European Union

The jail sentences handed down to members of the activist group Pussy Riot after they criticised Putin in their "punk prayer" at a church in Moscow contravene human rights, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg has ruled, and ordered Russia to pay the women compensation. Commentators take stock of the ruling.

Pressure is mounting on the European Commission ahead of a decision it is expected to announce this autumn that will affect how internet-connected cars are built in Europe.

Together, the five largest meat and dairy corporations (JBS, Tyson, Cargill, Dairy Farmers of America and Fonterra) are already responsible for more annual greenhouse gas emissions than ExxonMobil, Shell or BP, a new study released on Wednesday (18 July) warns.

A lavender farmer and 10 other families decided to sue the European Union for failing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions back in May. Now, the fragrant-flower farmer explains the rationale behind the landmark case.  EURACTIV.fr reports.

The UK’s development minister accused the European Commission on Tuesday (17 July) of discriminating against UK aid agencies, in a move that could scupper future partnerships after the UK leaves the EU.

Due to pollution, the majority of European rivers, lakes and estuaries fall below the minimum environmental standards, a report by the European Environment Agency reveals.

As the rapporteur for the European Parliament on an EU regulation on resettlement, my colleagues and I have outlined an effective plan based on solidarity and humanitarian principles.

The British prime minister escaped defeat again in parliament, as EU governments question her ability to ratify any Brexit deal by Westminster.

The EU began screening the readiness of Macedonia and Albania to start negotiations by next June on joining the bloc. EU ministers last month decided to wait a year for the official launch of membership talks because France and the Netherlands wanted more reforms. EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn in Skopje told reporters the screening would allow the EU to measure the countries' preparedness in alignment with EU rules.

Among alternative fuel vehicles, electric cars are the best positioned to overcome refuelling infrastructure challenges, writes Ian McClenny. The difficulty lies in having sufficient vehicle charging availability to reduce consumer’s range anxiety.

Google is bracing for what is expected to be the EU's largest antitrust fine handed down on Wednesday over a probe into Android apps. The fine could be between €4bn and €5bn after an investigation launched in 2015 into Google, requiring handset makers to have its own apps, shopping and search services as pre-installed default options. Google argued the commission's approach would mean less innovation and less competition.

European consumer protection authorities have called on German carmaker Volkswagen to guarantee that repairs after the Dieselgate scandal would not affect the cars' performance, Reuters reported. The European Commission said VW should improve consumer information and wants VW to do more to compensate European car owners after it admitted to US regulators in 2015 that it had cheated on emissions tests using software installed in cars on sale in Europe.

Written by Tambiama Madiega (1st edition),

© Tierney / Fotolia

The Commission adopted a proposal for a regulation on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services on 26 May 2018. Providers of online intermediation services (e.g. Amazon and eBay) and online search engines (e.g. Google search) are required to implement a set of measures to ensure transparency and fairness in the contractual relations they have with online businesses (e.g. online retailers, hotels and restaurants businesses, app stores) which use such online platforms to sell and provide their services to customers in the EU.

The proposal is still at an early stage in consideration in the European Parliament, where it has been assigned to the IMCO committee.

Versions

• July 2018: ‘Fairness and transparency for business users of online services‘ (1st edition)

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services Committee responsible: Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) COM(2018) 238
26.4.2018 Rapporteur: Christel Schaldemose (S&D, Denmark) 2018/0112(COD) Shadow rapporteurs:

  Philippe Juvin (EPP, France)
Daniel Dalton (ECR, United Kingdom)
Dita Charanzová (ALDE, Czech Republic) Ordinary legislative procedure (COD) (Parliament and Council on equal footing – formerly ‘co-decision’) Next steps expected: Publication of draft report

One of Bulgaria’s cornerstone coal mines has been forced to shut down, raising questions over the future of energy production and employment in the region, as well as coal’s future in the country, write Violeta Keremdchieva and Ellen Baker.

The European Union began screening the readiness of Balkan neighbours Macedonia and Albania yesterday (17 July) to start negotiations by June next year on joining the EU.

Belgium is being offered a possible role in future European combat jet developments if it picks the Eurofighter Typhoon over the US-built F-35, in a fierce contest to rearm the country's air force, a senior official with Britain's BAE Systems said.

Answering a journalistic question, President Donald Trump yesterday (17 July) appeared to put in doubt the United States' obligation to defend all NATO allies.