out common quality standards and business conduct principles for all EU lenders and establishes the right to repay credit earlier than determined in a contract. Last but not least, it sets up an EU ‘passport’ scheme that allows banks that are authorised to operate in one EU country, to deliver services across the whole EU, thus offering consumers a far greater choice than what they would normally find nationally.

Further information

• Mortgage credit – Directive 2014/17/EU, https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/mortgage-credit-directive-2014-17-eu_en
• Buying residential property – rules on loans, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/LSU/?uri=CELEX:32014L0017
• Your Europe: your rights – mortgage loans, https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/financial-products-and-services/mortgages/index_en.htm
• EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service: www.epthinktank.eu

Greece will formally turn the page on its debt saga this week, but the eurozone remains vulnerable to further crises, with economists particularly worried about the situation in Italy.

The European Union (EU) has the opportunity to positively shape the lives of children trapped in conflicts, natural disasters and other humanitarian situations around the world. On World Humanitarian Day (19 August), Delphine Moralis explains why this is so important and what the bloc can do.

Despite negative media reports, environmental regulation cannot be blamed for the coming upheavals in the automobile sector. Daniel Rieger explains.

Greece is set to conclude its rescue programme on Monday (20 August), marking a milestone in its recent history and the end of the most difficult period for the euro area, but the country is likely to struggle to maintain its economy sustainable.

"Greece's recovery is not an event, it is a process," EU commissioner Pierre Moscovici says. Statistics, and differences of views between the country's creditors, show that the process will not be easy.